Chippewa Valley Street Ministry Journal
November 12, 2024
The number of people we're serving continues to rise: one day we served 80 of our brothers and sisters, that's an unfortunate new high for the street ministry. While we don't serve this number of people every night, we're serving between 65-70 visitors. This is very concerning with the colder weather coming as everyone's safety needs increase. We are always accepting gloves - the larger the better — and other winter gear. Please take a look at our needs list for additional information.
Our volunteers were on hand to assist a woman up
and across the street after she fell.
We're helping several single, young women who are unhoused. The commonality between them is that they are all at high risk for some sort of violence. There are three, in particular, that appear to be at higher risk as they are alone and appear to be inexperienced and naive out there. One of them looks very young and has, so far, been difficult to garner much information from. Women, in general, are at high risk for violence especially when they are not staying at the shelter at night. We've provided contact information if they need safety or help. They, along with many others, are ill-prepared for their journey on the street. We encourage awareness, alertness, and avoidance when possible.
A woman came to us and asked if we could help locate her son. She knew that he had been taken into custody and was likely incarcerated in Minnesota, but she did not know where and she simply wanted to know where he was. It took some time when we were off the street to do some checking on the internet, but we did locate him. The next time we were out, we provided the contact information and she immediately borrowed a phone and called the number given. The conversation was private but she had tears rolling down her cheeks, so it seems safe to assume that the news was not positive. As a mom, my heartstrings were tugged as I understood the need to know where her child is. I later thought that, as we all pass by our friends who appear to be sitting idly in a park or walking around town, we have no idea of the struggles each person is facing beyond just being safe and surviving. I am glad that this woman's son is relatively safe and that she now knows where he is, and I'm grateful for the reminder that we need to consider each person out there as an individual with their own struggles and concerns.
We learned that one of the men that we've served for a very long time has been sent to prison. We've acknowledged in this and in other journals that we support and understand that when laws are broken, appropriate consequences should be taken. Still, it saddens me/us to know that this person will likely never be able to overcome his record and find housing or work when he is released, at least not by traditional means. Prison is not necessarily going to "fix" the mental illness and homelessness that this person experiences. It will, for the time being, provide a relatively safe, dry environment for him to survive in until he returns to the community and is likely homeless again. He has a restitution of $4,000+ and if housing was difficult to obtain before, it will be next to impossible now. In the last 12 months, he has at least 12 camping tickets; if he is not able to stay in the shelter, can't afford a motel, does not have a vehicle to stay in or a friend that would let him stay with them, where should he go? He is not going to prison for the camping offenses but there are other offenses that are likely connected to the homelessness that contributed to the violation of probation: if he had a place to go, these incidents perhaps would not have occurred.
As always, thank you for your support. We say it regularly, but it is true: we truly could not do this without you.
Blessings to all,
CVSM staff
Thank you for your interest and your donations to
Chippewa Valley Street Ministry, we are
grateful for your generosity!
We accept new and gently used items that are clean
and in good condition.
Thank you for your support!
Hoodies - all sizes, especially XL and larger
Sweatpants - all sizes, especially L and larger
Gloves & mittens - the bigger, the better
Winter socks
Boxer briefs - all sizes
Winter hats/stocking caps
Handwarmers
Monetary donations
Please note the following information for donations:
Checks and/or gift cards can be mailed to:
CVSM
PO Box 52
Eau Claire, WI 54702
