3 Aug 2020

I sit writing today’s edition from the comfort of my couch.

It’s a cold, wet, miserable day. I haven’t really done much today – a few loads of washing, and supervised some men who came and painted the en-suite bathroom. I supervised very well.

I drank some coffee, I ate some lunch, I looked at the weather radar and figured there weren’t going to be any lengthy fine breaks in the weather for me to walk the dog and increase my step count for the day, so what the heck I’ll sit on the couch and read my book.

Life is comfortable in my house. I have electricity that can be used to heat the house, and create more light if it gets too dark and gloomy.

I have a kettle. I have a coffee machine. And yes I have an amazing bathtub. I have internet access, a television, a washing machine and a dryer. I have lots of books, photo albums and other stuff that makes my home a very comfortable place to see out the bad weather.

But….

It’s Homelessness Week in Australia this week. As I look out at the weather that has not let up all day, and see what the temperature reading is, I cannot begin to imagine what life is like for those who don’t have homes to go to, let alone comfortable homes with electricity and heating and coffee machines and large bathtubs.

Where do we start to make a difference for the thousands of people for whom rough sleeping is a way of life? Definitely there are organisations who can help out – our church recently collected rugs and blankets, for example. Others collect dignity bags for women. There are people who provide food. Provide laundry facilities. There’s good stories and ways of helping, if we take the time to look.

Let’s share ideas amongst our little HLD group about how we can make a difference.