"Barbara"

Meet "Barbara" she is homeless and sleeping behind the convention center, with "men that are creepy". Barbara is so broken, sick, and really at the end of her rope. Barbara is 52, with a 4th grade education, she states she has brought her reading up to a 5th grade level, she says that with pride. After I lifted my mouth off the table i said..."How does this happen?" We are the same age, she walked out of the 4th grade and NO ONE ran after her. She said my parents were druggies and drunks, there was no one who cared. Lena states:' She took care of herself." Barbara agrees. Her problems are so big, i don't even know what to say or do. Lena(I Love Lena, she has a beautiful way with EVERYONE!) puts on her red cape and begins with: "Darlin' you just sit right down here with me, everything is going to be alright." I listen, knowing, it's not. Wondering how Lena can make this OK.
We brought her over to our table, she does get SSI(for most of us that is disability, usually $776.00 to last a month).
Every question Lena Robinson asked her she had tried, she told Lena "I do everything I am told, still no place to live." Her thoughtful sister tore up her BC(Birth Certificate), cut her EBT card and her SSI card up. (like a MasterCard, that her SSI money goes straight onto every first of the month)
You wonder HOW these people do not jump into an oncoming train, their lives are so messed up. Their families are equally messed up, or have "QUIT" on them. Many have stories and long histories of drug usage, Barbara admitted to being a cocaine user in her day, admittedly has HIV, but then there comes a time you wake up in a fog and ask yourself "How did I get here, and How do I get out?" If we believe in what God tells us, that every life matters, and that there is a plan for all of us, do you think this was HIS plan? I try to think not. Is it that Jesus wants US to take the "little tiny Barbara's by the hand" and love them anyway. I know for sure, I have been unlovable, but it didn't look so painful, and my story never got me HERE. By the time Lena & I and Robert (we made her feel like she was in a crisis intervention) were done with her, she had a new pair of glasses($1.00) she had found her phone, (she had lost it with all her contacts) and Lena had made a few calls, but truly, nothing was different. But if you look closely at the before and after photos, Barbara's face has changed, there is new light. She has a little more energy, and a little more hope, even though, nothing really got her out of living behind the convention center, I thought of her last night, as I laid in my AC home, under my crisp cotton sheets. Wondering, "How is Barbara tonight?" I did ask God, 'what is my part in this whole debacle of homelessness? How can we let this happen in Richmond, Va? What is the answer today for Barbara. If only We could get a few philanthropic folks to throw money our way, we could give Barbara a bed, a toliet and a hot plate, her life would FEEL like mine. Precious.

UPDATE
Update on Miss Barbara: Who last night slept behind the Richmond Convention Center
Today Lena Called me(5 pm/ish) and said she heard from "Barbara" and she has been housed in "Section 8" housing, she was given a two bedroom home with help. She will no longer sleep on the streets, she called Lena crying today...and "Thankful for giving her HOPE to get through another night!"
Loving Barbara through. If you are interested: Barbara will need household items: I will give her a bed(double), dresser, a small amount of 'used' furniture...She will need towels, sheets, household cleaners, trash bags, you know..a starter kit. Please, if you can only afford ONE item, make it a new item. One new towel. One new sheet set. No junk please. No Nick Nacks, Just one thing.
God is good!
Thanks for all your encouragement and prayers! Listen & Love!