This Week God Brought Us... "Eddie"

This week God brought us…”Eddie”, who came in the door with a list of needs and a sheaf of papers. Eddie was recently honorably discharged from the military (he carefully showed us his DD214) and has what most of us would consider a decent income. By his own admission, he had made poor choices with his money and now found himself struggling to cover rent, his truck payment and his vehicle insurance. He said he was on his way to an appointment with Veterans’ Services after talking to us. He came back the next day, this time in the company of his dog, who had to be the biggest pit bull any of us had EVER seen – Eddie said “he’s part moose.” The dog was calm and quiet and obedient, sweet-natured and did I mention the biggest such beast we’d EVER laid eyes on? His visit with Veterans’ Services had been productive and they were able to assist with his larger needs. In the meantime, he came back to us to see what else we might offer, now in a much more relaxed state. After reviewing his situation and conducting an intake, he chose to accept help with gas to get his admittedly fuel-guzzling truck on to his follow up appointments with Veterans’ Services. Eddie was polite, respectful, honest about his behaviors and clear-eyed about his next steps. Our agency did not have to move heaven and earth to meet his needs. In the end, our impact was small, at least as counted in dollars. I like to think we gave the gifts of presence and attention. These can often be in short supply. Eddie reminds us that some people’s needs are light, but no less real.