My wife and I know something about homelessness in Raleigh. For decades, our Sunday school class at Trinity Baptist church had been feeding the homeless once a month. We'd set up tables on the sidewalk at Moore Square and hand out coffee and donuts. we brought everything we could think of that would help someone without a place to live: soap, shampoo, socks, toiletries, disposable razors, Band-Aids, and antiseptic, brownies, cookies, fruit, roll ups, etc. We did that for years until Raleigh opened a temporary homeless center downtown. That was a definite improvement. We were out of the weather and out of the way. Our days on more square sometimes snarled traffic. The cops were terrific about it. They helped us move the tables and directed traffic. I've met a lot of cops and the men and women of the RPD are the best. They deserve our support. When Raleigh opened a new center, Oak City Cares it was amazing; a state of the art facility. (https://oakcitycares.org) Our involvement with the homeless ended during Covid. But that center is the best resource for homelessness in Raleigh. The problem is it's on S. Wilmington St. Quite a hike from Crabtree mall which is where I tend to hang out. (I worked at Sears all through high school and college. Shopping malls feel like home to me.) I was talking with a homeless veteran during the worst of the weather earlier this week. I learned he was a former Marine gunnery sergeant. When he told me this, I said "Semper Fi" softly. He looked me calmly in the eye, and said "00-rah". He said he could stay with family in Greensboro, but he didn't like to be closed in. I get that. I spend as much of my time outdoors as I can. I mentioned the problem with getting from Crabtree to Oak city cares. He said there's no problem, the bus routes will take people right to them. I always make it a point to talk to homeless people. And parking valets, janitors, sales clerks, and security guards and cops. All the people we take for granted. Our community would grind to a halt without them. They are the details everyone overlooks. My number one personal guideline is: Pay attention to details. Or as my wife puts it, PATD. Although my favorite is Yogi Berra's "you can observe a lot by watching".͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏