Collective Weekly

While we all have examples of waiting in our lives, I believe that unhoused neighbors know it most acutely. In my time interning at Open Table Ministry (OTM), one of the main ways that I have gotten involved is through Office Hours. These happen every weekday except for Tuesdays and go from 9 am until 1 pm. Our unhoused clients ring the OTM buzzer in the outdoor breezeway at Trinity United Methodist Church and wait for someone to greet them from our office and ask what they need. “Good morning, how can I help you,” is often said, and the response that comes next is never predictable. We are a site where people can regularly receive their mail, so many individuals ask if anything has come in for them. Others are looking for resources, from clothes to a snack. While still others come to order identification documents. The complexity of specific client situations becomes quickly evident, and we assess if and how OTM can support them. We have a swath of unhoused clients, all with unique stories, who come up to our door and allow us into their lives. We work with mothers who have young children, to young adults, to elderly individuals, to people coming out of incarceration and everyone in between.