For the last two weeks my poor producer who sits behind me has been forced to listen to my dozens of daily conversations with a viewer in need of help.
Rarely do I feel comfortable stepping out to aid total strangers. I'm not an idiot and don't want to be killed!
But this particular viewer is a 54-year-old single female, working as a hostess in a local restaurant. She told me two weeks ago that she is essentially on the verge of homelessness. I remember my mother at that age. I could not turn my back on this woman.
I have called, emailed, Facebooked, and tweeted every person, pastor, and charity contact I know from several states, asking for any leads on a low-rent apartment.
So far, only two options have revealed themselves.
This woman in need moved in with the first. And she has not stopped complaining ever since. The locks, the air, the temperature, the neighborhood, the bus route. It's all bad.
She has changed the terms of the rent payment several times already.
Further, she has not returned the calls from Catholic Charities and other organizations who have reached out to her and offered financial counseling and other long-term, helpful strategies to help her rebuild her life.
On my lunch break today, I pursued the second option on her behalf: an apartment south of downtown Fort Worth. I spoke to the landlord and drove by to check out the neighborhood. Not the greatest, I must admit.
So I perused nearby areas looking for "For Rent" signs. I spoke to a postal worker delivering mail on foot to see if he's stumbled upon available rentals. I asked several neighbors if they knew of any place for this woman.
Nope. Nothing's available.
And so I ask you this: What do I do now?
Rarely do I feel comfortable stepping out to aid total strangers. I'm not an idiot and don't want to be killed!
But this particular viewer is a 54-year-old single female, working as a hostess in a local restaurant. She told me two weeks ago that she is essentially on the verge of homelessness. I remember my mother at that age. I could not turn my back on this woman.
I have called, emailed, Facebooked, and tweeted every person, pastor, and charity contact I know from several states, asking for any leads on a low-rent apartment.
So far, only two options have revealed themselves.
This woman in need moved in with the first. And she has not stopped complaining ever since. The locks, the air, the temperature, the neighborhood, the bus route. It's all bad.
She has changed the terms of the rent payment several times already.
Further, she has not returned the calls from Catholic Charities and other organizations who have reached out to her and offered financial counseling and other long-term, helpful strategies to help her rebuild her life.
On my lunch break today, I pursued the second option on her behalf: an apartment south of downtown Fort Worth. I spoke to the landlord and drove by to check out the neighborhood. Not the greatest, I must admit.
So I perused nearby areas looking for "For Rent" signs. I spoke to a postal worker delivering mail on foot to see if he's stumbled upon available rentals. I asked several neighbors if they knew of any place for this woman.
Nope. Nothing's available.
And so I ask you this: What do I do now?
‘For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.'
And the king will say to them in reply, 'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.'
And the king will say to them in reply, 'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.'
Matthew 25: 35-40
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