Word On The Street

We met our friend during street outreach in early May living in a tent behind some buildings. We received a call from landlord asking if we could reach out to the person living there. Many times a referral will come through via a community resident, these referrals are vital because there are times that we are not aware of certain friends living outdoors. The community at large becomes our eyes extended on the streets of CNY, its a blessing. We engaged our friend with Doc Lehmann ,JD and Kat and the process to housing started. We let our friend know that his spot was made and the landlord was very concerned for him. Our friend decided to move to a new location and was not willing to go into the shelter system. We received another call 3 weeks later that someone seen a homeless man walking up the on ramp to 690 east going to a spot under the bridge. We investigated and found our friend again and informed him that the State and City officials were very concerned because this was a very dangerous location not just for him but also for motorist driving by who could become distracted. In 2012 we lost one of our friends in this location when he burned to death trying to stay warm on a late fall night. Our friend understood and engagement went a little deeper. Our friend acknowledged his drug addiction and Doc was able to write him a script for medications that he needed. Our friend still refused shelter and we are continuing our efforts every week believing that the no strings approach with the love we are showing will lead him to make a positive change. Now the bridge needed to be cleaned and the HIRE GROUND team stepped into action in partnership with the State D.O.T. Onondaga County and Syracuse D.P.W. The ramp was closed for safety and the location was cleaned in a 2 hour time frame. 9 Friends on the van experiencing homelessness assisting another friend in cleaning out his campsite. We are beautifying our city while partnering with Government agencies while bringing Dignity and Value to our friends. Together with your support we are makin a difference in the lives of our friends and our

We understand that living on the streets is life and death in CNY. Since 2011 44 friends have passed away living outdoors. 2 women were murdered, 2 friends died in abandoned house fire trying to stay warm, 30 friends have overdosed, 8 friends have died from health complication from living a hard life outdoors and 2 friends were hit by vehicles while walking on the side of the road. Scott who is in the picture we are holding up is one of the men hit by a vehicle. We met Scott in early 2015 living outdoors, he was one of Steve’s (pictured here) good friends. Steve and Scott were homeless living on the streets of Syracuse. Steve made it indoors on 7/7/15  with Scott making indoors not to far after in late fall of that year. Steve addressed his addiction was reunited with his family and is now living in S. Carolina with his family. Scott never addressed his addiction and was disconnected from his family who is living in N. Carolina. In March 2018 Scott was walking home in a drunken state and fell into the road into on coming traffic. Scott was severely injured and passed away due to his injuries. IMFK did a service for Scott here in Syracuse and we have been the guardians of his remains knowing there would be a time to transport him back to the Carolinas to spread his ashes. Well the opportunity presented itself last week as Steve was able to come up to Syracuse for a visit and to take care of some business. Steve met us at IMFK for a reunion with his friend Scott. Steve and I shared funny memories of Scott and talked about life coming to a full circle. Steve will be transporting Scott back home and spreading his ashes in the State he was born in. Our mission at IMFK is to bring Value and Dignity to our friends even unto DEATH! Scott Love you my brother YOU WERE NOT INVISIBLE!

In the mood for some healthy, comfort food that will keep you in fat burn 🔥

Sour Cream Beef Bake 🤤
Makes 6 servings

5 cups cauliflower rice
15 ounces cooked 85-94% lean ground beef
2 Cups In My Fathers Kitchen Taste and See Sauce
1/2 Cup sour cream
1 1/2 Cup 1% cottage cheese
2 Cups reduced fat shredded cheese
1/2 Cup green onion
1/2 Teaspoon salt
1 Teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 350.
Place the cauliflower rice in a 2.5-quart baking dish. Microwave 4-5 minutes or until tender but not mushy.
After cooking, set aside (leave in the casserole dish).
In a large skillet or pot, cook the ground beef over medium-high heat until browned, 7-10 minutes.
Drain and stir in the IMFK Taste and See Sauce, salt, and pepper.
In a mixing bowl, stir together the cottage cheese and sour cream. Mix in the sliced green onions.
Pour the sour cream mixture into the cauliflower rice (that’s in the casserole dish) and mix well.
Pour half of the beef mixture over the cauliflower rice mixture.
Spread with the back of a spoon to even. Top with 1 cup of the cheddar cheese.
Repeat with the remaining beef mixture and cheese, ending with the cheese.
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Eating With A Purpose
Taste and See

Collaboration is a big part of what needs to happen to assists our friends outdoors. We received a call from Rescue Mission for assistance with a gentleman they were assisting who needed medical attention. Doctor Lehmann was ready to assist and the connection was made to help this man. The info we received was that he had a leg abscess that had maggots invading the wound. When we arrived Doc looked at the leg cleaned it up and bandaged it, when he was done our new friend said that his foot was worse than his leg. When Doc pulled off the sock we were met by dozens of maggots crawling around a little pinky toe wound. Doc was able to clean out the area disinfect and assess the wound. Our friend had a bone from his pinky exposed and didn’t even realize it. Doc later explained to us that because of our friends severe addiction to alcohol that he now suffers from alcohol neuropathy. What is Alcohol Neuropathy? Alcoholic neuropathy involves coasting caused by damage to nerves that results from long term excessive drinking of alcohol and is characterized by spontaneous burning pain, hyperalgesia and allodynia. Once area was clean and bandaged we were able to provide new socks, sneakers and antibiotics. Doc will be visiting him next week to discuss follow up care with our friend regarding this serious condition. We at IMFK will work with any organization that is willing to assist any of our friends outdoors. Relationship building is important with our friends outdoors but relationship building with organizations is vital as well so we can assist our friends with a higher level of care.

We met Marc in 2019 and have continually engaged him with food and supplies while he’s been sleeping inside of a tent in the woods. We’ve recently been able to connect him with a housing provider and are waiting for a space to open up for Marc to call his own.

During our journey with Marc he expressed to us that the prescription glasses he received several years earlier were no longer meeting his needs and he was having trouble seeing both near and far. Our close partnership with Dr. Lehmann at House Calls for The Homeless allowed us to conduct an initial eye exam for Marc to determine his level of need and refer him appropriately. We transported Marc to a specialist in Auburn who was able to give Marc the proper prescription. Dr. Lehmann paid the bill for the exam and the prescription lenses. With prescription in hand, Marc was on his way to meet with Dr. Morrison at Renken Opticians in Syracuse to pick out his new face! Marc was able to pick out frames, Dr. Morrison affixed the lenses, and graciously gifted them to Marc. What a blessing!

There isn’t one person or organization that can do it all alone. It truly is a team effort, and we are thankful for people like Dr. Lehmann and Dr. Morrison who join us in showing true compassion and love to our friends experiencing homelessness. Our hope now is that Marc will see the road ahead a bit more clearly and be confident in knowing he does not have to make this journey alone.’

“JD”  DiDomenico, Care Manager

In My Fathers Kitchen