A 24 Degree Drop in 24 Hours: What Winter Means for Homeless Neighbors
The weather changed. One day it was 50 degrees and the next it was 26. I’m no mathematician, but I believe that’s a 24 degree drop. 24 degrees in 24 hours. In my family, it meant jumping from sweatshirts to heavy jackets.
We went down to the basement and rummaged through bins of storage until we found the biggest one labeled “Winter.” Winter means a lot of things for our family. It means starting the cars 10 minutes before we have to get the kids inside of them. It means decorations. We get to put things up on our walls and doors that symbolize the significance of the celebration of family, provision, and most importantly, the birth of Jesus Christ.
But as I walked into one of the outreach locations where we serve, there were hundreds of men and women with no storage bins labeled “Winter.” These folks were waiting impatiently for the opportunity to get something, anything, that would keep them alive as they huddle under scaffolding or get chased around Penn Station.
