My city. My home. My friends- I have them on both sides of the line that is very much being drawn in the sand here in Tulsa. 
The news in Tulsa has been relentless on the homeless and lower income this last week. I understand about concerns with the panhandling and litter and a need to address these things. However, I disagree with "their" mindset of how to do that. I am disappointed and frustrated with the direction chosen by many of those who are suppose to be standing in the gap and helping to represent this group of "transients", "homeless", indigent", and "those people" -since we are labeling.
A winter night with friends
A small statement in a news story yesterday mentioned some document online that discusses the cities solutions. I, OF COURSE, went to find it. Friends, in this document (read it here) many things quickly caught my attention. The last several months a certain group has been pushing other groups that serve here in Tulsa to ONLY coordinate with them and ONLY do things the way they say, limiting any group to help in only ways that they approve and hand out only items that they approve of. By items, I mean everything. Down to NOT allowing anyone to hand out blankets, even in the winter months, because it makes it "easier" to stay on the street. In this document, there is NO discussion of how they will actually help those living on the streets. No discussion of increasing beds, or how they will actually get the funds for mental health and addiction services. Nothing about building a community for these individuals, so that when they do get off the streets they have a group that is walking that road with them. Nope. Not there. What is there? Stopping the support that is in place while they try to figure out all the other stuff. It actually says "resolve the issue of on-street feeding stations" and STOP the giving! STOPPING the public from helping. That's us folks. They want to LIMIT what we are called to do and they want to do it WITHOUT a backup plan to house, help, rehabilitate, and reintroduce these people back into our city.
To my non-believer friends, I encourage you to love like you want to be loved. Step out and be to others, the person you want them to be to you. Set the bar high. This next portion of this blog is to my believing friends. Our LORD and savior has been very clear in his instruction to us. I could never say it this clearly so I will just quote from the current book I am reading (and encourage you to read it for yourself- Jen Hatmaker, Interrupted).
"Saying, "I meant well" is not going to cut it. Not with God screaming, begging, pleading, urging us to love mercy and justice, to feed the poor and the orphaned, to care for the last and least in nearly every book of the Bible. It will not be enough one day to stand before Jesus and say, "Oh? Were you serious about that?""We don't get to opt out of living on mission because we might not be appreciated. We are not allowed to neglect the oppressed because we have reservations about their discernment. We cannot deny love because it might be despised or misunderstood. We can't withhold social relief because we're not convinced it will be perfectly managed. We can't project our advantaged perspective onto struggling people and expect results available only to the privileged. Must we be wise? Absolutely. But doing nothing is a blatant sin of omission. Turning a blind eye to the bottom on the grounds of "unworthiness" is the antithesis to Jesus' entire mission. How dare we? Most of us know nothing, nothing of the struggles of the poor. We erroneously think ourselves superior and it is a wonder God would use us at all to minister to His beloved."
I am sure that there are times that someone has taken advantage of my heart under that bridge. You know what? It doesn't matter. There are also times that just by being there I have been able to take a family of 5- the youngest being 2 and the oldest child 16- that were kicked out of a shelter in the middle of winter and find somewhere warm for them. There are also times when I have been witness to God's amazing healing as He has worked on both volunteer's and guest's hearts. I have watched God's children come and be fed. Some that had not eaten for days. Families choosing to come from their homes, that are nothing but a roof over their head, and enjoy a meal together at a table with friends. I have witnessed a community ERASE the line in the sand and join together as one as our friends mourns the loss of their son and nephew. I have learned so much and my blinders have been removed. I know that I will not reach everyone. Everyone deserves the opportunity to be loved and deserves someone trying to reach them. I am thankful for a lifetime of people reaching out to me and a God that doesn't give up. This is NOT happening like it should, in the facilities and with the services downtown at this time. People in the margins are being missed.
Guest came back and washed my feet
Categorizing, labeling, and restricting is not necessarily the right or only answer to how to deal with issues that our city and every other city in the U.S. faces. Every person matters. Every person is important. Some of them have never been told that and our actions towards these dear people speaks so loudly of how we value or them.
A princess wand that a sweet 4 year old and I made under the bridge. She ended up sleeping in a shelter that night.
