Help Dan and Pete Get off the Street

Let me introduce you to Dan. Look into his amazing blue eyes and see the love and affection there. Although he is looking straight into the camera, you can see he is struggling to smile due to the deep pain and sorrow that he is undergoing.

Some months ago on a chilly autumn afternoon I met him outside of an Aldi grocery store; he was sitting on a five-gallon bucket next to a shopping cart filled with his belongings. I asked him how he got there, purchased a few groceries for him, and asked him what else I could get for him. He then asked for some warm underclothes for himself and for his friend and for some Aleve to help him cope with the pain in his left knee and hip. After the death of his mother five years ago, things started going downhill for him. He now has no family to whom he can turn, but he takes care of his dearest friend as best he can with what little he has. She came from an abusive family and now suffers from very ill health—diabetes, nerve problems and Crohn’s disease. One of her breasts had to be removed due to cancer and a large part of her intestine as well. Now Petronilla has an ostomy bag which Dan devotedly tends to several times a day.

“You’re taking care of that out here on the streets?” I asked in horror. “What do you do with the waste?”

“See this bucket,” Dan said, pointing to the object which also served as his temporary stool. My heart just bled for him, aghast at this awful situation.

Up and down the streets of the city Dan hobbles praying and hoping and struggling to survive one more day. Fifty-nine birthdays and many years of hard construction labor have taken their toll on his knee and hip. Although the temptation to give up and die is strong, his love and care for his friend is stronger. If he can do any little blue-collar side job or beg for some change, sometimes he is able to rent a motel room where they can be safe at night away from the frost and away from others who do not treat them well. At least there it is easier to clean not only themselves, but also the stained clothes and rag towels which absorb the liquid which often spills from her stoma and ostomy bag. Dan washes the cloths by hand using two five-gallon buckets; but oftentimes his fingers crack and split from the cold and from the acidic bodily fluid.

A few years ago, they left rehab and have been living clean, free from marijuana and drinking; but despite that, the world has proven itself often a cruel and harsh place, especially towards those who are in the deep hole of homelessness. Dan wants to get out of this situation, but the social services fall short of providing sufficient assistance. And even if he could get a job at minimum wage (and at the same time take care of his sick friend “Pete,” which he affectionately calls her) it would not be enough to pay for a half-decent abode with a roof over their heads, especially as the costs of housing climb higher and higher.

I have personally helped out Dan and Petronilla several times and continue to do so, but my resources are very limited as well as the resources of the tiny congregation that I serve. And so I am begging you to ask Jesus what He would want you to do now that you have heard of the wretched plight of these two children of His. Will you help me gather funds so that we can work to get Dan and Petronilla out of this dark hole of homelessness and desperation? Will you dilate your heart and show compassion?

If you choose to be generous and kind, know that God Himself will reward you, for Jesus said: Then shall the King say to them that shall be on his right hand: Come, ye blessed of my Father, possess you the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in: naked, and you covered me: sick, and you visited me: I was in prison, and you came to me. Then shall the just answer him, saying: Lord, when did we see thee hungry, and fed thee; thirsty, and gave thee drink? And when did we see thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and covered thee? Or when did we see thee sick or in prison, and came to thee? And the king answering, shall say to them: Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me. [Matthew 25; 34-40]

~Fr. Marcellus Moylan, Assistant Priest at Our Lady of Victory Traditional Catholic Church, 4916 Winton Road, Fairfield, Ohio, 45014