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A. Pickett Construction donates to Holy Family Parish

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Wilkes-Barre police searching for two wanted on felony charges

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; This is the time of year many people think about the holidays and what Santa might bring.</p><p>They wonder what they will receive and contemplate what to get loved ones.</p><p>That&#8217;s all fine and good. The holidays provide great memories. I still remember getting my first bicycle from Santa. I remember many Christmas morning surprises. I would then call my friends or go to their houses to see what Santa had brought them.</p><p>These days, I think about those who have never seen Santa &#8212; who never receive beautifully-wrapped gifts.</p><p>I think of Jim Sobieski, a former homeless man who died in April, 2013. I got to know Jim through his volunteer work with REACH, a drop-in center for the homeless, and the St. Vincent de Paul Kitchen. He was a tireless worker who sincerely cared about his fellow human beings.</p><p>I remember Jim telling me about his work at the kitchen. I had asked him what exactly he did- his answer still rings in my head and my heart.</p><p>Jim told me he scrubbed pots and pans at the kitchen because he wanted to be sure they were clean before they were used for the next day&#8217;s meal. He also helped serving and cleaning up, but scrubbing those pots and pans was at the top of his agenda every day.</p><p>Jim took the time to clean those pots and pans because he knew just about every homeless person in town. He knew them, he talked to them, he tried to counsel them the best he could. He wanted to offer his experiences to help others get back on their feet.</p><p>What Jim couldn&#8217;t give from his pocketbook, he gave from his heart.</p><p>The year he passed, I was asked to speak at the annual Homeless Persons Memorial Service at St. Stephen&#8217;s Episcopal Church on South Franklin Street. I talked about Jim and his dedication. I talked about his unrecognized devotion to his fellow human beings. I talked about how Jim was virtually anonymous in the community, yet he delivered an incredible and immeasurable positive impact on many.</p><p>Stefanie Wolownik, program supervisor at Manna House, which offers transitional housing for homeless young adults ages 18-25, said she is aware of three homeless people who died in 2015 &#8212; two men and one woman. Their names will be added to the list, bringing the number of deceased homeless to 119. Each name will be read at the candlelight vigil.</p><p>As you walk along Public Square, South Main Street or near the Susquehanna River, you can see the homeless. Some of them live in makeshift tents, while others seek shelter in abandoned buildings. Efforts to establish a permanent shelter for homeless men in this area have failed.</p><p>Many homeless drink too much. Many do drugs. Many have no motivation to better themselves.</p><p>They need help. They need a community to care enough to do all it can to help them &#8212; to show it sincerely cares.</p><p>There are efforts to help, such as Mother Teresa Haven, the traveling men&#8217;s homeless shelter that goes from church to church for two weeks at a time. Ruth&#8217;s Place and Catherine McCauley Center continue to do excellent work to help homeless women. And the St. Vincent de Paul Kitchen continues to feed those in need &#8212; more and more each year.</p><p>Far more needs to be done.</p><p>Wolownik says the annual service is an opportunity to remember those who may have been forgotten &#8212; those who have become invisible, whose families may have given up on them due to their addiction or mental illness.</p><p>&#8220;The homeless deserve the respect and dignity afforded all human beings,&#8221; she said. &#8220;And if they didn&#8217;t feel it during their life, maybe we can remember they existed and that their death matters.&#8221;</p><p>The 10th Annual Homeless Persons Memorial Service will be held at 4:30 p.m. Monday at St. Stephen&#8217;s Episcopal Church, 35 S. Franklin St., Wilkes Barre. I urge you to attend.</p><p>As in the past, it will be a short service, followed by a candlelight vigil/necrology and a light meal in the church&#8217;s Fellowship Hall.</p><p>Wolownik, former director at REACH, will again coordinate the observance.</p><p>&#8220;I hope you can join us in remembering those who may have been forgotten,&#8221; she wrote to me.</p><p>That simple sentence, that polite request, says so much more than Wolownik realizes &#8212; to remember those who may have been forgotten.</p><p>The homeless who have passed have certainly been forgotten by most of the greater Wyoming Valley community.</p><p>The reality is they were forgotten long before they passed away.</p><p>And that is our biggest failure of all.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Bill O&#8217;Boyle </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_Oboyle_Bill-2-4.jpg</photo0><caption0>Bill O&#8217;Boyle </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_homeless03.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">This Times Leader photo from April shows a homeless encampment along the railroad tracks across from the former Murray&#8217;s Inn building in Wilkes-Barre. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_homeless03.jpg</photo1><caption1>This Times Leader photo from April shows a homeless encampment along the railroad tracks across from the former Murray&#8217;s Inn building in Wilkes-Barre. </caption1><photoCredit1>Pete G. Wilcox file photo | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Annual service will again shed light on the plight of the homeless