Family moves from emotion to action to help homeless
“I look at it as though it could be a family member of mine. It could be myself. It could be a friend that goes through hard times.” Freddie Patterson, Daily Bread Outreach Center
When Freddie and Elnora Patterson drive around town and see homeless people, it bothers them — a common reaction.
Three years ago, they made a less common reaction. They started doing something about it.
The Pattersons formed God’s Daily Bread Outreach Center, a ministry that provides donated food and clothes to the homeless and others in need.
“I look at it as though it could be a family member of mine,” Freddie Patterson said. “It could be myself. It could be a friend that goes through hard times. Statistics show the homeless population is steadily going up, and we can’t be afraid to embrace these people.”
Ultimately, they want to create a facility that provides daily meals in north Baton Rouge, much the way the Society of St. Vincent de Paul does near downtown. In the meantime, though, they are doing what they can.
Every Saturday morning, they distribute clothes, food and other items at Holy Divinity Church, 4449 Cannon St. On varying weekdays, they provide food donated by the Jambalaya Shoppe for distribution at a relative’s home on Airline Highway.
Deb Lathan has met numerous people in need through the apartment ministry at Parkview Baptist Church, where she attends. The Pattersons never know exactly which day the Jambalaya Shoppe will be able to donate food, but when the food is available, they call Lathan, and she spreads the word. She said about 20 to 30 people show up.
Some of the people she calls are youths whose parent or parents are neglectful, Lathan said. Each family brings a container to take several meals worth of jambalaya back home.
“I get on Craigslist a lot. In fact, I found a family yesterday that needs a bunch of stuff,” she said. “If I find someone in need or if I know a family is having a hard time, a lot of the parents are just out there doing their own thing. God … just kind of shows me and tells me. That’s basically how I find them.
“It’s really been a blessing for my neighborhood.”
In addition to the Jambalaya Shoppe, God’s Daily Bread Outreach Center has received money from Wal-Mart Inc. and donations of clothes, blankets and other items from individuals. The Pattersons, who both have full-time jobs — Freddie as a painter with Turner Industries, Elnora as a bus driver for East Baton Rouge Parish schools — coordinate the effort from an office at 2036 Wooddale Blvd. They would like to expand their outreach.
Initially, they considered opening a restaurant, reserving certain days for the homeless to eat for free. The goal now is to create a more conventional feeding ministry.
“We’re looking at the people here who have to find a way to go over there to eat every day or to sit down at a place where they don’t feel like they’re homeless,” Freddie Patterson said. “That’s what we want, a place where they can come in and they can eat off of china, where they’re not eating off paper plates, a nice setting, a Christian atmosphere, an area where they don’t feel like they’re homeless.”
That has proven easier said than done. An ordinance requiring a certain amount of parking space — ironic, since the homeless are far less likely to own cars — prevented them from using one available location in Scotlandville. Neighbors of potential locations are often unenthusiastic about being near a facility that draws the homeless.
The Pattersons see it differently.
“We can’t be afraid to bring these people in, because one day we could be the same people, that is down on our luck and know that there is a place we can go,” Freddie Patterson said. “So, we shouldn’t be afraid of bringing these people in. We should be trying to help these people and help our city of Baton Rouge get back to where it needs to be.
“It’s just like sinners coming to church. Are we going to turn away from them because they are sinners, or are we going to bring them in and convert them? That’s what we want to do. We want to bring them in off the streets and get them back where they need to be.”