A Gift of Hope: Helping the Homeless Page 9

  St. Anthony’s dining room also offers free meals.

  Each of these organizations is admirable for what they do, and they can also serve as inspiration and models for people who want to help the homeless in other cities.

  Although homelessness is a world problem, some other countries have this situation under far better control. But each country handles it differently. Socialized medicine in Britain and France provides better and more accessible medical and psychiatric care, which gets a lot of people off the streets. In France, mobile units in trucks, ambulances, and cars bring serious medical care right into the streets. A private organization in Paris, called the Restaurant of the Heart, brings food in trucks and vans, and a Catholic group called Emmaus, organized by the late Abbé Pierre, provides not only centers offering medical and psychiatric care but facilities to do laundry, a place to stay, and cultural activities that restore dignity. They also have outreach teams that go out seven nights a week on foot, from ten P.M. to eight A.M. We all have much to learn from each other.

  But there still isn’t enough outreach in any city, as witnessed by the fact that we see so many people living on the street, homeless, in cities all over the world. No city is exempt anymore from the problem. There are homeless people now even in small towns. Clearly, we all have to work harder and join forces to find effective solutions to the problem of homelessness. But first and foremost, we have to care.

  NINE

  In Conclusion

  None of us can change homelessness single-handedly. Even working together, it is a huge and complex problem that will take years to solve. More funding needs to be made available to programs and agencies assisting the homeless. Both in- and out-patient facilities need to be available for those who are mentally ill. If you want to help, you can find an established group that works with the homeless, and do it in a safe way.

  One of the couples who left a lasting impression on me was two people we saw in a doorway late one winter night when it was raining hard. We were on our way back, at the end of a long night, with only two black bags in the back of one van. We were tired and cold but we saw the figures sitting in a doorway, so we stopped and hopped out. And as we approached, I saw a youngish man, probably in his thirties, in a T-shirt and jeans and rubber flip-flops, soaked to the skin. There was a young woman facing him as they sat on the pavement in the doorway. They had absolutely nothing—no blanket, no covering, no supplies, not even a piece of cardboard to sit on. The young woman was crying and shivering, and as we approached, we could hear him speaking softly to her. We saw him put his jacket around her shoulders, and with one hand he was stroking her hair. His voice was as gentle as a mother’s as he told her everything would be all right as we approached, and she looked at him in despair. She was wearing his jacket and shivering, and he kept telling her it was going to be okay. She wore a skirt so wet it was plastered to her legs. I have never seen so much love between two people in my life, and he had just given her the last scrap of warmth he had, leaving him even colder as he held her gently in his arms.

  He wasn’t bemoaning their fate; he wasn’t telling her how cold he was or that it was somehow her fault that they were there. He was reassuring and comforting her, and just plain loving her, as we walked up to them, carrying the last two bags. It was like walking into someone’s bedroom. They looked up at us, and we explained what we had: warm, dry clothes, jackets, food, sleeping bags. They both cried then, and so did we, and he looked at her with a knowing smile, as though to say, “See, I told you it was going to be okay.” Without planning it, we had proven him right. Something wonderful had just happened to them, and to us. Seeing that kind of love between two people is an incredible gift. I don’t think I have ever seen a gentler man, or two more loving, grateful people.

  They thanked us and we left them there, drying off, putting on warm clothes, setting down tarps, rolling out the sleeping bags, checking out the food. It wasn’t a permanent solution for them, but it was a reminder that things could get better for them, and hopefully did. But even at their darkest moment, he was able to comfort her, and they were loving to each other. And at the moment they least expected it, a gift of hope appeared. I have never forgotten what I saw between them that night, just as I haven’t forgotten the others. But that young couple defined love for me.

  Whatever happens, I hope that you will continue to hold on to hope too. Even in our darkest moments, it is there. And in all its tenderness and beauty, even if hard to see sometimes, it is life’s greatest gift: the gift of hope. A precious gift to share.

  AFTERWORD

  When I first wrote this book, our activities on the streets were in the present tense, but as I rewrote it and added to it, they gently slipped into the past tense, much to our chagrin, particularly since in a difficult economy, with poverty programs shutting down, the need to help the homeless is ever more acute.

  I never tired of what we were doing, and I was in love with our mission on the streets, but it became financially unrealistic. The costs of our operation were just too high.

  The sad reality is that we are currently not on the streets, handing out black bags, and I miss it terribly. My heart is still on those streets.

  Because I was so anxious to maintain my anonymity, I was the sole source of funds for Yo! Angel! for all eleven years that we were active. And there is no question, supplying three or four thousand people a year with what we gave them was very costly. And serving fewer people, or giving them less, didn’t seem to work.

  I still have the dream of becoming active on the streets again. The team is still waiting and available, and I think we would all go out again in a minute. If we do so, having finally spoken up, I would seek funds from other sources to add to my contributions, and try to get discounts on the goods we buy. I think it would make a big difference, and perhaps make it possible again. The need is there, greater than ever.

  For a short time, we tried serving fewer people, which only frustrated us and the people we served. Taking only a hundred bags out seemed so paltry. We were empty-handed in an hour, people were clamoring for more, and we left too many people unserved. It just didn’t work, for them or us.

  We still had a few bags left for a while, and I would stop and give them to people I saw on cold nights until they were gone. I spend time in France, and have done a few “runs” there with a friend. It was the same idea as Yo! Angel! in the beginning. We bought sleeping bags and warm jackets, wool hats and gloves, put them in a van, and distributed them on cold nights. The French homeless population has far better resources available to them for housing, medical care, and psychiatric support than the homeless in the States, but homelessness is a serious problem there too, and around the world.

  For three years, I have chafed at no longer doing this work, and not being on the streets, and then remembered that I never intended to do it forever. Originally, we organized the trips one at a time, and then became addicted. It became “one more,” just “one more time,” and then finally a full-time operation, buying supplies, packing the bags, and delivering them on the streets on a regular schedule. But I never lost sight of the dangers. The only thing that frightened me every time was the possibility that someone on the team could get hurt, or worse. I never wanted that to happen, but it could have. Given what we did, and where we did it, the risk factor was constant and all too real. We talked about getting stabbed or shot sometimes, and then put it out of our minds and decided it was worth the risk. None of us wanted to stop. But perhaps Providence intervened here. Maybe we were meant to stop when we did, for whatever reason. Maybe the gift of working on the streets, and the many blessings we derived from it as individuals, was given to us for eleven years and no more. We weren’t foolhardy, but the team was courageous. Maybe it was meant to end when it did, on a good note, and without harm coming to any of us.

  The gift of hope passes from hand to hand, like a baton. We’re all in this together. Meeting the needs of others is humbling. And I think Albert Einstein
had it right when he said, “The only life worth living is a life lived in service to others.” May God bless you, and the people we serve.

  With all my love,

  Danielle Steel

  To Nick, who, yet again, has helped so many, even in his absence, for being the guiding light that got me to the streets, and kept me there, for him.

  To my wonderful children, Beatrix, Trevor, Todd, Sam, Victoria, Vanessa, Maxx, and Zara, who cheered me on and let me do it, despite the time, expense, and risks.

  To Bob, Cody, Jane, Jill, Joe, John, Paul, Randy, Tony, and Younes, for years of hard work, for risking their lives and giving their love and time so generously, and for being the extraordinary people they are. They are the real angels in the story, to me and to so many.

  To the many, many wonderful people I have met on the streets, for their kindness, their humanity, their dignity, for allowing us to work among them, and for the privilege of serving them. With the deepest respect, I salute your courage, love, and grace, and thank you for the many gifts you have given me.

  To Tom, for urging me to write this, despite all my protests, and for encouraging the street work from the start.

  To all of you, with all my heart and love, deep gratitude, and profound respect.

  d.s.

  And to the memory of Max Leavitt, who was so dearly loved and is so greatly missed.

  By Danielle Steel

  A GIFT OF HOPE: Helping the Homeless • THE SINS OF THE MOTHER • FRIENDS FOREVER • BETRAYAL • HOTEL VENDÔME • HAPPY BIRTHDAY • 44 CHARLES STREET • LEGACY • FAMILY TIES • BIG GIRL • SOUTHERN LIGHTS • MATTERS OF THE HEART • ONE DAY AT A TIME • A GOOD WOMAN • ROGUE • HONOR THYSELF • AMAZING GRACE • BUNGALOW 2 • SISTERS • H.R.H. • COMING OUT • THE HOUSE • TOXIC BACHELORS • MIRACLE • IMPOSSIBLE • ECHOES • SECOND CHANCE • RANSOM • SAFE HARBOUR • JOHNNY ANGEL • DATING GAME • ANSWERED PRAYERS • SUNSET IN ST. TROPEZ • THE COTTAGE • THE KISS • LEAP OF FAITH • LONE EAGLE • JOURNEY • THE HOUSE ON HOPE STREET • THE WEDDING • IRRESISTIBLE FORCES • GRANNY DAN • BITTERSWEET • MIRROR IMAGE • HIS BRIGHT LIGHT: The Story of Nick Traina • THE KLONE AND I • THE LONG ROAD HOME • THE GHOST • SPECIAL DELIVERY • THE RANCH • SILENT HONOR • MALICE • FIVE DAYS IN PARIS • LIGHTNING • WINGS • THE GIFT • ACCIDENT • VANISHED • MIXED BLESSINGS • JEWELS • NO GREATER LOVE • HEARTBEAT • MESSAGE FROM NAM • DADDY • STAR • ZOYA • KALEIDOSCOPE • FINE THINGS • WANDERLUST • SECRETS • FAMILY ALBUM • FULL CIRCLE • CHANGES • THURSTON HOUSE • CROSSINGS • ONCE IN • A LIFETIME A PERFECT STRANGER • REMEMBRANCE • PALOMINO • LOVE: POEMS • THE RING • LOVING • TO LOVE AGAIN • SUMMER’S END • SEASON OF PASSION • THE PROMISE • NOW AND FOREVER • PASSION’S PROMISE • GOING HOME

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  DANIELLE STEEL has been hailed as one of the world’s most popular authors, with over 600 million copies of her novels sold. Her many international best sellers include The Sins of the Mother, Friends Forever, Betrayal, Hotel Vendôme, Happy Birthday, 44 Charles Street, Legacy, and other highly acclaimed novels. She is also the author of His Bright Light, the story of her son Nick Traina’s life and death.

  Visit the Danielle Steel website at daniellesteel.com.