At the beginniong of last week news was coming in about two deaths in Swansea. One was 17, the other a 37-year-old: both were known to regulars in Zac's. It's alleged that the 17-year-old had a history of addiction. The older man was found dead in his sleeping-bag on the steps of a church.
Unecessary deaths, wasted lives are always tragic but there's something unbearably poignant about dying at the door of a church.
I'm not blaming the church. (In the paper, church attenders say they've had problems in the past with rough sleepers.) There are plenty of reasons - to do with security, hygiene, health & safety, insurance, litigation - why churches can't be left open any more. And even if the door of this church had been open would it have prevented his death? I doubt it. But if it had been open and there'd been someone there to look after him?
The majority of rough sleepers have addiction and/or mental health problems. They're not easy to deal with. It's not like inviting you or me to spend the night. With the best will in the world you need proper facilities and carers who know what they're doing, not kindly souls who just want to help.
Yet when I was a little girl I remember my mum telling me about a vicar in Swansea, Reverend Leon Atkins, who opened the crypt of his church to the homeless. I don't know exactly how that worked - I've googled and can't find any mention of him (which is unusual as the most unlikely subjects turn up in a google search) - but having less of our 'expertise and knowledge about these things' didn't stop Leon Atkins making a difference. Maybe it even helped as he just did what his God told him.
'For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
Leon Atkins' church is just down the road from the church where the man died; it's an Indian restaurant now.
xx
4 comments:
It would be so simple for churches to have a doorbell/intercom connected to the vicarage, for those who need help.
But that might oblige the vicar to actually DO something :-(
Poor old man. How awful to die alone like that. But I take your point about security, insurance, etc in this day and age.
It's a problem here, too. One night when D#2 was on her way to the bus stop in downtown Vancouver, she noticed a young homeless girl covered in a blanket sitting on the sidewalk with a sign that said "Hungry. Please help." and a tin can beside her. My daughter, knowing the problem with drugs and alcohol, really wanted to help the girl if she was truly hungry. So she went to McDonalds and bought her a big mac, fries, and a hot chocolate. When she returned and gave it to the girl, the girl was SO thankful and almost welled up. I think we ALL want to help, as Jesus commanded, but we worry about those who have weapons or are on drugs or might carry some disease. I think my daughter did the right thing and I'm very proud of her considering she doesn't have enough money even for herself right now having been off work due to her surgery.
It's not that simple, stu!
But still a sad reflection on society, welshcakes.
Your daughter did just the right thing, leslie. So much better than giving money, giving time and attention too.
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