by Caroline Gabsewics
Staff Writer
All it takes is one minivan, 15 bagged lunches, a cooler of bottled water and two people with very big hearts.
I spent an afternoon last week with the I.M. Sulzbacher Center’s Hope Team driving around Jacksonville giving food, water and other necessities to some of Jacksonville’s homeless population. Monday through Thursday, weather permitting, Jackie Brown, Hope Team outreach advocate, and Jim Bowls, Hope Team medical outreach specialist, spend two or three hours driving around Jacksonville to seek out who they call their “regulars,” as well as anyone else who seems in need.
“There are some that we visit each week, who don’t come in (to the center) and just enjoy the freedom and no responsibilities,” said Brown.
In a span of two hours we combed the streets in the minivan labeled “Hope Team.” Bowls kept his eyes on the road, while Brown kept her eyes out the window scanning the area. We started with 15 bagged lunches of a meat sandwich, fruit and some cookies. By the time we were done, we had two left. It really opened my eyes and showed me how some people live and how sometimes they just need someone to care for them. The Hope Team does just that.
Along with food and water, they have T-shirts, socks and personal hygiene bags. Brown told a few of the men we saw that next week she would bring in jackets that were donated to the center so they can stay warm now that the nights are getting cooler. We made our way over to Riverside where Bowls was told by a co-worker that there were a few homeless people who hung around a house on Margaret Street. We found the house and sure enough, there was a man standing outside.
Brown rolled down her window and said, “Want some food? OK, then c’mon.”
The man came to the van and Brown and Bowls introduced themselves and told him that they were there to help. Brown gave him some shirts, socks, two bagged lunches and bottled water. He was given the extra lunch for a woman living with him whom the Hope Team had helped before.
“That was great,” said Brown when she got back in the van. “That made my day. That was God’s gift to us.”
As we headed to Memorial Park, Bowls and Brown talked about the woman who usually stays with the man they just helped and as we turned the corner, there she was. Bowls got out of the car and walked towards her and he explained to her that they just gave food and water to her male friend. The woman asked Bowls to walk back to the house with her. We followed in the car and when she saw the clothing, she immediately put the new shirt on over her clothing.
“This is how we normally do this,” said Brown. “We can be in the van and be talking about someone who we haven’t seen in a while and all of a sudden there they are.”
We visited two men living in different parts of the woods along Beaver Street and Kings Road. They just explained that this is where they like to be and when it rains, they go to a nearby bridge.
Romon Searsy, who lives in the woods on the corner of Kings Road and Cleveland Street, said, “I just like to be outside,” as Bowls took a few caterpillars off of his flannel shirt. He said he really appreciates what the Hope Team does.
One of our last stops was to a homeless camp where there were four people living in the woods. We pulled up and Bowls went into the woods to find them while we stayed in the car. Bowls came back with one gentleman who took four lunches and water back to their camp.
“They recognize us and no one has ever attacked us,” said Bowls. “We try to form relationships with them.”
We had been out for two hours and were heading back to the center. In that short period of time I met a lot of interesting people and one thing is for sure: they appreciate what the Hope Team does. About once a week Bowls and Brown ask them if they would like to come to the shelter, but many of them like their own little spot. On Tuesdays the Hope Team brings a mental health doctor and on Wednesdays they bring a medical doctor with them.
For these homeless people with whom the Hope Team has formed a relationship, one thing was evident: they trust Brown and Bowls, who have become a part of their lives.
“We are glad we can give them food and help them out,” said Bowls. “We try and help those we can help.”