Publication Date: Wednesday, December 24, 2003
Our Town: 'Spirit of Giving' is alive ...
Our Town: 'Spirit of Giving' is alive ...
(December 24, 2003) by Sue Dremann
Christmas is here, at last. The bracing cold of winter, the twinkle of holiday lights, the ringing of Salvation Army bells are deep Christmas-time memories.
My sister and I, hand-in-hand with our parents, gazed in awe at the magical window displays. But another image is inextricably woven into my holiday reverie: a Santa weaving along with a flask in a paper bag, his red suit smudged from scraping against buildings.
I didn't feel revulsion. But my 5-year-old mind was stunned by the revelation that underneath the sparkle of the season all was not right in the world: Some people suffer. Nearly 45 years later, homeless persons still are as conspicuous to me as that drunken Santa.
My husband, Craig, calls them "Homeless Kachinas," after the carved dolls of the Hopi Indians' religion. They are manifestations of an illness in our society, a lack of compassion, he says. So rather than faulting the homeless, we honor them with token payments for the service of keeping us aware of our compassion. We carry a few "Kachina dollars" to give out when we walk through downtown Palo Alto.
My homeless awareness was jolted in late November when I encountered Elaine Gondring, 80, the homeless retired teacher I wrote about (Weekly, Dec. 3).
My column triggered an outpouring of concern that has made this holiday season one of the most magical of my life. People e-mailed, wrote or telephoned to express a wish to help. Their messages overflow with compassion. Donations are now approaching $1,000 toward helping Elaine relocate to a partial-care home in the Dallas area, where her daughter lives. She emerged from homeless invisibility to become a poster grandma for homelessness.
Some see themselves in her plight.
Jan Arbuckle Gorman of Dallas (a regular reader of the Weekly) wrote that she lived in Palo Alto for 35 years, went to Gunn High School and "ran businesses with my dad" -- former City Councilman Edward V. Arbuckle -- decades ago.
"If my husband and I had not left ..., we too could be sitting out on the streets. I totally understand how difficult it is to make ends meet in Palo Alto," she wrote.
Another reader e-mailed: "I'm sure if we heard the individual stories of each homeless person, 99 percent of them would inspire us to do something to help." Some "are accomplished individuals who spent a lifetime working to help those less fortunate," she wrote.
There are many Elaines. Some are accomplished, some not. Some are elderly, some physically or mentally ill, addicted, disabled -- some all of the above. Some are mothers with children, there through no fault of their own -- certainly no fault of the children. They are the hardest to think about -- one in four of the homeless in our cities are children.
Palo Alto is responding. A "Community Working Group" is building a five-story, $24 million Opportunity Center, the community's first comprehensive homeless-services facility, on Encina Avenue. It will offer housing, job counseling, substance-abuse and mental-health services, showers, laundry and health-care referrals, and is expected to complete its fund development with a community campaign next spring.
A more immediate sharing opportunity is the Weekly's Holiday Fund, which funds programs serving families and children. Last year nearly $300,000 went to 52 nonprofit organizations -- including $25,000 to the Opportunity Center for families.
Donations are approaching $200,000, and the Fund will continue accepting tax-deductible contributions through Jan. 30. Programs such as the Food Closet in East Palo Alto, the Christmas Bureau (which assists hundreds of needy families in Palo Alto) and others need our help to help others. (A list is on the Web site, www.PaloAltoOnline.com.)
There are many Elaines, and many younger counterparts, with and without children. There are many compelling, touching stories. We can't tell them all, but they are there.
Elaine has shown me that the fabled "Spirit of Giving" is alive and well in Palo Alto, a warm glow to help people come in from cold nights and wet days, a candle in our community window.
Sue Dremann is a staff writer at the Weekly. She can be e-mailed at sdremann@paweekly.com.
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