I have been wondering for a while now what was going on in the early hours of the morning across from Fellini's on Ponce. Masses of homeless folks were converging on one house (910 Ponce de Leon Ave); the yard literally covered in people (looking like a homeless version of Hitchcock's "The Birds").
This "house" is the Open Door Community, founded in 1981 and follows the Catholic Worker tradition of offering "a loving relationship with some of the most neglected and outcast of God's children." Not only do they provide meals, showers, clothes, medical services and worship service, but they also serve as an advocate for the homeless and oppressed. In the South, this is what we call "good people."
Check out their site and if you have items to donate (they need t-shirts and men's walking shoes pretty badly) or order a copy of Sharing the Bread of Life (a 25th Anniversary history of the Open Door).
1 comments:
That place is really incredible. I went with some coworkers back in December-- they have slots open, around Christmas and maybe the rest of the year, for volunteers to sign up and bring dinner for the staff and people that drop in-- and it was a great experience. What impressed me the most was that most of the staff actually lives in the building (it was originally built boarding house for young ladies in the early 20th century), which I think speaks volumes about the sort of folks they are.
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