The Wild Hunt (https://wildhunt.org/tag/homelessness)
After experiencing the challenges of the five months following Helene, I eagerly moved through the kaleidoscopic seasons, observing the early signs of change. I danced in the garden when I found purple dead nettle blooming, and I crowed with delight when the daffodils returned from the underworld.
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.
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