By Emma Robinson

During the 1990s, I volunteered with the Catholic Worker to protest nuclear weapons. During that period, I also volunteered with Carlotta Bryce, a now-deceased member of the Unitarian Church of Norfolk. Initially, the scrambled eggs, grits, and coffee were prepared at Carlotta’s home in Portsmouth, VA, and served out of the back of Carlotta’s truck. The First Lutheran Church of Portsmouth invited us to cook and serve breakfast in their Social Hall. When we moved the Breakfast to First Lutheran, some of the homeless men volunteered to cook the eggs and grits and make the coffee in the Church’s kitchen.

I volunteered with an Interfaith Coalition to advocate for Affordable Housing in Virginia Beach over 20 years ago. We attended City Council Meetings. Now, we can see the fruit of that labor as more affordable housing has been built in Virginia Beach and surrounding cities. More needs to be done as some citizens advocate against affordable housing near their communities.

I volunteered with the winter shelter program at UCN and CVUU, sometimes staying overnight and sometimes volunteering before and after the sleepover. I was always impressed by the hard work of the volunteers and the manner in which the homeless enjoyed the food and hospitality, made themselves comfortable on the pallets on the floor, got up early, and departed the shelter. Some were going to jobs, and others were venturing out for another day on the street, in a library, and wherever they could survive another day.

Most recently, I participated in the Wednesday Dinner Distribution Program at CVUU. I discontinued due to physical limitations. It is good to see that Program thriving with so many hard-working, cheerful volunteers.