John Tumino

We meet so many friends on the streets during outreach who panhandle. 95% of our friends who panhandle have a serious addiction going on in their lives. We never judge our shame our friends, we instead love and encourage them to make positive choices, one option we present to them is our HIRE GROUND PROGRAM. What is Hire Ground you may be asking?

Hire Ground is a collaborative partnership with the County of Onondaga and is an IMFK outreach to the unemployed homeless and panhandlers in the City of Syracuse and Onondaga County.

The “Hire Ground” program gives panhandlers and the unemployed homeless in Syracuse and Onondaga County an opportunity for change in their lives by offering work experience through day labor and connections to needed support services.

Every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, the Hire Ground van picks up nine individuals at various locations throughout the City of Syracuse and Onondaga County. Once they complete the intake process the Hire Ground team transports our friends to job sites to work on beautification and other various projects. These projects include but are not limited to, picking up litter after a concert at the St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheater, building picnic tables for the NY State Fair, and picking up trash from area parks and roadways.

In addition to working a five-hour shift and receiving a $50 stipend, Hire Ground feeds them breakfast, lunch, and snacks for the day and provides transportation back to the pickup locations. We have served over 450 panhandling individuals to receive A Hand Up, Not A Handout. Our Care Managers connect participants to service providers in the Housing Coalition of CNY, as well as the Department of Social Services. Without this collaborative effort, serving the needs of our participants would not be possible.

It all starts with street outreach a lunch a kind word an an opportunity! Together with your support we are Building Hope and Changing Lives

Last week while doing street outreach a young couple approached our outreach van asking for money. I let them know we do not give out money and asked if they knew about In My Father’s Kitchen and pointed to the van. They said they were new to the area for only three weeks and didn’t know where things were. I explained how we assist folks gave them a wonderful lunch and proceeded to ask more questions. They were able to share with us that they were living outdoors in a tent and that the young lady who was 25 years old was also two months pregnant. I asked if they would like to go to a shelter and they refused. They were in town because of a domestic situation back in their hometown and they do not feel safe returning. We highly encouraged them to go to the shelter and Doc recommended to them that he could put in a referral to an OBGYN. The young woman was so appreciative, that we were able to stop and pick her up some prenatal vitamins as well. She also expressed that she was not on the medication that she needs to be taking so Doc called in a script and filled her request. They shared with us the location of their campsite where we have been able to visit them over the last ten days. Little did they know who they were approaching to panhandle they thought they were asking for money but what they received instead was unconditional love with no judgment. They received guidance food medical attention but far greater they received Relationship! Thank you for your continued support of the work we are doing in Central NY, together we are building hope and changing lives. We will continue to move forward with our new friends and do whatever it takes to make sure they get safely indoors. Our new friends know that they are  NOT INVISIBLE!

We met Alton living outdoors with his girlfriend Sam in July of 2019. We would see them every week with clothing, food, and medical attention from Dr. Lehmann. They would both be participants in our Hire Ground work program as well and showed great work ethic throughout our workday. We were able to assist them both into housing in November of 2019 just before the snow started to fly in Central NY. Who would have known that a pandemic was about to be unleashed around the globe the following March of 2020, can you say rescued just in time! We have been in constant contact with both of them and we were informed that they are expecting a child (a little girl) in August of this year. This past week we were contacted by a local Cementary that they were in need of a groundsman. We immediately that about Alton, set up the interview and we are excited to say that he was Hired! He started on Friday, May 13th full time making $13 an hour. What a story of redemption, your continued support of our mission makes opportunities like this possible. We have the best Sous Chefs (supporters) anyone can ask for. We will be posting a wish list for baby items as this precious little girl is on the way. Together we are Building Hope and Changing Lives

John and Leigh Ann

Lunch is a Big Part of finding out someone’s story! Food brings people to the table where real conversation happens. One of the great things that happens on our Hire Ground workdays is relationship building. During lunch, the defenses go down which creates opportunities for our Care Managers to dig a little deeper into someone’s story. Today we had lunch at the Brady Market located on Gifford Street in Syracuse. As you can see from the video below that the quality of these meals is incredible. We have learned that meeting someone’s immediate needs opens opportunities for our friends to ask for assistance in other deeper challenges. Food is a powerful tool in our arsenal and with your continued support, we are making a difference in the lives of those who feel Invisible!

When serving our friends outdoors we are always giving out fresh socks (freshies) as they are called. The reason is that proper foot care is important when you are living outdoors or you may be newly housed and have no means of transportation other than walking. On average our friends walk about 30-50 miles each week getting themselves around town. When engaging our friends outdoors with Dr. Lehmann a common request is looking at someone’s feet because of discomfort and pain. Making House Calls at the street level is a vital part of bringing dignity to our friends that are suffering. Doc initiated an opportunity using med students that come out with us, a so-called foot clinic of sorts. When engaging someone on the streets who present with feet issues we would set up a time to meet them at IMFK to do a foot washing and any treatment that may be necessary. Well, this afternoon we set up an appointment with Joe. Joe worked on the Hire Ground van earlier that day and when his day was over Halie was able to wash Joe’s feet and then proceeded to cut his nails and treat a callus on the bottom of his foot. We will do whatever it takes to show someone dignity and value in the middle of their suffering. Thank you Doc for your continued compassionate care to our friends and thank you for training the next generation of physicians on what it really means to serve the less fortunate! Joe was so appreciative and thankful for the care he received, You Are Not Invisible our friend!