Thinking of the Less Fortunate

A church in Pittsburgh had sponsored this woman and moved her and her daughter (who was about ten) to this apartment. She was fleeing her abusive husband and left in the middle of night with nothing. The church got her a job at Hospice. They provided transportation to and from work. He asked if he could give her the mattress set. I, of course, said yes. He asked if I could help him carry it up to her apartment. (He had lost his leg and had a prosthetic and climbing three floors of stairs and carrying a mattress was a big challenge. Even with my help.)

When we got to the top of the stairs, to her apartment, I noticed the welcome sign hanging there was one I had thrown out. I got sad. They weren’t home but the door was wide open. I was confused by that until I went in. There was nothing in the apartment but a rug on the bedroom floor and a couple articles of clothing hanging in the door less closet. The apartment was one big bedroom and a kitchen/living area. No furniture anywhere. They were sleeping on a rug! I saw my old magazines in a neat pile by the rug. We set up the bed in the middle of the rug. I inquired if this was for real to the my neighbor. He said yes. It was the end of October and very cold and he said they had no heat. She couldn’t afford to pay for it. He said he was going to try to help her pay for it himself but he was on disability so his income was very limited. He told me he had been giving her money for groceries. I almost cried right there. I went straight home and dug through everything trying to find the sheet set that fit that mattress. I found an old sleeping bag and some old blankets to give them. I went through all my clothing and gave them everything I no longer wanted or needed—including coats. I went through all my belongings and put together a few boxes of stuff for them—stuff to make their apt feel more like a home and food from my pantry. I left it in their apartment for them and left.

I never saw them again but think of them often, especially when it is cold.