POLICE AT THE MISSION

The Police Came to Wayside

Yes that is right, the police came for a visit and I was amazed at what happened. Rookies now are asked to work in a homeless shelter for a day to learn more about homeless people and to get acquainted with community resources (the shelters) that they will likely use in the future. This group of seven men and women surprised the children at Wayside with an XBox 360 and six games. WOW! The kids have been at it non-stop. You may be like me and wonder if video games are the best way for teens to spend time, but I have found with a little monitoring and controlled access the games can be entertaining for children and adults. My son Timmy, now 11 years old, has me stop daily at the Game Stop to see if any Wii consoles have arrived. A Christmas gift that was in an envelope continues to be an anticipated surprise since the units are in short supply. Yes, and I am looking forward to the new system myself. Enough of that…. the Metro Police rookies had a busy day at the Mission, setting up an exercise room for our families, playing with the kids, serving meals to our many residents, then meeting with several of our recovery clients discussing addiction issues on the street. This type of training is another fine example of the professional training that many of the officers are receiving today. They hopefully better understand homeless people and services, and on the other side, the children surely have made some good friends of the men and women in uniform.

Keep up the good work LMPD!

Rev. Tim Moseley, CEO
Wayside Christian Mission

Christmas at the Mission

Christmas at the Mission was a joy to behold. So many volunteers tried in everyway possible to make this day a little brighter for our residents. It was clear that they succeeded. Due to the help of many volunteers the follow actions and events made the days proceeding Christmas and Christmas Day a reflection of the love of God.
· A week before Christmas many in the community put together their favorite holiday dishes and delivered them to the Mission with recipes attached.
· One day before Christmas volunteers decorated the dining rooms at both our Market and Jefferson Street campuses. Iroquois Presbyterian Church members facilitated a Christmas party for the men our shelter.
· Many volunteers began cooking and mixing the donated potluck dishes in preparation for the big day.
· Christmas Eve found the volunteers still at work preparing. Priscilla Ariori, working with several clients, began cleaning and cooking chitterlings that would be served the next day.
· Many other volunteers worked on the food line preparing turkey and ham.
· Former Governor John Y. Brown III, his son and other friends and family members worked in the kitchen during the afternoon helping to prepare for Christmas Day.
· About 7 PM on Christmas Eve Santa arrived at the Market Street Family and Women’s campus showering the children with gifts that were given by family sponsors from the community. Hundreds of families, businesses and churches sponsored families staying at the Family Shelter, past family shelter residents, as well as, women in the Single Women’s Shelter. Santa worked hard handing out gifts as Virginia Taylor, the Mission’s choir, director led in Christmas songs.
· Christmas day began with breakfast, eggs to order and volunteers to serve our residents at their seats. Pancakes, bacon and sausage were all part of the menu.
· Lunch and dinner included traditional Christmas delights: turkey, ham and too many side dishes to count. Not so traditional was the preparation and serving of chitterlings, a southern dish that I will not go into in this blog. These were wonderful meals for our residents.
· Volunteers facilitated Karaoke during the afternoon, conducted bingo and awarded prizes to many residents, and a couple from the Louisville Orchestra played wonderful Christmas music in the background, warming hearts of all.
· As Christmas day began to wind down, two young boys, their father and their aunt arrive, candy canes in hand. “The boys wanted to hand out candy canes, then we would like to help in the kitchen”, the aunt said. That was the kind of day it was at the Mission.

Our thanks to God for leading his people our way to help make this Christmas special and meaningful in so many ways.

Panhandling Problem

Ordinances like the new one that makes it illegal for a person to aggressively panhandle is hard for many of us to accept. However the reality of downtown is that there are a few men, primarily, who not only panhandle but also do so aggressively. During the past 22 years at the Mission I have seen mostly the bad side of aggressive panhandling. I have seen volunteers coming from their cars, panhandled by our clients. I have been panhandled by men who did not know my connection with the Mission and I have been aggressively panhandled several times while in my car in front of McDonald’s on Market Street by men pecking aggressively on my window. We have a rule at the Mission that may seem a little tough to some, but men who are panhandling our volunteers or staff are asked to leave. The logic follows. The Mission provides nearly 2000 meals per day; no one who needs a meal is turned away. Homeless clients staying at the Mission are given many opportunities to work for money, including job placement, and those with alcohol and drug problems are given a free program of recovery that they can join. Disabled men have case managers assigned that help them secure housing or other needed services.

Aggressive panhandlers can be bad for businesses, can be frightening to adults and children, and downright dangerous as a good-willed citizen opens their wallet to expose credit cards and cash. Couple this with the fact that almost without exception the money goes for alcohol or drugs, giving money to a panhandler reinforces the behavior and the addiction that may be present. Hopefully the panhandling ordinance has provisions for people getting the help they really need.

If you want to help the homeless, make your contribution to a number of agencies that help the homeless in our area. Become a volunteer and really get involved or offer jobs and other opportunities to homeless men and women who are in shelters working on a positive track. This safe way to help usually is very rewarding for the homeless clients as well as the volunteer. Let’s see, I kind of sound like a “professional panhandler”, maybe we all are to some degree.

Give to the poor and be generous, but do it wisely. And, of course, pray!

Rev. Tim Moseley, CEO
Wayside Christian Mission

Summer Heat

Summer at the Mission is almost over and as we are preparing for the winter we reflect about the summer. This summer was one of the hottest on record for the Louisville area causing many homeless to seek safety in our facilities. This summer our floors were almost as crowded with overflow as in the winter, as temperatures put us into Operation White Flag. Many of our guests were cooled by donations of bottled water, ice cream and juices. Many donated food and other supplies that helped us to get through these crowded times.

During the summer we also started a new housing program for Metro Health Services. There are a number of homeless men who are in need of not only TB medication but also housing stability so that they may be properly treated. The Mission is now contracting to provide such a space to men who are no longer contagious but who are receiving medication and other needed support. We have set aside four small rooms in our Jefferson Street campus to help with this need.

Our plans for the new campus on Market Street are underway as a contract has been awarded for construction. Ground breaking is scheduled to begin March 8th 2008 and completion should happen within a year from that date. We continue to be in need of designated funds for the project and welcome you help.

Tim

The Mission is Packed During the Cold Nights

Over 600 men, women and children are staying at the Mission each night during the cold weather. Looking through the windows of the Men's Campus at 432 East Jefferson Street you can easily see men sleeping on the floor in overflow areas like the dining room. About 130 mats are used each night to accomodate the additional people.

Good Samaritan Patrol Goes Out Nightly in the Cold

Recent drops in temperature have been increasingly problematic for homeless who typically are not staying in shelters. Because of many issues some homeless people do not venture into shelters even on cold nights like we are anticipating tonight, wind chill = -10 degrees. Mental illness and alcoholism accounts for most of the resistance but physical distance and problems with crowed conditions also are reasons. This winter as in the past, the Mission has had its Good Samaritan Patrol searching the streets looking for those who have not made it inside. Our volunteer patrolmen and patrolwomen find people living under bridges, overpasses, and in camps along the Ohio. Some go into places that are open all night like White Castles, University Hospital’s Emergency Room waiting area, the Hall of Justice and the bus station. Often our volunteers in the patrol will drop by these locations and offer rides and help. When a person refuses to come in out of the cold an offer of hot coffee, a sandwich and blanket is made. For many of these people, often veterans, this is the only lifeline to resources. Our volunteers are truly heroes, fighting the cold and keeping people alive. Many volunteers pray with and for those they encounter.

Potluck Pics

Volunteers took the donated food and heated it up to safe temperatures using convection ovens and microwaves. Each dish was checked with a thermometer before it was placed on the steam table before serving. This was a big job that demanded the attention of a large group of volunteers. Fortunately we were provided with some dedicated helper who gave up their Christmas Day to help their brothers and sisters in need.

Potluck Pics

Volunteers of all ages came to the Mission and gave a helping hand during the Way Cool Potluck. These children were closely supervised by their mother as they waited on tables. I think they were having a good time.

Potluck Pics

Residents at the Mission were overjoyed with the Christmas Potluck. Several were lucky enough to have family members visit during the day. We all pray for a better day for all of our residents. Having a Potluck on Christmas Day helped a little. Smiles were on the faces of many.

Potluck Pics

Hundreds of desserts were prepared and served throughout Christmas Day.

More Way Cool Potluck Pics

Blue and Red came together this Christmas for a higher purpose, feeding the hungry of our community and making this Christmas Day as special as possible.

Louisville's Largest Potluck was Way Cool!

Christmas Day has been one for the history book. The Way Cool Potluck made for a special day with hundreds of prepared meals coming in from caring citizens in our community. The day began with breakfast at 7 AM. This sit down meal allowed our guests to give their orders to volunteers who acted as waiters and waitresses. Breakfast included eggs to order, sausage and bacon, blueberry muffins, biscuits, fresh fruit, oatmeal, pancakes and juice. Many had their fill as seconds and thirds were served at both the Market Street Family and Women’s Campus and the Jefferson Street Men’s Campus.

The real fun began when the Mission choir began performing at 11:00 AM, signaling the start of Louisville’s Largest Potluck: the Wayside Way Cool Potluck. Because of the generosity of hundreds, home-cooked turkeys, hams, sides and desserts were prepared and delivered to the Mission before the meal began. Residents could not believe how wonderful the meal was as they spent Christmas at the Mission, many separated from family and friends. The caring volunteers who spent the day with us helped to make this day a little brighter and full of surprises: home-cooked foods.

Residents of the women’s shelter said they could hardly believe the variety of food that was served. Each seemed to discover their favorite Christmas dish and many sampled some of Louisville’s best cooking. Hundreds of cookies and desserts lined the kitchen while turkeys and hams got their final cooking and heat-up in the ovens. Residents remarked how tender the turkeys were and how well seasoned the hams and sides had been prepared. One lady told me she just wanted to try everything, having for dessert a sampling of six different sweet treats. Another resident remarked it was just like going to Christmas dinner at his mothers.

Tears were in many eyes as they not only observed the hospitality of our volunteers and the good food, but told of the wonderful Christmas gifts that had been given their children the night before (supplied by Wayside Christmas sponsor volunteers). One lady in our Safe Haven for mentally ill women summed it up by saying “this was a Christmas meal…one like I remember when I was a child.”

This is a sampling of the many food dishes prepared:

Desserts
Kentucky Jam Cake
Italian Crème Cake
Red Velvet Cake
Popcorn Cake
Carrot Cake
Hummingbird Cake
Cheesecake
Christmas Cake
Marble Cake
Banana Cake
German Chocolate Cake
Pineapple Cake
Homemade Truffles
Homemade Turtles
Rice Krispy Treats
Homemade Fudge
Fresh Fruit
Ambrosia
Candied Apples
Apple Pie
Blueberry Pie
Sweet Potato Pie
Chocolate Silk Pie
Peach Pie
Pecan Pie
Chocolate Chip Pie
Pumpkin Pie
Cherry Pie
Derby Pie

Sides
Pineapple Casserole
Broccoli Casserole
Green Bean Casserole
Sweet Potato Casserole
Cheesy Mashed Potatoes
Garlic Grits
Corn Pudding
Macaroni and Cheese
Dressing of every kind
Green Beans
Greens
Italian Green Beans
Baked Beans
Hot German Potato Salad
Cranberry Sauce
Cranberries
Rolls

Meats
Turkey: roasted and fried
Ham
Country Ham
Roast Beef
Roast Pork Loin
Beef Stew with Noodles

I have probably missed several dozen of the dishes but this gives you an idea of the variety and the care given to this meal by many good cooks in our community. Thanks for sharing your special Christmas dish with our residents. It is a wonderful, loving act of kindness.

God Bless and Merry Christmas,
Tim and Nina Moseley

PS Special thanks to the Knight Foundation volunteers for their high energy service work at the Mission. They have made an impact on the problem of homelessness and they are a wonderful group of young people.