19 years; preparing for the homeless meal after morning practice.
Same as usual. AHAN Nippon Kan General Headquarters Homeless Meal Service project continues into its 19th consecutive year. We are proud of the fact that with all of the support from staff and volunteers, we have been able to continue this service for so many years.
For the first 5 or 6 years after I began this project, I was accused by the Japanese community of trying to make a good name for myself. This was disappointing at the time, but now after almost two decades of service to the homeless, the Japanese Consul General, other consuls and their families, the Japanese Denver Business Association, the Denver City Council, Mayor’s and Governor’s office have come to understand the true purpose of this mission. Nippon Kan is proud of the recognition we have received from the Denver community and around the world.
Hard times brought on by the current economic downturn in the US can be seen at the Denver Rescue Mission. The homeless population has changed. To protect individual’s privacy I can’t go into too much detail, but it seems that the people we now see in the service lines at the mission are people with a higher level of education and a lack of addictions or physical afflictions. They look like normal folk that just can’t find work or don’t want to work in jobs below their former levels. I wonder what has happened to the more severely afflicted homeless; it seems like they are losing in a competition for services with these new “jobless homeless”.
For the April monthly meal service, there were about 50 people interned in the resident-rehabilitation program. During the middle of the meal, one of the leading residents called out my name and all of the residents clapped to show their appreciation for the meal served. This was the first time in 19 years that this had ever happened.
The outside guest dinner is served after the resident dinner at 8:00 pm. There are usually 250 to 300 men and women at this dinner, all who stood in line for hours for this meal, a church service and a bed. Even the outside guests seemed to include more of the new “jobless homeless” than before.
In past years I had become accustom to a silent look or simple nod of thanks from the “outside guest homeless”. This was the standard for recognition and appreciation from these most helpless and down trodden of the Mission’s homeless guests. These homeless are now disappearing and are no longer in the majority at the Mission.
I waved back to the “jobless homeless” as they clapped in approval of the meal set before them, continuing to wonder, what had happened to those who use to give their thanks in silence.
Written by
Gaku Homma
Nippon Kan Kancho
AHAN Nippon Kan Homeless Food Service Project Report
January 18th 341 dinners served
February 15th 309 dinners served
March 15th 273 dinners served
April 19th 345 dinners served
Total since 1991 56,000 dinners served