The Wild Hunt (https://wildhunt.org/tag/homelessness)
The storm’s energy had intensified and like any good, curious, slightly feral Witch, I wanted to meet it in person. The glass wind chimes hanging on the front porch were jangling madly, making a discordant sound that was the first indication of how bad things were.
Sunshine invited me to have lunch with her at the soup kitchen, which had become a central part of her daily life. Some people there had become like family to her, although she had to hide her spiritual identity while she was among them. Like many Witches and Pagans, she is adept at giving neutral responses to the abundance of Christian greetings and commentary that are frequently offered in American communities.
That little wet and bedraggled baby shone his light onto a deep, haunted wound and showed me that my part of that haunted space could heal now because the rest is healing, too. It is a big release to let a ghost go. To let that much darkness go. To cleanse a haunting.
For ten years, Kyrja and Randy Withers have worked for the homeless community in New Port Richey, Florida, through their Pagan charity, Hands of the Goddess. Although COVID-19 has thrown some bumps in their path, their work continues.
I. Migration
“no one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark…”
According to the United Nations, there are currently more displaced people on the planet than at any other time in recorded history. Nearly sixty million people have fled or have been driven from their homes on account of war, violence, political destabilization, or severe economic conditions, compared to around 38 million a decade ago. 1 out of every 122 humans on this planet is currently a refugee, and 9 out of 10 of them are in regions considered to be underdeveloped by international standards. While the Syrian war is currently the largest contributor to such displacement, displaced people hail from every corner of the world, from Haiti to Pakistan to Senegal to Colombia.