Austin, Texas, Mar 7, 2017 / 02:50 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Austin, Texas, like any hipster city worth its organic, non-GMO salt, is known for its food trucks.
There are about 1,000 food trucks that roam the streets of the Texas capital, offering barbecue, breakfast tacos, and gourmet grilled cheese to the masses of Pabst Blue Ribbon-swilling millennials who have recently flocked to the city.
But among them, and before them, there was Alan Graham and Mobile Loaves and Fishes.
Mobile Loaves and Fishes is a Christian non-profit founded by Graham and five other men that delivers about 1,200 meals and essentials from 12 food trucks to homeless people on the streets of Austin every night.
The ministry also recently started a village called Community First!, a place where the formerly homeless, volunteers and those desiring a simpler life live together in a village of tiny homes and recreational vehicles in what Graham calls “an RV park on steroids.”
In his newly released book Welcome Homeless, Graham recalls the story and the people behind his ministries, in his raw, straight-shooting, and often humorous voice.
In October 1996, Graham, a convert to Catholicism, had gone tentatively on a men’s retreat. At first, he was counting down the hours until the “hugs and hand-holding” were over. The retreat was too emotional for his then-very intellectual faith.
But by the end, he experienced a profound change of heart and adopted a philosophy of “just say yes.”
Several yesses and a couple of years later, Graham and his wife, Tricia, found themselves having coffee with a friend who was telling them about an initiative in Corpus Christi, Texas, where multiple churches would pool their resources to provide food for the homeless on cold winter nights.
An entrepreneur at heart, Graham immediately envisioned a catering truck that could deliver meals to the homeless (this was before the food truck boom; at the time ,Graham called them “roach coaches”).
“I woke up the next morning knowing we could franchise it, and bring it to every church, every city, and every state to feed the homeless,” he recalls in his book. “This is how entrepreneurs think: one truck becomes a thousand.”
Through his church group, he recruited six more men to join him and invest in a food truck for the homeless (they started calling themselves “The Six Pack”). One of these men turned out to be an especially key player: Houston Flake.
Socks and popsicles
Houston, who met Graham through the men’s group at St. John Neumann Catholic Church, was poorly educated and illiterate, but understood the Gospel like no one Graham had ever met.
Houston had experienced chronic homelessness throughout his life, and became a key tour guide for Graham and his crew, who were “clueless” about life on the streets as they began their ministry.
During one meeting, the group had discussed how great it would be if they could get phone cards (pre-cellphone times) to hand out to the homeless whom they would meet.
“Houston looked at us and said, ‘That is the dumbest idea on the face of the planet. They don’t need phone cards. No one wants to talk to them. They don’t want to talk to anybody. You need to put socks on that truck,’” Graham recalled.
To this day, socks are the most desired item on the trucks.
Houston also took Graham out to his “conference room” – to meet some of the homeless who were his friends. It changed Graham’s whole perspective on the population he was about to serve.
Not long after Mobile Loaves and Fishes began, Houston was diagnosed with bladder cancer and given mere weeks to live.
For his dying wish, Houston didn’t want to travel or eat a fancy steak dinner – he wanted to deliver 400 popsicles to homeless children on a hot summer day, a treat those kids rarely experienced.
“He wanted them to choose: Pink? Red? Blue? Purple? Green? He wanted to give that which they did not need but might want. He wanted to give them abundance in fruity, tasty, frozen form,” Graham wrote.
That philosophy carried over to the food trucks. The people they serve are given options – PB&J, ham and cheese, tacos? Milk, coffee, orange juice? Oranges or apples? It’s a shift from the scarcity mentality found in soup kitchens founded in the Great Depression, to an abundance mentality that is possible in the most abundant country in the world, Graham explained. They are “the little bitty choices that people who live a life in extreme poverty don’t get to make often.”
The solution to homelessness is not just housing
Since the first truck run, the ministry quickly grew. Hungry people would chase down the food trucks as they saw them making their way through the streets of Austin.
The ministry has now expanded to the cities of San Antonio, Texas; Providence, Rhode Island; New Bedford, Massachusetts; and Minneapolis, Minnesota. To date, Mobile Loaves & Fishes has served over 4 million meals, and with more than 18,000 volunteers, it is the largest prepared feeding program to the homeless and working poor in Austin.
But it didn’t stop there. A little over 5 years into the ministry, Graham envisioned an “RV park on steroids”, with the philosophy of “housing first”, which holds that the homeless need housing before they can solve any of their other problems.
However, Graham knew that mere houses were not enough. What these people need and desire, like everyone, is to be known and loved – they needed community. He envisioned a place where people lived life together, knew and cared for each other, sharing kitchens and gardens and conversation.
“It developed from this idea back in 2004, where we went out and bought a gently used RV and lifted one guy off the streets into a privately owned RV park,” he said.
Because of zoning laws and other issues, it took awhile to get the idea off the ground, but the Community First! Village project was finally able to break ground in 2014.
Today, 110 people, most of them formerly homeless, call the village home. Soon, there will be enough housing for 250 people. There are brightly colored tiny homes that would give HG-TV a run for their money, as well as recreational vehicles and “canvas-sided” homes (sturdy tents with concrete foundations).
The homes provide the basics – they are essentially bedrooms – while everything else is communal. There is a communal kitchen and garden and bonfire, and places everywhere to sit and have a conversation.
Our @mobileloaves_genesisgardens chicken coop was definitely a top destination for everyone visiting #CommunityFirstVillage today. We loved having y’all out here, and the chickens definitely loved all the attention! ???? #divas
A post shared by Mobile Loaves & Fishes (@mobileloaves) on Apr 2, 2016 at 2:21pm PDT
“It’s all centered on Genesis 2:15,” Graham said. “Just after God created the Garden of Eden, he took the man, and centered him in the garden to cultivate and care for it. And so the foundation for our entire philosophy of the community is centered on God’s original plan for us, to be settled, to be at peace with each other, to live in community, to be cultivating with the gifts that he has given us, and to serve him by caring for each other.”
What needs to change
The solution to homelessness, Graham said, is not going to be found in new government policies or agencies, but rather in Christians and other people who choose to take care of each other.
“I believe it’s like the old African adage ‘it takes a village to raise a child,’” Graham said. “We have to step in, the village should step in and care for its own. What we’re doing right now is abdicating that responsibility to our government, which … tries to resolve this issue transactionally, but I believe it’s a relationship issue. Our Kingdom desire is to be wanted by each other, not ‘if you buy me a house I’m going to be happy.’ That’s not where our happiness comes from.”
One of the foundational goals of the ministry is to change the stereotypes that people have about the homeless, so that they are seen as brothers and sisters rather than as other, Graham added.
He recommended that anyone who wants to help the homeless start building relationships with them – say hello, ask their name, shake their hand, give them a sandwich or a gift card to Chick-fil-A. And then find an organization to volunteer with in your city.
“There’s a giant stereotype around the homeless, and we’re very good as Americans at stereotyping, and so the homeless population (is projected) to be drug addicts, mentally ill, criminals; they’re usually depicted as unkempt or that they don’t pay attention to hygiene, so we develop these preconceived notions that won’t even allow us to roll down our windows anymore to say ‘Hello’ or ‘God Bless,’” he said.
“Those things just aren’t true,” Graham said.
“We have five major corporate goals, and goal number one is to transform the paradigm of how people view the stereotype of the homeless. When we change that paradigm, it changes our culture so as to be able to go and love on our brothers and sisters.”
That’s one of his hopes for the book, and the reason he made sure to tell the stories of so many homeless men and women who have directly touched his life.
“What we want to do is spread the kingdom message of a better way to love on our neighbors, so I’m hoping the book will go broad and deep, and people will be inspired to go out there and begin doing what it is that we’re doing, that’s what I hope.”
Because “what’s happening here in Austin, Texas is nothing short of a miracle.”
[…]
“And that’s certainly not to point a finger at anyone,”
Therein lies the problem. The elephant in the room needs to have many fingers pointed at it, your Excellency.
As if Jesus never pointed a finger at the Pharisees?
A bishop’s function is to teach, rule/govern, and to sanctify. To meet with and dialogue? That sounds weak to me.
I agree with a previous post – some finger pointing is needed.
I hope this election is an indication that the bishops will stand up for life, sexual norms, religious freedom and the entire teaching of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. They have been reluctant to call out those who proclaim “devout Catholic” status while promoting abortion on demand throughout all nine months and to shortly after birth. I was hoping the bishops would elect Archbishop Cordileone who has denied Communion to Nancy Pelosi in his archdiocese because of her adamant stance against protecting babies in the womb. All the bishops should be of that attitude in favor of Canon 915.
. . . and Archbishop Broglio should at least ask for a meeting with Joe Biden who will never ask to meet with Broglio.
Military Archbishop Broglio brings a military directness to his new assignment, a good, hopeful sign. Gary Lockhart identifies what many of us believe is the crux of the problem within the Church insofar as policy. Broglio’s ‘not to point the finger’ appears an allusion to Francis. A Roman pontiff, he surprisingly, in a positive sense, refers to as a fellow bishop, indicating a proactive approach absolutely needed by the USCCB if it is to be an effective representative body of Catholicism.
Certainly, the new USCCB president has to tread intelligently [not fearfully] in relation to this. Head to head meetings with Francis as well as Biden are definitely in order. The optics alone sends a needed message with possible good effect.
Archbishop Broglio has a unique opportunity to perform a desperately needed service for the Church and the nation that his predecessors declined to accept. A “willingness to meet with” President Biden does not go far enough by a longshot. His Excellency has a grave responsibility to confront Biden and oppose his evil agenda publicly and forcefully. By doing so, he will inevitably incur the wrath of many of his brother bishops and of Pope Francis himself. Francis will swiftly issue a cease-and-desist order. Archbishop will be obliged to defy such an illegitimate command. In this scandal-plagued era, the spectacle of the most powerful politician in the world being a Catholic and promoting the most reprehensible policies possible while referring to himself as “devout” and receiving the Sacrament anytime he chooses, is one of the most egregious. It must end now.
To Archbishop Gomez, why would Biden meet with you when he can go straight to Francis anytime he wants? He neither respects you nor does he fear anything you are willing to do.
Why don’t you just ask Biden for a meeting? There is a specific pastoral connection here as he is the Commander in Chief of the military, your diocese. Seems a little cowardly just to say, “if he wants to talk, I’m available.”
“…little cowardly…” Well, the president does have a bishop in Delaware (and Washington D.C.) who I’m sure are not cowards and have spoken to the man. The new incoming president is not a coward. That is pretty…
“Well, the president does have a bishop in Delaware (and Washington D.C.) who I’m sure are not cowards”(sic)
When it comes to fidelity to and defense of the faith both Wilton Gregory and the former Bishop of Wilmington Francis Malooly have long documented histories of being cowards. The new Bishop of Wilmington William Koenig hasn’t as yet demonstrated that he is any better than his predecessor.
When I see the word ‘dialogue’ used as a verb, not a noun, I get a tad leery.
Prove me wrong – please.
I note that Abp. Broglia does not shy away from linking homosexuality and clergy sex abuse.
When Abp. Broglio was installed as the Archbishop for Military Services USA in 2008, I was serving in Afghanistan, and when I retired from active duty in 2019, he was still in that position. He was an excellent shepherd of his military flock in every way. My fellow Catholic military and Foreign Service members also hold him in great respect and affection, without exception in my experience. He will have many members of his flock praying for him as he assumes his new role.
In his public and ongoing support in favor of abortion, and his stated desire to provide the means for a national law to make abortion legal throughout the the country, the time for dialogue with Biden ended long ago. The new president should follow along the lines of what Archbishop Cordileone did regarding Pelosi, and since Biden has not been warned so far as is known, Broglio should provide the warning to repent and cease his advocacy of abortion within a matter of no more than a few weeks or the directive will go out to all Bishops throughout the country to refuse giving Biden and similar acting “Catholics” Holy Communion.
Then, any Bishop who ignores the directive should be suspended and replaced if he refuses to do the right thing.
Darn. My alarm just went off. I must have been dreaming, but it was a real nice one while it lasted.