Welcome to Word on the Street!
Posted by CityGatesAdmin at 9/15/2007 11:41 PM and is filed under uncategorized 
Word On The Street is a new blog that has been created for City Gates Ministries, a ministry serving the homeless and poor in Olympia, Washington. (www.citygatesministries.com)
We're glad you found us, and welcome you to the ongoing discussion of what it means to be poor and homeless, what the causes are, and what we as a community can do to alleviate the suffering that is experienced by the homeless and poor in our area every day.
We'll be using this blog to post pictures from our weekly ministry on the street, editorials, and updates on what the latest news is. Your comments are welcome, and if you would like to contribute an editorial or article please contact Maura at Maura@citygatesministries.com
We're glad you found us, and welcome you to the ongoing discussion of what it means to be poor and homeless, what the causes are, and what we as a community can do to alleviate the suffering that is experienced by the homeless and poor in our area every day.
We'll be using this blog to post pictures from our weekly ministry on the street, editorials, and updates on what the latest news is. Your comments are welcome, and if you would like to contribute an editorial or article please contact Maura at Maura@citygatesministries.com
I am distressed at reading about the homeless man in a wheel chair. Can somebody tell me what someone like that does to survive? Where would he sleep? How would he take care of his necessities? Get in and out of his wheelchair? I just can't imagine.
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Dear Gina,
Thanks for your reply.
I am not sure what the homeless man in the wheelchair did to survive. Another homeless man decided to step in and care for him, Praise God. I know that relationships on the street can be very brief--even a matter of minutes-- or folks can take up for the longterm. We would like to follow up with these two men but have no contact information.
Survival is going to be a much, much harder for someone homeless in a wheelchair.It is difficult to camp in a car when you do not have use of your legs. Living in a tent is also very difficult physically. To use one of the public showers is going to take transportation and access. I am not sure if the public showers at Percival Landing are wheelchair accessible. Thurston County is not set up to accommodate homeless, physically disabled people.
Having somewhere to sleep, being able to take care of his own necessities and getting in and out of his wheelchair became his problem when he was dumped out on the street. He did not have basic supplies with him that I know of.
It is very possible that he will die alone if he does not get off the streets and into placement.
Someone had to be caring for him before he appeared at StreetLights. Frankly, I think it's criminal to have anyone that disabled homeless. Visible disabilities, including severe mental illness, make people a target out on the street.
In my experience, the vast majority of the people who are homeless are not out to hurt anyone, they just want to get through another day. But, the homeless man who volunteered to care for him may be there for him one minute and gone the nest. He is living on the street due to his own issues.
I do know that after talking to the folks at 211 that people in desperate need are being turned away. In the past, in Thurston County, we have had people seriously ill with cancer being turned out on the street to care for themselves.
There are many ways to make a difference, including getting involved with City Gates Ministries as a volunteer. City Gates Ministries is holding a training session Saturday, Oct. 5th at the Phoenix Inn at 10:00 AM. Please come and get involved. There are all kinds of volunteer tasks that people can do, ranging from an hour on up. Besides being horrified and trying to imagine what this one man would do, I invite you to become part of the answer.
God willing, I'll see you there.
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