Speaker

Today I went to hear Dr. Pete Gathje speak on homelessness. He started giving out statistics of poverty and homelessness not only in the Memphis area but also across the nation. He really seemed to focus in on the children at one point. I thought this was really important because there are many children living on the streets, but what are they supposed to do? I know many of us think the adults should go get jobs and work for money, but the children are too young and are not able to work but still have to suffer. Dr. Gathje also focused in on how Memphis says they have shelters in the area, but in reality the city does not have one free shelter. Many of the shelters charge a small fee and require identification. The shelter that Dr. Gathje, Manna House, is a free shelter that is open three days a week for a couple of hours. They serve coffee, allow people to take showers, and give people clothes. I think it is great how they allow these people a place to hangout for just a couple of hours. Through the stories he told, I knew what an impact these people are making on the lives of the homeless in Memphis.