Ken Neubeck:

I volunteer at the Egan Warming Center at First Christian Church. Watching and interacting with people who are cold, wet, tired, and hungry waiting patiently to get shuttled to one of the other Egan centers or, later in the evening, be admitted to First Christian, is a sobering experience.

Those waiting are young and elderly, able-bodied and alter-abled, mentally well and mentally ill, with companions and very alone, hopeful and hopeless, confident and anxious. All are being denied the fundamental human right to housing, which in turn denies them the human rights to personal security, health, and even life.

And any one of us could end up waiting outside in the cold and wet to be sheltered and warmed, given a mat on a church floor and a blanket, and fed a grilled cheese sandwich, right alongside them.