Students feed the homeless

While many people in Oakland are finding reasons to stay in on these frigid winter days, Diana… While many people in Oakland are finding reasons to stay in on these frigid winter days, Diana Pasco and the First Trinity Homeless Ministry have found a reason to stay out. The 15 degree wind chill was no match for the four First Trinity volunteers Sunday afternoon. Pounding through slush and piles of snow, the group walked up and down Forbes and Fifth avenues, searching in alleys, looking through windows and asking security guards if there was anyone who needed a place to stay or something to eat. Every Sunday since Sept. 14, Pasco, a CMU senior, and her group of volunteers have prepared bagged lunches, put together care packages and visited several homeless people in Oakland. ‘The goal of the organization is to provide support for the homeless,’ said Pasco. ‘The [homeless] too often get passed by.’ Support comes in the form of bagged peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, turkey sandwiches, a piece of fruit and a bottle of’ ‘ ‘ ‘ water. The care packages include books, hand sanitizer and toothpaste in addition to hats, gloves and blankets during the winter. After working with Hot Metal Bridge Church’s homeless ministry in Southside, Pasco decided to start a similar program in the First Trinity Church. With the support of Pastor Douglas Spittel, First Trinity Homeless Ministry became one of the church’s many outreach programs along with the International Student Ministry, Lutheran Student Fellowship and Pittsburgh Lutheran Center for the Blind. ‘Diana and her people are the workers,’ said Spittel. ‘The parish is simply here providing support.’ There are five active members of the First Trinity Homeless Ministry, but volunteers from non-profit Pittsburgh Cares also get involved. Two volunteers, Rich Lynch and Angela Hadbavny, members of the Pittsburgh Lutheran Center for the Blind, help make the sandwiches. They said they feel rewarded for being able to give back. ‘We want to show [the homeless] they are worthy of respect and kindness,’ said Hadbavny, who is also an adjunct instructor at Duquesne University’s pharmacy school. ‘We want to show them they are valuable in our eyes and in God’s eyes.’ Although the group began in the fall, its program has changed several times. In the warmer months, Pasco and her group could find and feed five to eight people. According to Pasco’s records, they had served 21 individuals by Nov. 14. Now they are lucky to find just one. ‘I do get a little disappointed when we don’t see anyone,’ said Pasco, ‘but I hope it is because they have found somewhere warm to stay for the time being.’ Pasco and her group refuse to give up. ‘We will go every week,’ said Tamara Liburd, a Chatham graduate student. ‘They need to know we won’t stop.’