The Flop House
I've heard it a thousand times. I've said it a thousand times myself. "We aren't running a flop house here." But I think back and remember my Grandmother frequently making up a bed for someone. I don't know if it was through the church or through the welfare office but she used to sometimes be making up a bed for people in the evening; after bedtime, for someone that came to them needing a place to sleep.
I remember her pulling out sheets, blankets and pillows and making a crisp, clean bed on the sofa that folded down flat or the spare room off the kitchen. It's a fuzzy memory. I don't remember any of the people she made the bed for. I do know that she took in children for Juvenile hall until they could be placed. Not ones that committed crimes but the ones that had been taken for other reasons. She might have them a night or for a couple weeks.
The moral of this story is that my Grandma could never turn away a person that needed a place to sleep. Neither could my mother. Neither can I.
Recently my daughter had a couple staying here. They had just come into town, back from out of town but the guy we knew from him living here previously. Unfortunately, they didn't tell us she was under age. She got picked up and sent home. That's happened to me before. Do I regret it? No, she needed a place to stay regardless and what was I to do? Make her sleep on the street because she was under 18? I don't think so.
More recently we've had a friend of my younger girls staying over some of the time. Her and her mom have been hit even harder than we have lately because she's a realtor. They've lost their home, etc. They have to stay out of the area with Grandma but the girl is still at school here. Mom is working 2 odd jobs at odd hours to try to keep money coming in. So sometimes its easier to have the girl stay here and catch the bus to/from school. Heck, I understand what they are going through. I understand what its like to need help. It's the least I can do.
So am I running a flop house? Maybe. If I am, then I'm proud of it. I don't think I'm taking unnecessary risks. But I just can't turn people in need away. I'm not out scooping up people off the street but if people I know come to my door and ask for help; and I can give it to them; then I will. Letting them sleep on my family room floor (on a mattress) is really no big sacrifice for me. A couple extra showers and maybe extra bowls of cereal in the morning just isn't going to send me to the streets. It's the very least I can offer.
I remember her pulling out sheets, blankets and pillows and making a crisp, clean bed on the sofa that folded down flat or the spare room off the kitchen. It's a fuzzy memory. I don't remember any of the people she made the bed for. I do know that she took in children for Juvenile hall until they could be placed. Not ones that committed crimes but the ones that had been taken for other reasons. She might have them a night or for a couple weeks.
The moral of this story is that my Grandma could never turn away a person that needed a place to sleep. Neither could my mother. Neither can I.
Recently my daughter had a couple staying here. They had just come into town, back from out of town but the guy we knew from him living here previously. Unfortunately, they didn't tell us she was under age. She got picked up and sent home. That's happened to me before. Do I regret it? No, she needed a place to stay regardless and what was I to do? Make her sleep on the street because she was under 18? I don't think so.
More recently we've had a friend of my younger girls staying over some of the time. Her and her mom have been hit even harder than we have lately because she's a realtor. They've lost their home, etc. They have to stay out of the area with Grandma but the girl is still at school here. Mom is working 2 odd jobs at odd hours to try to keep money coming in. So sometimes its easier to have the girl stay here and catch the bus to/from school. Heck, I understand what they are going through. I understand what its like to need help. It's the least I can do.
So am I running a flop house? Maybe. If I am, then I'm proud of it. I don't think I'm taking unnecessary risks. But I just can't turn people in need away. I'm not out scooping up people off the street but if people I know come to my door and ask for help; and I can give it to them; then I will. Letting them sleep on my family room floor (on a mattress) is really no big sacrifice for me. A couple extra showers and maybe extra bowls of cereal in the morning just isn't going to send me to the streets. It's the very least I can offer.
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