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Coming home over the inner-coastal on the Blue Heron Bridge is a beautiful sight. Crystal clear turquoise waters, yachts in the marinas & palm trees everywhere.
Unfortunately all of that beauty hides a very sad reality for the people who live under that bridge. 50 plus at last count. And that's just the ones I've met and have given backpacks to.
When I met the pregnant girl sleeping on the ground in the picture, she had nothing. No clothes, no bedding, nothing except what she was wearing. We check on her daily to make sure she has food and any other necessary essentials. Backpacks for the Homeless provides more than just backpacks filled with toiletries & snacks. We also provide bedding, bug spray, clothing, reading glasses and we're setting goals for so much more.
An adorable little dog named Daisy Mae just got her first real bath in a long time. She belongs to an elderly gentleman that lives in his broken down car under the bridge. Backpacks help animals in need too. We will provide blankets, food, bowls, combs, shampoo, toys, collars & leashes if needed.
However, our goal is not just to help the homeless & their pets, but to end homelessness altogether. A big goal yes, but we believe it’s an achievable one. Backpacks is working with other charities raising funds to build a true homeless shelter. One that will help anyone that is homeless. Believe it or not, there are no shelters in this city that accommodate the handicapped!! And the few shelters that do exist are filled to capacity every night and have waiting lists a mile long.
We want to build a shelter/ranch that not only would provide a place to sleep at night, but a kitchen so we can feed everyone, a computer room so we can help them find jobs & housing. We want to provide showers & dressing rooms & maybe even small apartments. We'd like to have counseling & assessment personnel that can get anyone who needs it into drug or alcohol treatment, signed up for any assistance programs and mental health care. Basically anything that they need to get back on their feet.
I have found that those who have been homeless or who are still homeless want to help others the most. The people with the least amount of money tend to give the most. Only they can understand how horrible & scary it can be to be alone on the streets. It doesn’t make a lot of sense considering we live in Palm Beach, one of the wealthiest cities in America, yet we have this huge homeless population. Here are some statistics for this area that are just mind blowing considering the amount of wealth that this city has.
42% of Palm Beach County residents make less than $32K a year. At $8.75 an hour, a minimum wage worker, working full time can only afford to pay about $400-$500 a month in rent. Unfortunately the average two bedroom apartment rents for $1200. A one bedroom apartment on average cost around $950 a month.
Palm Beach County, which covers about 2400 square miles, reportedly has about 1500 homeless people. I personally think this number is way off. I look for homeless people to help everyday & I see hundreds of them on the streets just within a few of miles of my home. Multiply that times the number of square miles in this county and the numbers are mind boggling!
Something has got to give. We, as a nation, have got to start helping one another. If you stopped and talked to these people, I don't think you could continue your daily lives as usual. I certainly couldn't. So please go out and do something for a stranger today. Carry some clean clothes in your trunk to hand out to someone in need. Yes, the ones you were going to donate anyway. When you pick up dinner for your family tonight grab an extra burger for that guy living on the street that you just drove past. I bet, by the time you part ways, you will start thinking differently about the homeless. I know I did.
Grateful, Melanie
https://www.gofundme.com/2ewbe9nz
Unfortunately all of that beauty hides a very sad reality for the people who live under that bridge. 50 plus at last count. And that's just the ones I've met and have given backpacks to.
When I met the pregnant girl sleeping on the ground in the picture, she had nothing. No clothes, no bedding, nothing except what she was wearing. We check on her daily to make sure she has food and any other necessary essentials. Backpacks for the Homeless provides more than just backpacks filled with toiletries & snacks. We also provide bedding, bug spray, clothing, reading glasses and we're setting goals for so much more.
An adorable little dog named Daisy Mae just got her first real bath in a long time. She belongs to an elderly gentleman that lives in his broken down car under the bridge. Backpacks help animals in need too. We will provide blankets, food, bowls, combs, shampoo, toys, collars & leashes if needed.
However, our goal is not just to help the homeless & their pets, but to end homelessness altogether. A big goal yes, but we believe it’s an achievable one. Backpacks is working with other charities raising funds to build a true homeless shelter. One that will help anyone that is homeless. Believe it or not, there are no shelters in this city that accommodate the handicapped!! And the few shelters that do exist are filled to capacity every night and have waiting lists a mile long.
We want to build a shelter/ranch that not only would provide a place to sleep at night, but a kitchen so we can feed everyone, a computer room so we can help them find jobs & housing. We want to provide showers & dressing rooms & maybe even small apartments. We'd like to have counseling & assessment personnel that can get anyone who needs it into drug or alcohol treatment, signed up for any assistance programs and mental health care. Basically anything that they need to get back on their feet.
I have found that those who have been homeless or who are still homeless want to help others the most. The people with the least amount of money tend to give the most. Only they can understand how horrible & scary it can be to be alone on the streets. It doesn’t make a lot of sense considering we live in Palm Beach, one of the wealthiest cities in America, yet we have this huge homeless population. Here are some statistics for this area that are just mind blowing considering the amount of wealth that this city has.
42% of Palm Beach County residents make less than $32K a year. At $8.75 an hour, a minimum wage worker, working full time can only afford to pay about $400-$500 a month in rent. Unfortunately the average two bedroom apartment rents for $1200. A one bedroom apartment on average cost around $950 a month.
Palm Beach County, which covers about 2400 square miles, reportedly has about 1500 homeless people. I personally think this number is way off. I look for homeless people to help everyday & I see hundreds of them on the streets just within a few of miles of my home. Multiply that times the number of square miles in this county and the numbers are mind boggling!
Something has got to give. We, as a nation, have got to start helping one another. If you stopped and talked to these people, I don't think you could continue your daily lives as usual. I certainly couldn't. So please go out and do something for a stranger today. Carry some clean clothes in your trunk to hand out to someone in need. Yes, the ones you were going to donate anyway. When you pick up dinner for your family tonight grab an extra burger for that guy living on the street that you just drove past. I bet, by the time you part ways, you will start thinking differently about the homeless. I know I did.
Grateful, Melanie
https://www.gofundme.com/2ewbe9nz