Lizzy and Bobby

A few months back, I received the an email from Lizzy, my friend from Liberti Center City. It reminded me of the tremendous good that can come from slowing down, taking time to listen, and helping another person. It also paints a great picture of what it means to be a people that are for the city and local community God has placed us in.  Enjoy…

Hey Mike! When we had dinner, worship and discussion last week with the interns we talked about the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). In my break-out group, we talked about how we can practically “go and do likewise” like the Good Samaritan. In today’s world we want to provide basic needs like food and shelter to those in need; but, for safety or financial reasons, we may not be able to offer the exact same help the Samaritan did to every person who approaches us.

Long story short, I’m $35 dollars poorer, but I have a full stomach and a full and encouraged heart, and I can rest assured that Bobby will either be spending the night with Project Home and getting connected with their services,

I shared my approach with the ladies in my group. Instead of giving cash, I offer to buy food or call the homeless outreach helpline (215.232.1984) which connects the caller with Project Home and other homeless service programs in the city. The ladies in my group took down the phone number and then I left for a concert that evening (which was thoroughly entertaining by the way).

Well, I just wanted to offer a story to encourage the interns on how to live out this parable practically and safely.

As I was walking in center city trying to figure out how to kill an hour or two between work and home meeting, a homeless man with one leg and crutches asked me if he could get some help getting some food.

“Okay, what’s open… what do you want to eat?” 

Without skipping a beat, he said “I want a cheese steak from Little Pete’s” (which happened to be around the corner). 

“All right, cheese steak it is, let’s go! I’m Lizzy by the way, what’s your name?”    

“Bobby”.   

Bobby was extremely soft spoken, and as we were walking over I tried to start a dialogue. I was really curious. ”If you don’t mind me asking, how did you lose your leg?” 

“I got shot.” 

“OH! Wow… umm, I’m sorry to hear that…” After a little pause, “So, Bobby, where do you live?” 

“North Philly, I stay on the streets, I’m homeless. Sometimes I sleep at the Hospital, at Hahnemann ” 

“Hey Bobby, have you ever reached out to Project Home or any of the other homeless organizations? I could call them for you.”

“Yea, but they put me in a place with bed bugs.”

“Oh, well if they had a place that didn’t have bed bugs would you stay? I can call them for you, and it might have changed since last time.”

“OK”

Once we got to Little Pete’s we sat down at the bar and I decided I’d have dinner with my new friend Bobby. “Two cheese steaks please!” I called the homeless outreach and worked with Bobby to get them some of the information they were requesting, and they said they’d send a team.

I had to call the homeless hotline a couple of times to follow up as the outreach team hadn’t arrived by the time we finished dinner, but they eventually found us. 

These are the things I learned about Bobby over dinner:

1. He likes provolone cheese, fried onions, ketchup and mustard on his cheese steaks. He likes Little Petes, IHOP and Applebee’s.
2. He’s 43.
3. He’s a father and a grandfather.
4. He has two daughters, one is 23 and has a 2 year old son named Michaela but he calls him Bam Bam. The other daughter is 13 and in 9th grade. The 23 year old is an RN at U Penn hospital, and the 13 year old likes math and science and wants to be a lawyer when she grows up. He gets to see them pretty often. 
5. He was shot in 1999 in a drive by shooting, 4 people were shot including himself, and one of the other victims died. The bullet that hit Bobby went in through his left hip and out his right hip and ruptured a major artery on his left side, causing gangrene to set in and forcing doctors to amputate his lower left leg.
6. He has three siblings, two brothers and a sister. His sister is in West Palm Beach, Florida, and his brothers are in Boston and Pittsburgh. His sister wants him to move down to Florida with her, but he doesn’t want to be that far from his daughters and grandson.
7. He stays with his god-brother Terrence sometimes, who he sees almost every day. (Bobby gave me Terrence’s cell phone number so I could keep in touch and check up on him.)

Bobby also talked me into buying him a pack of $10 cigarettes. 

Long story short, I’m $35 dollars poorer, but I have a full stomach and a full and encouraged heart, and I can rest assured that Bobby will either be spending the night with Project Home and getting connected with their services, or if he doesn’t like their accommodations, his god-brother Terrence said he could stay the night tonight.

Hopefully this story gives the interns courage that for every 20 times they offer to call the homeless outreach hotline for someone, one person might actually take them up on it. Or, if they’re too afraid or in a rush to speak with a homeless person directly, but still want to help, they can call the hotline and give the hot-liner as much information as possible to find that person. 

Long story short, be courageous and offer to call! It might be just what someone needs.

Thanks,

Lizzy

May the story of Lizzy and Bobby encourage us today. As we go, may we seek to live, speak and serve as the very presence of Christ.