Living on the Streets: StreetLife volunteer comes to Mayville

Poverty isn’t the absence of money -- it’s the absence of hope. A college student with a lot of student loans or a homeowner with a mortgage technically lacks money, but they have the hopes of a brighter future and happier days. With poverty, that hope is gone. StreetLife Communities is an organization that seeks to restore hope by providing essential resources and support to our neighbors living on the streets of Milwaukee. They are a team of 40+ outreach volunteers and 90+ support volunteers that drive throughout the city to distribute a variety of resources (e.g., warm clothing, hygiene items, food/water) while also providing personal connections, supporting those living on the street in whatever way is needed to feel loved and embraced.
On Sunday, April 12, Alex Seefeld, a StreetLife volunteer and board member, spoke at Mayville United Methodist Church and discussed the ways that interested folks can support the mission. Typical contributions from local community members include donating clothing/hygiene items, baking cookies or making sandwiches, writing encouraging cards, making blankets, and much more.
Alex said, “God has gifted us all with special and unique talents, and we would be honored to utilize those gifts in any capacity to support our mission. More than ever, it takes a village to support people in all walks of life, and any help or donations can help us work toward achieving our goal of restoring hope and dignity to all of our fellow brothers and sisters.”
Church members have collected used plastic shopping bags, cut them to the appropriate dimensions, and woven them into sleeping mats. Thirty mats have been presented to StreetLife by the church in the last ten months. On May 3, the church will be preparing multiple batches of chili to be given to and distributed by StreetLife.