Dear Editor:
My name is Barbara Grainger, and my husband, Robert, and I head up the Cowboy Up Ministry’s feeding of the homeless on Tuesday nights. Robert is a third-generation farmer, and, together, we feel a calling on our lives to feed people. We are so vested in this program and love the people we serve.
I can understand the concerns of the local residents, because I had reservations myself when I first began working with this ministry more than one year ago. I don’t think this situation is going away, so I would like to propose a follow-up article. I believe that fear is born out of ignorance. These homeless people are not nameless, faceless weirdos. They are poor and hungry, and they each have a voice and a story.
Gail, for instance, is 55 and lives in a tent behind a Wheeler Street business. She was married for 23 years to a man who left her for another woman. This began a downhill spiral, and, now, she is alone and homeless, without much hope to recover.
I could help facilitate an interview for you with several of the folks. I think it’s unfair to leave them out of the equation. They have a right to be heard, and, maybe, if some of these fearful, uncomfortable people could know their stories, then maybe they would be less unkind.
Barbara Grainger
Plant City