The other day when I came out of the grocery store. I was approached by a woman with an interesting story. She said her grandmother had passed away and had left her everything, but she needed $400-500 to get clothes and makeup for the funeral. She promised to pay me back $3,500 if I could give her the money. I declined as nicely as I could and wished her good luck.

While I don’t believe that the person who approached me was telling a truthful story, I still walked away thinking what if she was? I couldn’t hand her the money, but maybe there were resources available where she could get clothing and makeup so she would have something to wear to the funeral.

Often I feel the same way when I’m approached by people who say they are hunger and need money for food. I don’t want to hand something directly to them, but I know from the research we have been doing that it isn’t simple to find resources.

Below is the engaged activity and discussion. We will probably spend most of the month on this, since it has multiple parts and will take a little time and effort.

Action:
1. Keep an eye open for pan-handlers and people asking for things. Also think about past situations when maybe you didn’t have the best answer when someone needed help. Make a list of what types of things were needed. (Share your lists, so we can all learn from each other’s observations.)
2. Look for resources you could offer them to help fill the needs they have. (Food Banks, soup kitchens, places that offer shelter, etc.)
3. Compile the information in a way that would be useful in the situations you observed when you were asked to provide help.

Discussion:
• How can you format the resources, so it is available when you need it?
• How can you transition the conversation with a pan-handler from “Sorry I can’t” to here is this information?
• Do you think gathering resources and having the information readily available is useful, or is it unlikely to be used/helpful?
• Share your progress! 😊

Gassho,
Shoka
Sattoday/LAH