Author: Gunther Stern

http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/31/9/2138.full.html  From Health Affairs by Paul Gionfriddo

This morning, Monday, June 18, 2012, Georgetown Ministry Center opened it’s doors at 8 am to dozen happy faces.  This is two hours earlier than our previous time.  It allows more access.  Our new hours are from 8am to 5pm, 7 days a week.

This week Students from Jackson State University visited Georgetown Ministry Center to learn about homelessness first hand.  Roy took a group out on Monday to see where people sleep on the street.  Today Gunther took another group out.  We seem to be developing a curriculum on homelessness.  We visited sites where homeless people lived but avoided going into spaces where homeless people were at the time.  Students had an opportunity to see the conditions homeless people live under on our streets.  An exchange student from Yemen said that he had thought that everyone in the US was rich and wondered why the government didn’t do something about it.  Were it that simple.

They were great!  We really enjoyed having them.

Not long after we put the last can of tomato soup away there is a knock at the door.  Pastor Phil Gains was there with his pickup truck loaded with Nutrisystem packages that he just could not finish.  He said that each month they send him more whether or not he has finished the last and that it has built up.  Thanks Phil.  If you happen to be attending the service at Georgetown Lutheran this weekend Tell Phil we appreciate it!

Yesterday, Friday, February 18th, some people from Anthopologie, the store up in Georgetown Park, came by to see if we could use some soup. a lot of soup.  I hesitated….”Cans?”, I asked.   Yes they were cans so I said yes.  Later in the day Carla Weeks came by with another Anthropologie employee and a huge cart of cans of tomato soup.  Carla is the Senior Display Coordinator for our Georgetown Store.  She used the cans in a display and when they retired the display they though, “we can’t just throw this away.”  Thanks Carla!  Thanks Anthropologie!  Here’s to many more edible displays.  And Carla, have you thought of displays with socks?  Underwear?  We can use it all.