Wendy’s Closet
by Dee Yaccino
“Hey Wendy, how are you?” I ask when I see her in the lobby after the church service.
“Fine.” She tells me, but I know better.
She looks surprisingly well and typically beautiful. No one would ever know that a few days earlier she had been forced out of her “home” 7 months pregnant. She watched from a distance as her makeshift closet with everything she owned was burned down by police. And later, she found out that their dogs were killed by bullets that were meant for her and her little community — a community that had struggled to help one another survive.
But what some meant for evil, God has used for good.
Let me tell you Wendy’s story.
She and a little band of about 14 others live in caves located on a rocky beach strewn with garbage a couple of blocks from the colonial city of Santo Domingo. She is there because, like many young people, she was having some serious problems with her parents (especially her dad) for unruly behavior and thought it might be better for everyone if she left.
She doesn’t give much detail about her home life but tells of how she is not welcome anymore (admittedly because of her own bad behavior). She had heard of the caves and went down one day to see if it could be a place for her to live, since she knew she could not go home. The group there received her with open arms, fed her what they could, gave her a place to sleep, and above all this showed her acceptance.
Her parents do not know she is pregnant. They have her other three children.
She tries to get money day by day doing odd jobs, cleaning hamburger stands, and asking people for money. Sometimes she is even luc
ky enough to sell jars of freshly collected sea glass that she scavenges every day from the beach dump.
The man who is the father of her baby (Chino) does the same. When they have enough, they can sleep in a one-room pension for a time. But when the money runs out, they go to the caves. When the baby comes, they are not sure what they are going to do.
“I want to serve God because I like what I have seen in this church.”
Wendy and Chino came to know of ICC (where I was first introduced to her) through the soup kitchen.
The church is located only a few blocks from the caves and when the couple heard that there was a place to get a meal for the day, they started going. Now they both regularly serve there as well. She often says, “I want to serve God because I like what I have seen in this church.”
As I have come to know her and see her more regularly, I get an opportunity to understand her situation and what she wants people to understand about her. She wants people to know that she d
oes not want to be on the street and would love another opportunity to do something good with her life.
She also wants people to know that with the help of new friends from ICC and God, her life is changing.
…as we all grow and learn together about the way our biases and judgments against others make us do things or say things we shouldn’t, we are also learning that we need each other to find a solution.
I wish I could say that all is well and that I am sure she will live happily ever after. But, there are times when the struggle gets beyond what anyone can handle on their own. Wendy, Chino, and some of the others have constant confrontations with authorities. And I wish I could say that it is always unjust treatment by the police because they are “street people”. But, even though many times it is, there are times when their actions provoke the unfairness from the police… not that mistreatment, beatings, and killings are EVER justified.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that as we all grow and learn together about the way our biases and judgments against others make us do things or say things we shouldn’t, we are also learning that we need each other to find a solution.
After the shootings and burnings in the caves, ICC went to the neighborhood leaders and local authorities to denounce the police brutality.
Just a few months earlier the same community leaders and authorities had held a meeting in order to stop the soup kitchen from operating because it was not good for business and made the area unsafe because it attracted so many “street people”. But they had decided to give their support after hearing the stories of life change and hope from several of “those” people from the streets.
Now, the two groups joined together to seek a just solution to this unfortunate event that not only threatened the lives of people from the street, but the very “life” of the community that committed to transformation for all.
It turns out that the police officials involved were transferred to another precinct after publicly admitting their wrongdoing. It also turns out that the church has been searching more fervently than ever for affordable housing. And the biggest news of all…it turns out that Wendy had a healthy baby girl!
But the search goes on for a solution that will truly have a “happy ever after” type ending.
The good news is that there is new life–in a new baby, in a community in downtown Santo Domingo, and in a church as it actively brings the GOOD NEWS of restored hope through Christ’s resurrection to those who want and need it most.
—————————————————-
What can you do?
Pray: ICC’s Family on the Streets ministry is growing in reach and need. ICC is stretched each month to find ways to provide. There are no one-size-fits-all approaches as each individual requires discernment in how to care and yet not create any long-term dependency (except for the elderly and physically unable to get work, etc.)
Give: It costs money to manage the lunch program as well as provide housing and vocational opportunities for the people who participate in the ministry. ICC is currently considering the possibility of investing in housing properties that the church can manage as transitional communities. To make a contribution to this ministry, please click here and select “ICC Family on the Streets Ministry” from the drop down menu.