Homeless doesn't equal helpless in Saint Augustine Florida

[irishlover]

Last edited Tue Mar 19, 2013, 08:05 PM - Edit history (1)

Thanks to the efforts of two formerly homeless women, on Saturday March 9, 2013, all homeless women in St Johns County Florida were invited to a Women’s Respite Day, replete with food, supplies, makeovers, counseling and free child care. I first met Helen a few months ago when she was living in her car. Nancy had been living alternately in a truck with her husband, at various campgrounds and sometimes in cheap motels. These two women garnered the support of 50 volunteers and donations, designed programs, publicized their event and treated over 50 homeless women to a beautiful day on the grounds of St Cyprians Church. Our homeless have also held a car wash to raise over $1200.00 for a local boy who needed a liver transplant, a cookout to thank the people who serve them 365 days a year http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/07/25/12952846-seen-in-florida-human-connection-still-beautiful?lite
and a sing along at a local nursing home. We have a separate homeless only committee, led by Paul, a formerly homeless man who lived in a tent in the woods for 10 months. The homeless here rock!

[Mnemosyne]

1. Awesome story, irishlover! Thanks for sharing it! K&R nt

[Tommy_Carcetti]

2. Great story!

Shout out to the good citizens of St. Augustine, one of my favorite cities to visit.

[ShannonB]

3. Homeless - What about Bob

I'm sorry to post this here, but the article you wrote on the homeless man Bob had been archived. That homeless man was my dear uncle. My Mother and I only learned of his death after many years of searching and wondering about him when we typed in his name and birthdate on ancestry.com, the social security death index came up on him showing he passed away in January of 2009. We had not heard from him since 1997, his number had been changed.

Bob was a very smart man, he worked for a big finance company in CA, had an excellent income and was living a normal life in Nevada until his mother past away. He went into a severe depression and began having schizophrenic episodes. He eventually got on medication for it that really helped him manage it. About 5 years later his world completely fell apart when his father died suddenly when a tractor trailer lost it's brakes down a hill and ran a red light, Bob went off his medication, my mother pleaded with him to take his medication, within a matter of days Bob was not himself. That was the last we heard from him.

I would love to hear more about him if you would be so kind to do so. If you could please private message me I would greatly appreciate it. (Having just registered it will not allow me to message you).