By: Willa Peterson

Founder, Sheltering the Unsheltered, Incorporated

Birthdays are special to me. In August 2021, I was looking forward to celebrating a milestone birthday with family and friends. One problem…COVID19!

The dastard virus usurped any public celebration. Still waiting to celebrate this milestone birthday, God brought to my attention that there was a "public" out there, who were not family or friends, a "public", whom I did not know, the homeless.

So, with excitement, a friend and I prepared and set out to celebrate my birthday with them by making lunch bags which were filled with a sandwich, chips, a piece of fruit, a bottle of water, and of course, a slice of birthday cake! Included in the bag were toiletries: body washcloths, hand sanitizer, a packet of Kleenex, toothbrush, and toothpaste. Each bag was adorned with a label which read "Celebrating You Today!"

The people, whom I refer to as our "unsheltered" neighbors were so enamored to receive this unexpected gift.

As we drove away, I made a commitment by God’s grace to provide a lunch and toiletries to them regularly. Every other week for over two years now, I have been blessed along with my supporters to provide food, toiletries, clothing, and during the colder months, blankets, sleeping bags, hats, and gloves to our unsheltered neighbors. A few of them have been living on the street for the two years we have been serving them; many are transient. Some have shared their stories with me because of the rapport that has been established. I leave them desiring to help in other ways that are more sustainable but for now, I am thankful that my supporters and I have been blessed to meet some of their basic needs. We invite you to join us in our quest to provide much needed supplies for our unsheltered neighbors. Your support is greatly appreciated!