It’s Wednesday morning and I’ve been up since 6:30. I had to pack.

It occurred to me while I was  packing that I am going to live with the homeless and the only thing I need is: 1 change of underwear, a pair of socks, another (thicker) t-shirt, my heart meds, toothbrush, a pad of paper and pen and a picture of Noah – my son. I grappled with the idea of taking deodorant and am now leaning toward not.

It occurred to me very clearly last night that, I am going to the homeless. I am visiting them in their home – which might be a gully, cul de sac or on a grating somewhere.  I am not, nor am I trying to pretend I will be  homeless.

I am coming home on Friday night, and if need be I can come home today to a safe and dry home, with a fridge reasonably well stocked. 

I am meeting the team at the office at 9.  We are equipped with brand new sleeping bags we scored from the Barter Network. The itinerary for ’3 Days….’ is full and comprehensive. Here is our schedule for today:

Please feel free to join us at the Drum Circle. The goal of ’3 Days on the Street’ is to bring together all peoples, to talk, and get to know each other.  Through this we hope to break down stereotypes and demarginalize any group.

We are also in need of support for ’3 Days…’ Our plan was to raise funds to purchase another van for our homeless initiatives. Fundraising did not go exactly as planned. We are at about $10,000 or 13% of what we hoped.  I’m not sure why we came in low; perhaps you can tell me.

Go to www.veahavta.org and click on UPCOMING EVENTS to sponsor my 3 days out there. So – here I go. I won’t be homeless, that is clear; I can come home if I need to – obviously; I will however have the opportunity to meet and get to know, at least a bit, some other citizens of this – the finest city ever, with some of the greatest wealth – be they living in a box, under a tree or in a fine condo somewhere.

Please join us. I am honored to be traveling with Alvaro and Boris Castellano and Jackie Stein. They are stalwart, hard  working people who jumped at the opportunity to share in this mitzvah (deed), action of tikun olam (repairing the world).  Well done to all!

Thank you to all Ve’ahavta staff, affiliate and partnering agencies and organizations, Theresa Shrader – our advisor on the street, family,  friends and my boy Noah for letting me go.

B’shalom, Wish us luck

Avrum

 P.s. I’ll try to update my blog. If I can’t find time or an internet cafe along our journey, I’ll update y ou on the weekend. Z’ei G’zunt (It’s Yiddish for Be healthy)