Many people may have seen the homeless on the streets of Oakland. The volunteers of Sai Ashraya have recently begun to serve these homeless people on a regular basis. They have been serving dinner on weekends. Surprisingly, it has made a strong impact on the people staying there; not just because of the quality of food that is provided to them but also the love that is shared with them.

 

One of the volunteers shared a recent experience on how taking time and speaking to a homeless person changed their perspective of life.

 

The young adults spoke to a person, Mr. David (name has been changed), who seemed to be more receptive and interested in working on himself to get out of the situation. The survey was conducted on site to understand what issues the local people have, how they survive, how much they make; how much allowance they get from the government and so on.

 

The young adults learnt from Mr. David that people in Oakland area receive around $360 in cash from the government and around $190 for food coupons. He was a chef by profession but he lost his job and moved from New Orleans to the Bay Area in California and then landed on the streets. As of now, he is surviving by making money by cleaning cars right outside his tent. He gets to clean around two to three cars per week and on one car he makes around $20. After days of serving breakfast with love; Mr. David mentioned that he is ever thankful to the volunteers who gave him a chance that he was looking for. Now he is working in full speed to recover himself from being on the street and being independent. The Sai youth were surprised when Mr. David promised to reduce the intake of cigarettes by one per day :)