Blogging for Gold

Have you missed me??  I didn't mean to just disappear without calling.  I could say that I lost my password....had a family emergency.....felt like we were just moving too fast....but none of those things are true.  Really, I've just been dried out.  Feeling like I need to refocus my...focus.  I love writing, and I will never stop!  But I'm participating in Lent....so I've been trying to spend less time on the computer (a task made difficult by my profession!).  I've been trying to write in my private journal more, public one less.  Pray more.  Eat less.  Love more.  Judge less.  Listen more.  Talk less.  It's been a challenging road, so far, but I have no doubt that when Easter weekend gets here, I'll feel fabulous.  I always do ;-) 

That said, I'm blogging today about something that I think every person should be aware of.

I live in a small niche of Orlando called Delaney Park.  It is a sweet, quiet (for the most part), safe spot nestled between the bustling traffic of 408, the handful of skyscrapers downtown, the revolving door of Orlando Regional Medical Center, and the I-4 overpass; a place which has become a home for a number of displaced and homeless individuals in Orlando.  What a world of difference that exists between my cozy little 'hood, and that overpass... 

During college, the only time I ever spent downtown was at night.  And there were always people begging for money, food, cigarettes...alcohol.  My compassion for them was limited because I couldn't get past my fear of them, and because I was distracted by my own glittery, shallow existence.  6 years later, when I started working downtown, I was forced to confront this population in a different light; literally.  There was a couple living on some park benches that stood between my parking garage, and my office building.  There were others scattered at bus stops, on the steps of the courthouse, huddled in the doorways of abandoned buildings.  There was no way to avoid their desperate looks, requests, and sometimes even emotionally unstable outbursts (if I thought I was scared before...).  Even where they weren't, they were; the stairwells all smelled like urine (although, that could have just been the frat boys from last Friday), a stray blanket would be strewn across an empty tree.  An abandoned suitcase would be tucked behind a dumpster.  A grocery cart full of someone's sole possessions would be covered with a tarp, in case of a Florida storm. 

Seeing the underbelly of our city in the glare of daytime day after day after day, prompted me to action.  I couldn't just keep walking by, speeding up, playing deaf, and crossing the street to avoid the harsh reality that: Orlando has a problem.  (That article was posted a mere 5 days before I would start working at my new job for the Orange County Courthouse, located in downtown Orlando).  I wanted to do something, I wanted to help.  I didn't have any delusions that I would be able to solve this problem overnight, or that I would singlehandedly be the savior for the homeless in Central Florida.  I just knew that I was 25 years old, blessed beyond words, and capable of giving back.  But the first thing that had to go?  My attitude.  Thinking of the homeless population as only those whom I saw wandering the streets of downtown, begging for money.  Assuming that they're there because they are either an addict, mentally ill, or lazy.  Refusing to see them as people, individuals with thoughts and feelings, just like me.  Or my brother, sister, friend...SON.  These are people...someone's daughter, someone's son.  Once I was able to swivel my head, finding an outlet became easy.  I quickly was guided toward the Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida, an organization which has provided housing, meals, financial and health services, both mental and physical, among a myriad of other outreach programs since 1987.  (Learn more about what they offer here.)  Upon attending an orientation for volunteers, I learned that I had LOTS of misconceptions about who comprises the homeless population in my city, and around the country.  I heard some amazing testimonies from men and women who benefited from the Coalition, and were able to find jobs and sustain a home for themselves and their family.  I witnessed the heartbreaking number of children, newborns through high school, living at their various campuses, trying to escape homelessness with their parents.  It didn't take long for me to fall in love with this place, and the work that it was doing; especially in a city where so many, including myself, are guilty of looking the other way.  I soon after began volunteering on an as needed basis at the women's center as a babysitter, so mothers could attend workshops and classes which would help pave the way toward their independence and their FREEDOM from HOMELESSNESS!  Talk about a humbling experience. 

This month, the coalition is hosting one of its main fundraisers for services.  It directly benefits all the services I listed above, and more, helping the coalition to continue to do the amazing, noble, and selfless work that so desperately needs doing in our 'City Beautiful'. 

Maybe you like these guys?  Then I HIGHLY recommend you see them in concert at the 19th Annual Hearts for Gold concert on March 24th, 2012!!!  You won't just be seeing a concert, you'll be helping to change lives!!! 

I won't be at the show (nothing against Little Big Town, but I already had a date with my little big guy)....but you can bet what I can't spend in tickets, I will be spending in supplies for the women's center.  I hope you can make some room on your calender, and in your budget!!!!

Thanks, y'all :)  See you after Lent.