Restoring dignity to those who need help | Commentary
Many homes have pumpkins in the yard. Thanksgiving is a month away. Christmas decorations are already in the stores.
It is time to think about Halloween. What costume are you wearing to the party? Can you resist eating the candy bars for the trick-or-treaters if you put them on this week’s grocery list?
As November nears we often think of gratitude for all the choices and freedoms we enjoy. The pilgrims made a lot of sacrifices, endured hardships, and were grateful for a harvest. Hundreds of years later there still are people who are in want. Some people are still living with the effects of Hurricane Ian.
In November and December we are exhorted to give food, toys, and clothes to the needy. People line up at churches to receive a holiday meal.
Buy a toy and put it in a box at a store’s entry. Fill a child’s stocking for the Salvation Army. Do you hear a ringing bell? Put some spare change in the red kettle before you leave the supermarket.
Are you buying an outfit for each member of a family of five? Do they have a washing machine to wash the clothes? Does a shirt needs ironing? Do they have an iron? Electricity? A needle and thread to sew on a button?
All these charitable efforts mean well. They do help people, at least temporarily. However, do they inflate the ego of the giver more than they help the receiver?
Do the people receiving canned food have a can opener? Do they have a refrigerator that keeps food at 40 degrees? Do they have milk and butter to make macaroni and cheese? Pots and pans? Ziploc bags to store leftovers?
Do they have batteries for the toys they receive? Do they live in such a small space that a younger child might be in danger of ingesting small toy parts?
There is an organization that compassionately assists the poor and disadvantaged by helping people establish legal proof of their identity. It is IDignity, and it doesn’t do it alone but in partnership with government agencies, businesses, churches and community.
Imagine you lack identification documents, that are necessary to prove you are who you say you are, and to access education, employment, housing, healthcare, ability to cash a check, obtain access to shelters, receive social services, and numerous opportunities. This process, restores dignity and empowers individuals to participate in our society.
While IDignity’s clients are often the marginalized of our society, IDignity helps anyone seeking help. IDignity partners with organizations helping the poor, mentally ill, and addicted. Other clients might have a misspelled name on a birth certificate which blocks getting needed documents. Perhaps a person moved and lost identification documents or misplaced them when packing up to prepare for a hurricane.
IDignity helps clients all year long through in-office, in-person, and virtual/remote volunteer positions. Donation opportunities include in-kind donations, fundraisers, monthly donations, event sponsorships, or any amount of your choice.
Melissa Mishoe, who lives in Winter Park, is a volunteer for iDignity. For more information, call 407-792-1374.
