The other day I blogged about my wife’s efforts to help the homeless, in Tents for the Homeless, and yesterday was an effort to help out the widow of a US Marine. Now I’m exhorting you to consider another Work of Mercy (which, as I said in my post about my friend the Marine Corps widow, doing charitable works seems to be recurring theme in the Lenten Mass readings.)

Miki Odendahl, a good online friend of mine from whom I’ve learned many things is raising money to enable a man to die with dignity. This is NOT the “die with dignity” euphemism that covers “assisted suicide,” this is an effort to prevent a homeless American veteran from dying alone in a street or in a ditch somewhere…

To quote from the “GoFundMe” campaign: “My name is Miki Odendahl, and I’m the co-director of the Gilbert House Catholic Worker Community in Western Wisconsin. That sounds like something, but really, it’s just me and my best friends, with a phone line and big mouths doing what we can to serve our local area in whatever ways we are able….

… Clarence lost his apartment, whilst he was in the hospital recovering from a shattered knee injury, because his landlord was jacking up the rent. Bad news, because Clarence has been very sick, receiving kidney dialysis 3 days a week at Sacred Heart Medical Center in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Since July I’ve been trying to find affordable housing for this homeless U.S. Veteran with little success. I have talked to multiple people in the mayor’s office … I have called every single number on every single housing list I could get my hands on in three counties, I have connected with every appropriate agency and veterans group, and I have talked to every … politician’s office in my district–…-on Clarence’s behalf, and still, here we are 8 months after my husband and I put all of Clarence’s worldly belongings in a storage locker, and he is exhausted and surfing sofas with family and friends who are bending their own rental agreements to keep him out of the cold. The long and the short of it is this:

He’s dying, slowly but surely, and at the end of this month he will have worn out his welcome with all of those who can help him stay close to his hospital and his two young children. ..

...I hear many people talk about dying with dignity. This man served his country with humility and honour, and I want him to be able to live out the remainder of his young days with the dignity due a man of his station. He served or nation without expectation of anything in return, and now I want him to experience the gratitude he deserves.
PLEASE HELP ME TO FIND CLARENCE RICE A FINAL HOME.”

To contribute, please go here: Help One Dying Veteran Have a Home by Miki Odendahl – GoFundMe. It is a wonderful way for those who “Support the Troops” to do something…

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

If you have been reading my Lenten posts that are based on the readings from the Daily Mass and the Divine Office, and have been duly inspired to read the day’s readings yourself, you’ll have noticed that many of them during the first week of Lent or so have been focusing on “social justice” issues. The readings have been exhorting believers to do good works, to liberate the oppressed and so forth. Basically, to perform the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy.

After reading this article in the Buffalo News: A lonely, frigid death on Buffalo’s streets, my wife Rose Santuci-Sofranko decided to do something about it.

She created a Group on Facebook to serve as a sort of liaison or go-between for people and companies or organizations who have resources, and those who can use them. The Group is called: “P.O.P.-U.P. T.E.N.T.S. (Protect Our People – Unite Please – To Ensure Necessary Temporary Shelters) and it “is a Western New York State (and beyond) Grassroots effort to match up people who can donate tents for the homeless with those organizations who can distribute them to the homeless…in particularly those, who for whatever reason, cannot or do not make use of homeless shelters…especially in the bitter cold of Winter.”

“UPDATE: We have several agencies willing to give out the tents….BUT…we need help getting donations of tents so these agencies can give them out. Recently a homeless man died while wandering around in sub-zero temperatures in the city of Buffalo….another was interviewed on the news after having his legs amputated due to exposure to the cold…. nobody should have to live…and die…like that. We all need to do something! If you can donate and/or find companies to donate pop-up tents or other supplies…. or….if you are an organization (homeless shelter, church, social service, etc….) and can distribute these tents to the homeless… please post here, so we can match you up with each other to help those in need. Even a pop-up-tent to block the wind, and keep the snow/rain off the homeless may help to save their lives. Thank you in advance for your help! God bless you one and all!”

“Thank you in advance for anything you can do. God bless you all!”

Go here, to support the effort: 4-THE-HOMELESS-POP-UP TENTS. Please and thank you!

We are not taking any money, just putting people who have in touch with people who don’t have. Perhaps you can buy these kinds of tents and contact a homeless shelter or other advocacy organization where you live, or maybe even contact sporting goods stores and see if they can donate. You can be the go between for your area! The Facebook Group my wife started can be the place where you can coordinate efforts, suggest ideas, plan campaigns…

Ronald Hunter, Jr, via Buffalo News.

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)