Homelessness is a serious problem across America—and a difficult problem to get out of.
Although we often take it for granted, having a home and a safe place to live is a luxury that many do not have. There is a definite stigma attached to being homeless that often makes people look the other way; maybe the people without homes got there because they were lazy, or because they aren’t good people in some way. The truth is that, in most cases, homeless people are just like anyone else who needs help.
That was the belief of one woman in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
After a local homeless shelter had closed down, the local homeless population in Kenosha were left with nowhere to go.
One day, a local woman named Arnette Griffin saw what was happening and decided to take matters in her own hands. Rather than let these people suffer, Griffin chose to use her own Social Security check to buy them food. As a result of her kindness, Griffen and the local homeless population have something of arrangement.
Every day, people line up on the corner of 61st and 22nd Ave in Kenosha and wait for Griffin to show up with lunch and dinner.
Griffin’s passion to help was largely inspired by her own experiences.
Working with a few family members, Griffin has called this charitable enterprise God’s Kitchen of Kenosha. As it turns out, Griffin’s passion for helping others is at least partially inspired by experiencing homelessness firsthand. “Losing my job, I couldn’t pay my rent and we got evicted. We went to shelters, stayed in shelters,” she said.
Still, her kind efforts recently hit a bump in the road.
After a stranger turned her in, the health department shut Griffin’s charitable operation down.
As it turns out, serving food to others from a personal kitchen is a health code violation. For her part, Griffin is disappointed but won’t be stopped:
“It’s unfair, but it is life. Life still goes on and whoever it is [who turned me in], I pray for him or her.”
To fight back, Griffin has plans to expand her services.
Although she was only helping a small group of locals before, Griffin wants to expand God’s Kitchen of Kenosha to a real building to be in good standing. To that end, Mark Melotik, a local manager of environment health, is working with Griffin to figure the situation out. Again, Griffin is counting on her faith to carry her through:
“Don’t worry about it. Don’t panic about it because God got this under control . . . I’m not going to be stopped, I can’t be stopped. I’m a child of God.”
Good luck to you, Arnette!
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