By Kristin Edwards
Sitting on the ground outside of a Houston church, Gerain Harris and his wife sat down to eat a rare dinner in their small home, if a “home” is what one would call it.
A makeshift living area composed of cardboard, pillows and a few stacks of clothes has served as the Harris’ dining room, and their living room, and their bedroom, for quite some time.
“We’ve been in this area for about a year now,” Harris said, eating his first hot meal in at least a week. “I lost my job when there was a mass layoff at the Port of Houston. With no work, there was no money coming in, and we were only months away from being homeless, anyway.”
Harris said he and his wife have gone as long as three days without food or water, let alone an entire meal.
“The Bread of Light shelter helps us out a lot, but other help is getting more and more seldom,” he said.
One thing Harris said he can rely on is the monthly visit of a group of Huntsville residents to his area of Houston — it was from this group that he received his hot meal on Aug. 22.
The Bridge Ministry, carried out by a group of church members from University Heights Baptist Church, Calvary Baptist Church and Greater Zion Missionary Baptist Church, has become a staple of hope for the homeless living in one part of the downtown Houston area.
What started four years ago as a group of seven church members toting a single van of jackets and blankets has grown substantially — it now draws dozens of Houston’s homeless to a parking lot adjacent to the Pierce Street elevated bridge.
On Aug. 22, a relatively small group of 30 church and community members piled into several large vehicles, carrying with them clothes, water, food and other items for the homeless population who, after four years, know exactly where to be to receive them.
On this particular week, however, UHBC youth minister Bert Lyle put a special twist on the group’s trip — a small group of those present would also be splitting off to visit a separate location near Minute Maid Park.
“When we’re down there, you find somebody that needs to be loved and help take care of them,” Lyle said to the group before their departure. “This is not a trip to Disneyland — these people are going to be desperate and in need, and we’re going down there to take care of their physical needs and hopefully share some hope with them, too.”
As the Bridge Ministry’s caravan of vans and trucks pulled into the parking lot at approximately 6 p.m., more than 80 of Houston’s homeless were already gathering, awaiting the only hot meal they would be guaranteed until the ministry’s next visit.
“We come out on the third Friday of every month, and they know we’re going to be here,” UHBC youth leader Travis Henderson said as he watched the line for food quickly fill the parking lot. “I wasn’t surprised to see as many people out here this time, but then again, I’ve learned never to be surprised during this ministry.”
On one end of the parking lot, UHBC youth members set up a row of open boxes, each filled with several types of clothing, undergarments, shoes and other necessities.
On this trip, the group brought shirts and pants of all sizes for both the men and the women. They also brought dry socks, underwear, pillows, toiletries and other items the group would otherwise have to be without.
On the other end of the parking lot, volunteers from the Greater Zion Missionary Baptist Church along with UHBC members distributed hot fried chicken, bananas, bottled water which had been iced down and bags of various non-perishable food items.
“This is a really eye-opening experience for me and for the other people who volunteer,” said LaToya Arnold, one of six Greater Zion Missionary Baptist Church members present during the trip. “When you’re here in the midst of these peoples’ lives, watching them take food and pick out clothes, you see what’s really going on.”
One member from the Greater Zion group, 14-year-old ShaDaysha Washington, is one of the youngest people participating in the ministry.
Working with several adults and college-level participants, Washington was responsible for handing out bottles of water to the line of homeless once they reached the end of the food line.
“I believe that a trip like this impacts [Washington] differently than it might impact older people,” Arnold said. “I know she’ll go back and tell her friends a lot about this experience, and it will probably be pretty clear to her how thankful we should be for the things we have.”
Washington was not the youngest person to participate in the ministry — 12-year-old Paige Henderson and her younger brother have also been a part of the ministry for over a year.
“The people here really make you realize how much you have,” she said. “Some of them are on drugs, and some of them have been abused, but when you’re down there, you just talk to them and pray for them. They know we’re going to be here on the third Friday of each month, and they all run up to us when we get here.”
One of Henderson’s “favorite” people to talk with is a woman named Margaret, who she said was in an abusive relationship with her husband before moving to the Houston streets.
“Margaret was hit in the head with a hammer by her husband,” Henderson said. “She’s the person I always look for when we’re here, and she knows me every time I go see her. That makes me feel special.”
The stories of the homeless people aided by the ministry are each heartbreaking on their own. One woman named Amy Davis, who made her home not far from the Harris couple, had just gotten out of prison, was pregnant and had lost track of her husband.
“I heard about the ministry through somebody who lives near me named Smiley,” she said. “You see a crowd like this any time these people come around and serve food.”
Davis said she will give birth in approximately one month; while she doesn’t know where she will deliver, she said groups like those with the Bridge Ministry keep her and her unborn child at least partially nourished.
“I can never get enough food — you’re always hungry when you live out here, but this definitely helps,” she said. “At least I know that both me and my baby have had something.”
By about 8:30 p.m., all of the food and water the group brought to the Pierce Street parking lot had been completely distributed.
The remaining clothing items, which had been picked through but not completely taken, were put back in their boxes and taken back to UHBC where they would be stored until the next ministry trip.
“You know, I’ve been coming to this ministry for about two years, and this has probably changed my life more than it has changed theirs,” said Lindsey Reaves, a 20-year-old UHBC member. “It’s just such a blessing to be able to love people, to show them Christ’s love and to prove to them that they aren’t invisible to the world.
“These people are hard to see sometimes, but we’re so lucky to be able to use the time and things God has given us to help other people.”
