I know it's been quite a while since I've posted anything, but in terms of what I am doing, nothing has really changed.
I am still feeding people out of my home, but have slowed way down on giving out food to people since I have lost even more hours at work - 5 more hours a week gone.
Although it was a financial blow, the flipside is not having a job at all - so I remain thankful to have any kind of employment to go to rather than being out there with millions of other people looking for jobs that basically do not exist.
Honestly, I have no idea on any given day if I will be employed by the end of that day. Our company is laying off people just like a mulitude of other companies - there are no guarantees.
I have received countless emails from people going through living hell - some of them have taken up my offer, some people just can't quite get past the idea of going go someone's home for a "handout".
My next strategy to help those people overcome that is simply to start posting one day per week - probably a Saturday - at a given time - where I will do a cookout and just wrap up food to go. I have no ulterior motives here other than to give people something good to eat. If you were to see the email I recieve - well - it could easily be your neighbors with the 3,000 square foot house and Hummer sitting in the driveway that are suffering so badly, they are resigned to eating bologna and hot dogs and whatever else is on the cheap.
Seriously - for those of you that are not hurting financially - I implore you to start talking to your neighbors and friends. People have their dignity and pride, they don't WANT to go around looking like beggars asking for handouts. It's all in how you approach the subject. Very cautiously, obviously, but there are people all around everyone at this point that show one face outside and are living in want inside of their homes. I feel especially for the kids of these families. I am not telling anyone what to do, but if you have it in your heart to help people - perhaps starting on your own street is a good place to start looking. When you look at the numbers of people being laid off every single month, it's a staggering number. Don't let the media's downplay of it fool you, a half million people plus losing jobs every month is an unbelievable amount. That's the size of a medium sized city without jobs.
I intend to continue on with this as long as I am financially able to do so. I have plenty to lose - just like everyone else - my house being on the forefront - but so far, having tenants renting rooms in my house is enough to offset the loss of hours at work. To put my situation into a little clearer perspective, I am down about a grand a month in pay. I've done what everyone else is doing - cut out the things in life you don't absolutely have to have. I even put up laundry T's with clothesline on the side of my house to dry laundry on, which has actually cause a significant savings in electricity simply for the fact of so much laundry being done here.
Anyway, enough of me, I just wanted to post an update because I know there are numerous people that are interested in this idea. I'm even more encouraged that several people have written me emails telling me they have started doing their own version of what I am doing. More power to all of you that are doing so! It matters now HOW you do it, the encouragement is that you ARE doing something!
Folks, if you don't want to do something like this, great - if you are able, perhaps you can donate some money to St. Mary's Food Bank and similar places which are seeing the largest numbers of people coming looking for food than they have ever seen. If you are not able - and you need a good, hot-cooked meal, well, my place is always open!
Feedjit
