Ok.. I did something that I never did in my entire life. I went to Church Friday, Saturday and Sunday!
I feel nice about it and it’s funny to witness all the bureaucrats you battle with during the week under the same roof!
Hey? As I wrote over one year ago, I am not going to write the going ons within the House of the Lord. It’s a place of peace and tranquilly!
It was a rough three days because everything is close but as always, some issue catches Charlie’s eye!
I have been volunteering at the Soup Kitchen during these past few months and I liked it!
Everyone seem to be happy at that place but everything isn’t honky dury! < Is that how you spell it? >
Anyway, Saturday afternoon, me and a worker decided to go outside for a smoke before the mad rush started! Hundreds of people go to that needy place and the numbers seem to go up and up on a daily basis.
While chatting with the worker, I noticed a young woman in her 30s squeezing under the stairway of the Soup Kitchen. Just like a cat would run under a stairway!
For a minute, I believe she was going under the steps for a drink and do some drugs! I never noticed people going under there in the past so I was curious.
I was told that the young girl have been living under the stairs at the Kitchen since the cold month of January!
You see? This place is hung out by a lot of unfortunate people. Myself, I don’t take the time to communicate with these lost souls. I go right inside and once my job is done? I quickly leave the premises. I don’t asked questions and I believe this is the reason that no one bothers me but in this case? It’s a totally different ballgame.
I notice this girl who’s first name is Joanne in the kitchen. She always polite and always asked for tea! She’s quiet and don’t cause any problem. I was very surprised to see her living under the stairway.
Mind you? I was more upset once I learned that she was four months pregnant! I was told that she already had seven kids. I asked her in the kitchen if I could have a look in her little home?
She told me – No problem!
After my volunteer job was done? She wasn’t around she I opened the piece of wood < her suppose door > and looked inside. My God???? It’s a terrible atmosphere to live in!!!
I didn’t wish to cause trouble. I noticed a few people were watching me so therefore I left the area and went home.
Once in my little room? This issue really bothered me so at 8:50pm, I put my jacket and the holy cross around my neck and decided to go at the shelter.
It’s really scary to go in that area at night because you don’t know what to expect? There’s a ramp for the handicap to go at the kitchen but the less fortunate builted a tent with blankets in the corner.
Once at the stairway the girl wasn’t around.
One guy shouted- What are you looking for?
I answered - The girl named- Joanne!
She quickly came out from the tent to chat with me. I asked her if she mind that I wrote about this issue?
She told me to go ahead so I began with my straight forward questions and I didn’t have note pad with me but this is what I have been told.
Joanne is 30 years old. 1/4 black and ¼ Native. She had seven kids so far and she has 5 Grand Children. She has never seen her Children.
She had her tubes done but she still managed to get pregnant.
The poor girl told me that she doesn’t drink or take drugs while she’s pregnant. She admitted before the pregnancy that she’s an alcoholic. She still smoke cigarettes and I saw her rolling butts to make a nice smoke.
She doesn’t collect a welfare check because she doesn’t have a fixed address. She also told me that the reason she stays with the men in that little man made tent is to keep warm.
Joanne also added she allows someone to sleep beside her under the steps for her safety!
She also added that it’s very cold under the stairway and she only had one small candle to keep warm.
Joanne can’t squeeze under the stairway as easily as in the past because she’s 4 months pregnant!
She added that she’s bared for life from the woman shelter because of a dispute with staff.
Joanne also told me that there’s Rats and mice’s all around her so call bed.
She is concern of the health of her unborn child!
After our 10 minutes conversation, I shook her hand and congratulated her for not drinking while she was pregnant and quickly left the premises!
So??? What is the Lord Government going to do for this unborn child? Will Family Services help this woman?
I know for a fact that she cannot go at Family Services because with their open Cubicles policy?
These Social workers will degrade her big times! The Capital is the only place in this Province that the poor are not treated with Dignity! These people at Family Services must start treating the poor with Respect and a huge start would be to visit this poor pregnant woman who lives under the stairway at the Shelter.
I know for a fact that my blog goes out there to all the elected MLA’S and bureaucrats!
I will see this woman every day and I will asked her if someone from the Government have contacted her yet?
I will let the public know if The Lord Government cares about the unborn so stay tune for more stories on this very emotional issue!
As I told someone this morning, Why the hell do I get involved in these issues???? Why can’t I be like everyone else and mind my own business??? Oh well? As I said in the past- When my day of judgment arrive? He cannot say that I didn’t try to give my fellow human being a helping hand!
Will the Lord Government help this unborn child or while they allowed this pregnant woman to live outside with the Rats or mices??? Stay tune?????
YOU DON’T BELIEVE MY STORY???? GO HAVE A LOOK FOR YOURSELF AT THE SHELTER!!!!!
Excuse the style and grammar of this update because I just write the darn thing and send it along the information highway!!!
What's your view on this issue???
13 comments:
If this woman really cared about her unborn child she would go to the hospital or to Family and Community Services. I'm sure an open cubicle would be better than under dirty stairs. You should go and join an order of brothers or monks - and then your good works will really benefit those who need it and not those who have no respect for themselves or others.
Diane
I'm with Charlie on this one.
Makes me think of a few moments I sat in the Mayor's office. We had a conversation about these things. He let me know that most people in Fredericton would like to help the poor more. His hands were tied and he had to accept that building an arena would keep the private sector happy and gain the support of Provincial and Federal powers.
We know how much charity has been given and we are very grateful for the kindness. What we wonder about is the justice of it all.
The Mayor told me that City Hall has no business getting involved. The Province and the Feds won't let them. This is the same Mayor, and I enjoyed his company when we talked that morning, who is pretty excited about how well things are going in the capital city. Lots of building projects and good contracts to the local entrepeneurs.
I can imagined how embarrased all the people would be if a woman like Joanne died in the dark under those steps with the little baby inside her. How proud would we all be when the national media splashed the pictures of this remarkable woman above the large print headlines and the story of her tragic death?
Pray it doesn't happen!
Instead the papers can tell about the Lord who opened the doors of his house to the lost and the broken. All it takes is for some leader to show the way of compassion and justice. That would put the way of greed and corruption to shame.
I remember watching a late night tv show when I was just a kid. It was called the Naked City. At the end of every episode the narrator would say in a solemn voice: "There are eight million stories in the Naked City and this has been one of them."
Thanks for telling the story Charlie!
Rev. George Feenstra
That is absolutely unbelieveable!! You mean to tell your readers with the amount of kitchen staff and and other such personall passing in & out of that facility that not one of those people had consern enough to call someone in authority who would be properly equipped to handle that situation?? I think that is absolute cruelity on this person and the hammer should definitly fall on someone's head for this atrosity and further more if this woman has been barred from the womens shelter why wasn't something else available to her even spending the winter in jail would be somewhat humane and the food would be healthy I sincerly hope the people of Fredericton CRY OUT to the government over something of this magnitude!!!!!
My comment is based on the fact that this person abviously is not able to look after her person without proper intervention of some sort and I would be led to believe if this is her present situation she must have suffered dire consequences in her past from her childhood on up to adulthood that has obviously led her down this past of personall distruction is our system really at a level that has caused this sort of thing to take place in our Capital amoung other cities in our province I would have to concurr that not one dime of the millions of heavily taxed dollars from cigarettes,alchol,and vlt addictions must now be confirmed is NOT reaching our community health and help centre's
No problem,,,I just wrote the story as I saw it ut that Diane comment was the best yet! I read it 30 minutes ago and I' still laughing! People around the room believe that I'm nuts?? lol...Yes.Charles LeBlanc a Monk??? Yes....I'm still laughing....lol...but they say that laughter is good for the heart!!!! My God..Diane is funny!!!
Merci Diane!!!!!...lol
On a serious note? Thanks for the kind words George....
No respect for oneself is most often not volentary this usually derives from a lifetime of personal shame and indignities!!which usually comes from a disfuntional background amoung other things-Thus the old saying, ((compassion before complaints))
Lord government has $6 million for Molson and $112 million in tax breaks for Irving but no help for a homeless pregnant woman. It is shocking.
Dear Charles,
I pray that now you have brought the plight of this young woman to the light of day, someone with the know-how will intervene in her behalf.
Thanks for doing this story.
Who would have thought in this day & age in the city of Fredercton.....
You know something??? I hear more stories when I'm on the streets! Especially when I volenteer at the Soup Kitchen!!!
You know something??? I hear more stories when I'm on the streets! Especially when I volenteer at the Soup Kitchen!!!
You know something??? I hear more stories when I'm on the streets! Especially when I volenteer at the Soup Kitchen!!!
Charles,
What happened with Joanne?
WCIE
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