Join the Shepherd of the Streets in Offering Help and Hope to Our City
It is Father's Day today. Just a few days ago I got a letter in the mail from a man who has not only fathered his own, but has also offered guidance, direction, wisdom, strength, love and practical help to countless others. He does so now in his role as Shepherd of the Streets. Please read the letter below and consider contributing to this important local ministry.
_________________
June, 2010
I wish you could spend just one day at Shepherd of the Streets and experience the gambit of emotions that cross our threshold.
• An aunt, battling cancer, finds the four children (ages 4-9) of her niece on her front porch as her neice drives off into the night … no clothing, no toys, no documentation, and in deplorable condition. ~ Direction, Spiritual Support
• A newborn has severe intestinal issues, must go to Geisinger in Danville twice a week for surgeries. The single mother has no money for the gasoline to do this for an undetermined period. ~ Medical Transportation, Hope
• A distressed woman who buried her father and mother within one month receives news that her sister has been discovered murdered in Washington, D.C and needs transportation. ~ Transportation, Spiritual Strength
• A heart-broken mother is told that her son has been shot in Pittsburgh. ~ Bus Fare, Prayer, Consolation
• A panicked grandmother needs a ticket to New York City because her four-year-old granddaughter’s face has been torn off by a pit-bull. ~ Prayer, Bus Fare
• A hopeful man on the kidney transplant list must go to Philadelphia once-a-month for evaluation. ~ Transportation, Spiritual Tenacity
• A depressed grandmother whose cancer has spread to her liver and pancreas. ~ Spiritual Support and Sustaining Love
• A man who lost his job has a heart attack and no resources. ~ Medication
• The uninsured and underinsured who must have life-sustaining medication until they get on a pharmaceutical help list. ~ Medication, Direction
And then there is my own distress when I must say, “Sorry, we have no funds right now.”
We spend around $2,000 per week on medical assistance and $1,000 per month on medical transportation.
Lately we have been taping a sign on the front door, “WE HAVE NO FUNDS FOR PRESCRIPTIONS” which lasts from three days to two weeks. It is the prescription fund that supplies all those emergencies, medicines, medical travel and other medicinal needs.
On top of that is the outlay for documentation, steel-toed boots and other non-skid shoes, basic uniforms for a new job, glasses, dental needs, and other needs for health & safety.
Every summer we face the need for support: this summer, more-so, because of the economic condition of our country.
You might think, “There is so little I can give.” That may be true, but together that little amounts to much, because every single contribution is as important as every single case.
Your gift is put to work right here in Lycoming County, giving compassionate support to around 300 people a month.
If it were not for the love and sacrifice of people like you we could not provide the relief and spiritual support that is given in The Name of Jesus.
Please give as generously as you can to support our Summer Appeal so that we can continue to supply this grace.
On behalf of the people whose lives your gift will touch, thank you.
Gratefully serving Jesus and you,
J. Morris Smith, Th.D.
Please mail, or drop off your contribution to:
United Churches of Lycoming County
Shepherd of the Streets
669 Center Street
Williamsport, PA 17701-4934
You are welcome to visit the office and see what your gift does.
1 comment:
Found this information on the web from the First Community Foundation's 2009 Book of Dreams:
“For most of our clients, the choice is medicine or food.”
The right heart medication, blood pressure pills or antibiotic can be the difference between health and chronic illness. But with spiraling prescription costs taking a growing portion of already overstretched budgets, medications are becoming prohibitive. For the unemployed, underemployed or those on fixed incomes they are luxuries. “For most of our clients, the choice is medicine or food,” says Dr. J. Morris Smith, coordinator of Shepherd of the Streets, which provided $55,000 in prescription assistance last year.
Shepherd of the Streets, a ministry of the United Churches of Lycoming County, has been helping the area’s needy with medical and dental assistance, utility help, guidance and counseling, and work preparedness for nearly 21 years.
Dr. Smith, referred to as "the Shepherd" by his many clients, has been ministering to Lycoming County’s neediest since January 2001.
According to Dr. Smith, 98 percent of his organization’s clients receive medical care in emergency rooms or at the Community Health Center. Doctors at these facilities provide prescriptions, often directing their patients to Shepherd of the Streets’ office. Dr. Smith reviews each prescription and provides a voucher accepted at the Medicine Shoppe pharmacy in downtown Williamsport.
While some of the program’s clients have Medical Assistance cards, many medications they may have relied upon are no longer on the Medical Assistance formulary. And as awareness of the prescription program grows, so does the need for donations. Since Shepherd of the Streets does not take federal or state funds, it must rely solely on support from area churches, private foundations, businesses and individuals.
Support for this dream will provide continuing prescription assistance for our area’s neediest.
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