Last time we talked, I was spouting off about how we're supposed to help our neighbors.
Love your neighbor as yourself.
Feed the hungry.
Help the poor.
You know. All that stuff Jesus kept talking about that sounds wonderful on Sunday morning and gets a little more complicated around 10:30 Monday.
Well...
I've been thinking about that.
And I have a confession.
When I first started working at the Silver City Gospel Mission, it took me about THREE MONTHS to figure out that when people were talking about SNAP benefits, they were talking about food stamps.
Three months!
I thought SNAP was some new government program I'd somehow missed.
And that wasn't the only thing I had to learn.
See, I grew up with a pretty simple philosophy:
"If you don't work, you don't eat."
That's what I believed.
And there's certainly something to be said for personal responsibility, hard work, and earning your keep.
But after spending years around people who are homeless, hungry, sick, addicted, disabled, elderly, or just plain down on their luck...
I've discovered something.
Life isn't always as neat and tidy as our little sayings make it sound.
Sometimes the guy who needs food has a job.
Sometimes the woman sleeping in her car worked her entire life.
Sometimes the fellow who looks like he ought to get a job can't even get an ID to apply for one.
And sometimes people need a hand getting back on their feet before they can do anything else.
Which brings me to something I've been working on.
I built a new website called Help in Grant County.
https://help.silvercitygospelmission.org/
Now, I know what you're thinking.
"Wonderful, Randy. Another resource directory. Just what the world needs."
And you'd have a point.
There are already a few directories floating around.
But here's what bothered me about them.
A person standing in front of you needing help doesn't necessarily know what government program, nonprofit agency, or alphabet-soup acronym they should be looking for.
They just know their electricity is about to get shut off.
Or they need a ride to the doctor.
Or their mother needs help.
Or they have nowhere to sleep tonight.
People don't have categories. They have problems.
So I wanted to build something a little different.
Something ordinary people could actually USE.
And here's what we have so far:
1,434 places to find help in and around Grant County, covering everything from food and shelter to medical care, transportation, veterans' services, legal help, jobs, and more.
Step-by-step help for real-life problems. Can't get an ID? Facing eviction? Just got out of jail? Need to get sober? The site helps you figure out where to start.
Help for your neighbor. See someone sleeping outside? Know an elderly person who seems confused? Wonder what to do when someone asks for money? There are guides for those situations, too.
A searchable directory where you can look by need, organization, or town, including options for nearby services and free or sliding-scale assistance.
A Spanish-language option, because not everybody who needs help speaks English.
Ways to volunteer, donate, or work with other organizations instead of everybody trying to solve the same problems alone.
And there's another part I'm especially excited about.
Getting organizations to work together.
We have a page full of actual ideas.
Not the usual "We should all collaborate!" speech everybody applauds before going home and doing absolutely nothing.
I mean specific, practical ideas.
Like two food pantries taking turns opening on weekends so families can find food on Saturdays and Sundays.
A restaurant donating surplus food to a soup kitchen.
A church opening its hall as a warming center while another group supplies trained volunteers.
A school working with a food pantry to send groceries home with hungry kids on Friday.
Or a transportation service working with a clinic so people can actually get to their appointments.
And here's the interesting part.
The Gospel Mission doesn't even have to be involved.
If two organizations want to work together, we'll help them connect and get things started.
You can see the ideas here:
https://help.silvercitygospelmission.org/HelpWorkingTogether
Because maybe the answer to some of Grant County's problems isn't another program, another committee, another grant, or another meeting.
Maybe it's getting the people who already have the resources talking to the people who need them.
Imagine that.
Now, is this website perfect?
Heavens, no.
Some listings still need to be checked. Phone numbers change. Organizations move. Hours change. Programs come and go.
And there are still needs in Grant County nobody has figured out how to fill.
But it's a start.
And the beautiful thing is that you don't have to work at a rescue mission, have a social work degree, or understand the government's 47 different names for the same thing to use it.
You just have to care enough to help someone.
So here's my request.
Take five minutes and look around.
https://help.silvercitygospelmission.org/
Bookmark it.
Send it to your pastor, your neighbor, your civic club, or that friend who always seems to know somebody who needs help.
And next time someone tells you they're in trouble, maybe instead of saying, "I'll pray for you" and hoping somebody else figures it out...
You can pray for them.
And then help them find somewhere to turn.
Because loving your neighbor is a whole lot easier when you know where to start.
-Randy Salars
P.S. Here's something you can do to help without ever leaving your house.
We need volunteers to verify the addresses, phone numbers, hours, and services in our directory. You can do it from home with a phone and a computer, tablet, or smartphone. Even an hour a week helps.
All you have to do is call a few organizations, ask some simple questions, and tell us what you found.
No fancy training. No meetings. No driving across town.
And you just might save someone from walking across town to an address where nobody is there anymore.
Sign up to help verify listings from home:
https://help.silvercitygospelmission.org/HelpVolunteerFromHome