Seven years ago, I helped a woman named Jenny who was struggling with homelessness for a period of about six months. I assisted her with getting into a program that offered housing and the ability to get an education. I hooked her up with Wednesday’s Gift, who bought her a computer and clothing. It seemed like a perfect situation to me, but things didn’t work out. I ended up helping Jenny relocate to Sacramento twice, and then she fell off my radar. Late last year she looked me up and needed help. So, I’ve been doing what I can, which has mostly been driving her places to get her life in order. Plus, my friend Nicole Moore, an organizer extraordinaire, has been helping with Jenny as well.
I’m hopeful that things are going to work out for Jenny this time. She’s trying to get into Homeward Bound in Novato, which could be just the thing she needs. They’ve got all kinds of resources, which will be perfect for Jenny. She learned about Homeward Bound through the Ritter Center, where she is also currently getting services. Wednesday’s gift is also helping Jenny again too. Things are looking up.
Transportation is an issue though, and Jenny asked me to find her a bike. If you’ve got a working womens bike gathering dust and taking up space in your garage, preferably a mountain bike or hybrid, I know someone who could really use it. Please contact me if you do!
Over the years, I’ve helped out a few homeless people. First it was my friend Brenda who lived under the Beale St overpass back in the 1990’s. I helped her get inside after she was brutally attacked and realized she was either going to have to get into a housing program or she wasn’t going to make it. She’s still inside today too, although not happy with her accommodations on 6th Street. The last time we spoke she asked me to help her do something about her squalid living conditions, but I really didn’t feel I could. It’s not like I was passing her by in the street every day on my way to and from work at the Palace Hotel, like I had been when we first met. Back then it was easy, an hour or two here or there, getting to appointments and ushering her through the system. Now she wanted me to TAKE ON the government system that for decades had put a roof over her head, and I didn’t have the fight in me so I demurred.
We do what we can, when we can and that’s really all we can do. If we can do a little more, that’s all the better. That’s why I’m writing this, because I can. If you’ve got a working bike Jenny could use, please let me know. I promise it will go to good use.