Jorge Munoz is giving, out of the little that he has, to his extended "family." For five or more years, he has cooked and delivered 70,000+ meals to men and women hungry on the streets. His day job is working as a bus driver, and one day he saw food being thrown out at a food factory. He requested to take that food, and handed it out a group of 8 men he saw sitting at the subway station. And he hasn't stopped since. With the assistance of his family, they create home-cooked meals with often donated food, and deliver it to the same subway station each night at 9:30. But it is no longer just 8 men. "You know somebody who's got problems to eat, you tell them to come here. I've got free food for them." Twenty-four, sixty, ninety, one hundred and thirty to one hundred and forty. Each year, the word spreads. And as the economy became harder, the numbers grow. And the Munoz family continues to give these meals to their "family" on the street. Read here the New York Times article that was written about Jorge.
Some people have the gift of seeing individuals apart from the circumstance they find themselves in. Seeing the value that each person possesses. Even those considered the least in the eyes of society. Sister Teresa Fitzgerald is one of those people. She is an advocate for women and their children, fighting to maintain those precious relationships when the moms find themselves in jail.
""I was just moved to think a child was ripped apart from their mom," Teresa said. "The more I talked to the mothers I realize the mothers just needed a chance." Hour Children meets moms in some of the toughest jails in New York. They offer women a fresh start."CBS NewsHour Children is committed to the compassionate and loving care of children of incarcerated women. Their outreach includes support and empowerment for mothers upon reunification with their families. All persons are encouraged to live and interact with dignity and respect. Hour Children website
""No woman comes out of prison and says 'gee I really want to mess up,'" she said. "They just don't have the skills and they have to learn the skills." On one block in Queens, Fitzgerald, or "Sister Tesa" as she's called - provides free housing and daycare, and thrift stores where former inmates can work and shop...Next door to the store, there's computer training and job placement...One of the main goals is making sure the women don't end up back behind bars. In New York state, more than 30 percent of female ex-convicts get arrested again. But the rate for Hour Children's is only 4 percent." CBS News
A second chance with fantastic outcomes when given the support to succeed.
