If my happy little posts about taking my horsie down South to play with my friends for a few weeks haven't tipped you off, I live a financially secure life. Lots of safety nets. I make choices, sure, but they're along the lines of would-I-rather-drive-this-unsexy-but-reliable-car-another-few-years-so-I-can-afford-a-new-horse type, not, would-I-rather-feed-my-children-today-or-tomorrow. Believe me, I know the difference. I know it in my head, and I know it in my heart. It's part of the reason that I park my butt at Faith in Action each Wednesday, rather than writing them a check and pretending I understand the issues in our community and in the world.
Today was a killer. I still don't know why. Today we had people whose safety nets disappeared when they made one bad choice a decade ago. One bad choice. Ever made one? Yeah, me too. How about your children? Yeah. Mine too.
Today we had a person who'd quit her job so that she could stay home with her elderly, dying parent until he died. Hospice stops by a few times a week. Parent can not be left alone. Client has worked hard her whole life at a job that never paid enough for her to save much. Right now, if her parent lives longer than expected, she'll be evicted. Would you want to pray for your parent's death for financial reasons?
Then we had a client who started to cry in relief when I told her that we had tampons to give her.
Ponder that. Go ahead. Ever been unable to buy a tampon when you needed one? Me neither. You can't get them with food stamps, either.
Girlfriends, if you're reading this, do me a favor. Next time you buy feminine hygeine supplies, buy twice what you would normally get. Drop the rest wherever you drop food for the food pantry, or what have you. Or give them to me at book club. Or find the Faith in Action equivalent near you. It's important.
Post-menopausal women: adult diapers. Chew on that.
Today was a killer. I still don't know why. Today we had people whose safety nets disappeared when they made one bad choice a decade ago. One bad choice. Ever made one? Yeah, me too. How about your children? Yeah. Mine too.
Today we had a person who'd quit her job so that she could stay home with her elderly, dying parent until he died. Hospice stops by a few times a week. Parent can not be left alone. Client has worked hard her whole life at a job that never paid enough for her to save much. Right now, if her parent lives longer than expected, she'll be evicted. Would you want to pray for your parent's death for financial reasons?
Then we had a client who started to cry in relief when I told her that we had tampons to give her.
Ponder that. Go ahead. Ever been unable to buy a tampon when you needed one? Me neither. You can't get them with food stamps, either.
Girlfriends, if you're reading this, do me a favor. Next time you buy feminine hygeine supplies, buy twice what you would normally get. Drop the rest wherever you drop food for the food pantry, or what have you. Or give them to me at book club. Or find the Faith in Action equivalent near you. It's important.
Post-menopausal women: adult diapers. Chew on that.
We have a Diaper Bank here in DC. Until they started it up, I never thought about people not being able to diaper their children and the health consequences. I'll have to ask if they'll also take products for Mommas.
ReplyDeleteIt still drives me nuts to know that necessary hygience products like diapers and pads are taxed in most jurisdictions. Ridiculous.
Not only taxed, but you can't buy them with food stamps, which I think is patently ridiculous. Faith in Action has always given out diapers whenever we could. We used to have to rely on our member churches to donate them to us, but recently someone in Bristol saw the need and created a Diaper Bank--gets donations from all over, including from corporations. Since then we've been able to meet all diaper requests. It's been a blessing.
ReplyDelete