the spring 2012 relief bus report
TRANSCRIPT
8/2/2019 The Spring 2012 Relief Bus Report
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“You Can’t Tell Me the Lord Isn’t My Shepherd”
ese Things We Do...That Others May Live.
David*, age 60, was
homeless for over
10 years,
living in different
warehouses and in
the back of U-Haul
trucks. Life kept
dealing him blows,
even in the form of
physical assault.
He’s been stabbed,
run over by a car,
and at one point
David was shot in the head and bled for two days
before he was taken to the hospital.
A regular for over 6 years at The Relief Bus’Newark location, David came to know many
volunteers and staff members who showed him
love. They gave him socks, blankets, and clothing,
prayed with him, offered him a way off the street,
and became his friend.
Looking back, David
wonders if he was out of
his mind to have
rejected people’s help
and stayed on the streetfor so long. His famous
line was always, “I’ll call
you one of these days.”
But for all those years
David dealt with feelings
of shame and fear over
the way he looked and
smelled, and it kept him
from seeking any type of
employment.
Finally, “one of these days” came and David
actually showed up at the door of The Relief
Base. He had walked from Newark to Elizabeth,
and he really wanted to make a change. Staff
members arranged for him to get into a detox
before he entered a rehab program at the men’s
home.
David now
resides at a
Men’s Home
in NJ. Since
coming off the
street he’s got-
ten his ID, a
place to sleep,
eat, and bediscipled,
as well as put
his construction skills to use. Next month David
will be having surgery on his foot to x a bone
that has been broken for years.
As a child, his mother used to repeat Psalm
23 (The Lord is my Shepherd), and the words
never left him. When he was close to dying in a
hospital bed from gunshot wounds, David clung
to those words. And now that he nds himself on the other side, he continues to repeat them.
David says: “I’m the guy they are singing about
in “Amazing Grace.” I’m that wretch...You can’t
tell me the Lord isn’t my shepherd.”
David relaxing next to his bed
at the Men’s Home.
Joe D (Executive Director of the Men’s HomDavid*, and Outreach Leader Lance Farrell
Berry, Finance Manager, with David on the
et in Newark
*David’s name has been changed and to protect the
individual as well as The Relief Bus staff & volunteers.
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Facebook.com/thereliefbus
The Relief Bus, P.O. Box 64 Times Square P.O., New York, NY 10108
800.736.2773, www.reliefbus.org, [email protected]
Twitter.com/thereliefbus
Don’t Walk By is an annual outreach to the
homeless that consists of 1,400 volunteers
walking every block of Manhattan over four Sat-
urdays. Each year The Relief Bus helps
plan and
operate
this
massive
outreach as
part of the
NYCRescue
Alliance.
After the outreach, each Sunday morning, Relief
Bus Outreach Team Leaders went into the city to
meet with those who had been given a bed the
night before. They offered long-term options for
getting off the street and took the time to pray for
and encourage each one.
Vladimir (be-
low), is one of
the men that
Josiah Haken
met during sucha follow-up trip
at 7AM Super-
bowl Sunday
morning. Josiah
referred him to
Beth Israel
Hospital, gave
him a business
card, and Vladi-
mir went on his
way.
Vladimir came to visit Josiah at The Relief Bus
in Harlem the next week to talk more. Josiah
connected him with free legal services, and a
volunteer bought him a Metrocard so that he
could ride the subway to get there. Before he
left, they prayed together and
Vladimir cried out to God for help.
Bill Hoffman, VP General Manager helping Jan nd a bed
Katrina Monta, Executive Assistant to the President,
with her friend Baleries
Vladimir and Josiah Haken, Director of
Outreach, in Harlem
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FROM DON’T WALK BY:
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