Variety... people try to find that common thread among the homeless, as if there's going to be something innate that keeps people on the streets. The common thread is poverty... skid row's become a magnet for the poor. It doesn't mean they're all drug addicts, ignorant, lazy, criminals, sick... it means they're poor and trying to find a way to make it through the day. Join us for a while on the streets and you'll discover as diverse a collection of people as you'll find in any church, school, neighborhood or workplace. It's just that for most of us, our common thread isn't our education, ethnic background or even our faith- it's our money. We have computers, a roof over our heads, a job, some financial security... that makes us wealthy. Not all the same. Variety... among those who battle poverty, just as among those who enjoy their wealth... can be the spice of life. This guy rolls up to our line most Sunday nights. He seems incredibly friendly and is usually surrounded by two or three people. Rides a skateboard around skidrow- green, cheap transportation and exercise. Generally quiet, we'll chat it up about surfing or skating as he heads through the line. Last night we talked about the huge money takeover of the skating sub-culture... both the sell outs and the celebrities. We could have been talking anywhere in America- but we were on the sidewalk in the middle of the night on skid row. Poverty's the common thread and that we'll have with us as long as we have a society built on greed. Instead of focusing on the poverty, we do our best to get to know each other as people. It's been a healthy way to serve together.

It was hot but people still came through line overdressed. Some wearing jackets we'd given them or wool caps. A couple of guys even had gloves on. A long time friend came through line wearing a heavy jacket over a light jacket over a sweatshirt... and on and on... It looked like he had on a "fat" suit! Talking with him, I asked what the story was with all the clothes? Looking at me like it was my first night on the streets he said: "I'm homeless Eric. I sleep on the streets. Where am I going to put my clothes when I'm not with them? It's wear them or carry them." Felt dumb as dirt... and pretty well humbled. He wasn't trying to be hard on me, just reminding me of our radically different realities. He said: "Eric, I counted my clothes when I put them on today. I have 21 pieces of clothes on in this heat!" No wonder the line was so long for something to drink. Don't know that I've ever worn 21 articles of clothing all at one time and I'm quite certain that I'd die of heat stroke if I gave it a try. The homeless become human closets or they're forced to discard what they're not using- no where safe to hang it -in hopes that the change in weather sticks. The challenges of poverty go well beyond: where to sleep, eat, get something to drink, how to stay safe... there are simple issues... like what do I do with my new jacket on a hot day? I was thankful to have a friend take the time to point out the small things those of us with money overlook.

Stopping to light a cigarette, her collection of well dressed friends left her behind and hurried past our line in fear. Suddenly, dressed to the nines, she was left to walk the distance of our line alone, to the whistles and comments of many who were certain she was a starlet. Instead of rushing by in fear, as many of the new residents and visitors to the heart of the city do, as her friends had just done, when someone said something, she stopped, chatted and made a friend. By the time she got to me at the front of the line every man she'd spoken with, instead of ignored, as if they didn't exist, would have fought to protect her. I said hi, thanked her for being so friendly to all the guys and asked if I could take her photo. She smiled, posed for the camera to the hoots of the line, then crossed the street- the great divide -to where her friends were anxiously waiting. Laughing about it today as I shared the story with my family- hearing their reactions -I thought again about the words of Jesus: even a cup of cold water will not lose it's reward. Sometimes it only takes a minute to make someone's day- to smile, say hello, to look them in the eyes instead of looking away. We want to avoid the painful realities of life, like children, frightened by a movie, we cover our eyes and hurry past and hope it'll all go away: old age, nursing homes, hospitals, the poor... it only takes a minute to brighten someone's day. This young woman will be talked about for weeks by men who are ignored daily: not because of her beauty or stardom but because she stopped and took a minute to share with them, even when she might have been afraid. We can do the same and in the same way it'll be remembered. Why not join us on the streets sometime soon and help make a memory. No special training necessary- just a smile, a kind word and the willingness to take a minute and open our eyes to what we overlook... people are waiting to know someone cares... we're going to the streets this Sunday night, you're invited, you're needed... now, more than ever.

for changing lives,

Eric M. Denton