Take a quick second and think about your daily routine and what it consists of? My guess is that most of you would answer similarly to waking up, brushing your teeth, and then eating breakfast. After this, I would assume that the average American would then head to work and clock in, take a lunch break at some point, and then later that evening, clock out, eat dinner, and go to bed. There’s nothing special about this day as it is just an average day for most American citizens. Now think about what your day would look like if you weren’t sure how or if you would be able to acquire food, water, or shelter. For a person struggling with homelessness, being able to have access to these basic necessities on a regular basis would be a dream.
In the Portland metropolitan area, a little over 4,000 people are currently experiencing homelessness. These people struggle to find places to sleep, food to eat, and water to drink. There are meal programs out there that offer food for these people who are struggling however, these programs are struggling themselves. Their food supply has been limited due to the Covid19 pandemic. Blanchet House, a meal program located on 3rd Ave. explains that they are “…really concerned about running out of food.” Grocery stores are unable to donate as much food due to Covid19 thus, less donations are coming in which leads to less food available for serving. In addition, it has been explained that the results of Covid19 has increased the demand for food which is making it even more difficult to get all the mouths fed. Blanchet House is not the only one experiencing this struggle. Rescue Mission and Stone Soup have had the same problems and reportedly said that they all “…have similar concerns- our lines are getting longer.”
So, how can you make an impact? How can you help those dealing with homelessness and provide them with good nutrition? What can you do to make someone’s daily struggle a little better? It’s simple. You can donate food to these organizations as they aren’t able to access the same amounts of food as they were able to before the pandemic. You can also donate containers and brown paper bags. Being that we are all in the midst of Covid19 and Governor Brown has called for social distancing, these meal programs have to serve food to-go. The more bags and containers that these organizations can get, the easier it is for the homeless to receive their to-go meals. Do what you can to make someone’s difficult daily routine a little less difficult.
Donate now by calling: 503-241-4340 or donating online: https://blanchethouse.org
Sources:
https://www.streetroots.org/news/2020/03/25/portland-meal-program-homeless-running-short-supplies
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