Patchwork is here for the community. Anyone can visit during our hospitality time, whether they are homeless or the mayor. We strive to be a place where everyone is treated with the same dignity and respect.
As a result, Patchwork comes together as a community. Our neighbors and friends give to one another at Patchwork because that’s what neighbors and friends do. It means that moments like these happen:
- One neighbor has taken longer than most to feel comfortable visiting us, but he is slowly becoming a regular. He can sometimes be agitated because of his mental illness, so last week it was wonderful to see him listening to another of our regulars play the piano. He looked peaceful. I thanked the piano player then next day, and she said she’d noticed him and had played for him because he looked like he needed some music.
- Another of our regular guests appeared at Patchwork with an ash tray this week. He decided we needed it to replace the coffee can that was sitting by the bench on our front lawn. Not only that, he spent time cleaning the lawn of every cigarette butt he could find. It’s his place to smoke with friends before heading out to face the city, and he wanted to do something nice to make it look better.
- Our spring intern from Ivy Tech is getting great experience every morning by meeting and talking to a wide variety of people. It will provide a helpful background for her to draw from as she goes on to become a social worker. As a thank you, yesterday she brought a hearty snack of spaghetti and garlic bread to serve along with freshly baked chocolate chip cookies.
- We’ve had several of our regular visitors die in the past couple months. It’s never quite the same without their presence. One of these was Robert, who months ago had put in an order for Darlene’s special egg casseroles for his birthday in March. Darlene had some eggs donated to the cause and will make mini egg casseroles next week in Robert’s honor. We’ll all enjoy them.
Of course, none of this would happen without our generous donors who know the value of having a place like Patchwork. Special thanks go to everyone who attended our Soup, Salad, & Style event last week! Also, please check out the full list of people who helped to make the event possible!
The funding raised by this event is instrumental in helping us continue to welcome our neighbors with open doors.