A Heart for the Homeless
KM: Hi Randy! How long have you been running the Burrito Project?
RL: Since 2009.
KM: Are there things going on other days, in addition to Wed., Thurs. and Saturdays through Common Ground?
RL: Sundays, I just go and meet different groups of people just before church at Common Ground Church. Now it’s grown to 40 plus people. See the below postcard for Monday thru Sunday meals in Lake Worth.
KM: How do you find volunteers?
RL: Word of mouth. Generally, most people, including me, had no idea 1) that there are hungry people around here and 2) that there’s a way to find them.
KM: What do volunteers need to know ahead of time?
RL: The first time you come you don’t have to know anything – it’s not for everybody. Serving the homeless is a specialized service. “Just come and if it stirs your heart, come back.” Of course, there are many other good causes – helping abused children, literacy, and many others. You have to find what’s in your heart. The important thing is treating the people on the streets like you would be treated. In serving them, you cannot be looking down upon them.
KM: How do homeless people find out about it (when and where to show up)? Word of mouth?
RL: Post cards and word of mouth. You have to look around and find the proper outreach team, but most churches do some kind of outreach.
KM: What kinds of things are donated and what things do you have to buy each week?
RL: All the food gets donated by Restoration Bridge International – they feed approximately 22,000 people a week. They are happy to supply. We are part of their operation also. When it comes to toiletries, I have to buy them – travel sized things. I also have to buy socks and underwear. I’m a pretty good shopper. We are always in need of men’s cargo shorts and jeans, mainly 28” to 34” width, but we take any size. We need these year-round. We find that we serve more men than women. The split is either 80/20 or maybe even 90/10.
KM: What other things are you most in need of?
RL: I’m always looking for people to cook. We serve a large meal on Wednesdays. Also we need people to cook the rice and beans for the burritos on Saturdays. I’m forever buying work boots and backpacks too.
KM: Tell me about a success story from your time with the Burrito Project.
RL: We love it when someone leaves to go to a treatment center, then gets out and returns to us because they want to give back and volunteer. There’s a musician named Noah Prescott with Raised Fist Propaganda. He always reminds me of when I fed him burritos in 2015. Now he’s somewhat famous. By the way, back in 2015, we worked out of people’s homes. After that, we started operating out of the Chinese Christian Chapel at Lantana and Hagen Ranch Road. Today we are happy to have a permanent home at Common Ground Church.
KM: Tell me about the “extra things” that you do for those in need, in addition to providing a meal – like a cell phone charging station and haircuts?
RL: Over the years, the Burrito Project has been the best attended of any of the feedings in this city. Thanks to that, we were able to get the shower people, Dare to Care, to come on Saturdays. They have a trailer with 4 shower stalls. We have attracted a few hair stylists that come. We’ve attracted Rebel Recovery; they attend our events. The VA (Veterans Affairs) housing lady comes once a week. We also have a Medicare/Medicaid insurance agent that comes. We now offer different resources that can help the homeless above and beyond their daily needs.
The Burrito Project will be a 501c3 organization in the next month or so – we’re just waiting on some paperwork. It’s what the Lord has put on our hearts and it’s the only thing we want to do, help others. We are so blessed to have a bunch of faithful volunteers, and they keep coming back and coming back. The Burrito Project is the main thing and we operate outdoors (and with a large storage space), thanks to Common Ground Church. It’s private property and we are not in danger of being booted out (as has happened in the past). A big thanks to Pastor Mike and his wife Kelly for the venue.
KM: Tell us about yourself. You seem to have a big heart for the homeless.
I was once homeless, but it was really different in the hippie days. Now there are folks that are chronically homeless, and we’d love to see them get it together. We’d love to see them get off the streets and get into the mainstream. Some people just aren’t meant for that. The Lord picked people like me and put it on our hearts to help. I feel that you are blessed to know where the Lord wants you. I’m a Vietnam veteran. And for nineteen and a half years I drove a truck for a big linen company. I retired from there, and this is what I do now. Without having something to do in retirement, I’d be lost. I’m always busy and it drives my wife Yimo crazy.
KM: What’s something you’ve heard from one of the homeless people that made you smile?
RL: I smile at the things they tell me – about someone giving them a cold bottle of water, or simply someone treating them with civility and respect. They tell me that because it’s a big deal when it happens. It’s really little things that make a difference like when someone remembers their name.
KM: Tell me about your “blessing bags.”
RL: Yes, I carry around blessing bags, Zip lock quart bags. They include a small bottle of water, a pack of cheese crackers and usually 3 different types of snack bars. – bottle of water, crackers, 3 different types of snack bars. I buy palettes of water from Costco. And Costco donates one palette each year to us, which usually lasts 2 or 3 months.
KM: Anything else?
RL: We are having a fundraiser on Friday, May 15th at Common Ground (Venue at 1201). It’s sold out! I’ll be there and a lot of people from our team will be there. The fundraiser helps a lot with the upkeep for the facility that we are using. We use water and electric. Also, we have destroyed the sprinkler system by accident and that sort of thing is costly to repair. The fundraiser is for our long-term needs, so we can “keep on keeping on.” We’ve sold out the tickets for it.
Having Pastor Mike allow us to have a permanent spot for the Burrito Project is huge and it has stirred my heart. Also, someday I will actually retire and I already have a successor, Michelle Bond. The project will be in good hands with her.
