Juan Galloway shares the inspiring work of The Relief Bus

Juan leads The Relief Bus initiative.  Their two buses go out on a weekly basis to the Bronx, Harlem, Midtown, Newark and Paterson.  While it is true that they bring and distribute food, the main focus is on making one-on-one contact with the homeless and helping them wherever possible.  Juan provided various examples of often using Smart Phones, to try and meet peoples immediate needs.  For example, one person that was in fact a citizen of the US had lost his papers and was living in fear of being deported for not having ID.  A call was made to the appropriate authorities and new papers were provided, removing a great deal of unneeded stress from the persons day to day life. 

Although he is a father of four with family responsibilities, Juan felt it was important to spend a few days living the life of the homeless.  So he asked a homeless person that he knew for several years and trusted, if he could spend a few days and nights with him experiencing his daily and nightly routine.  Sean kindly agreed and they spent several days together during some of the coldest days of this past February together on the street.   He spoke of how he had left all his identity documents at home in case they might get stolen.  However, he got a rude awakening on going to a Drop In center where they provide chairs for homeless people to sit on inside away from the cold.  He was scolded and admonished for not having any identity and it took him quite a while to negotiate getting inside for a while after filling out many documents.  When he left the building to re-join Sean he understood better what Sean said when he explained that he doesn't go to these shelters as 'he doesnt want to get shouted at and treated in that way'.  By the way, did we mention that Sean has in fact done six years in college and holds an MBA?

The work that the Relief Bus does is extremely important.  The volunteers  sometimes have an immediate impact on peoples lives and sometimes it takes many years to see an impact.  In Seans case, after several years of being homeless, he has now started working as an intern at the organization.  Who better to meet with people on the street and to understand their challenge?

Many of us were inspired to take the time to join one of the buses in the upcoming months.  If you would like to volunteer there is more information here.

Juan was happy to receive a donation from our club President, Tom Madigan to help with this worthwhile cause.

In the news story below, Juan's father Richard provides some more background on the great work of the Relief Bus.