Freeway Laundromat

For many years I’ve taken my laundry to the Freeway Laundromat.

It is convenient, offers wonderful service (all my laundry always looks better than I thought possible), and the store is extremely clean given the busy traffic.

The ‘main lady’ is a great Portuguese woman who has been there since I started with them. She is warm, knows everyone, and gives deals to folks when she can (it is in a low income neighborhood so most of the customers are financially stressed).

I have had many interesting and dear conversations with the staff and customers.

They all love Lucille the Dog….so I often bring her in… and she romps and licks with whomever wishes a little dog attention.

Yesterday afternoon I stopped to pick up my laundry.

A young woman was on one of the outside benches sobbing uncontrollably.

She was with a community policewoman who was attempting to help.

I asked the young woman if I might sit with her.

She had been doing laundry and was…it appears…pushed around and – she thought – robbed …by one of her two roommates!

After ten or fifteen minutes she disclosed the two roommates were new, she had lived with her grandmother until she passed away, and had only one close friend.

The roommate had taken her money and computer and other personal belongings …she had no idea what to do next.

She did not want to reveal the roommates names for fear of retribution (my experience with the community police thinks it was wise…they would have made a mess).

Within one-half hour she was able to talk reasonably. Both the policewoman and I emphasized she should not go back to an abusive household.

I gave her my number and offered to help her find temporary shelter. She was grateful…and was able to return to doing her laundry while she figured out her next step.

My worry…temporary shelter would have been difficult.

The existing social service organizations …although good-hearted….mostly concentrate on seriously distressed men and woman in shelter houses. To send her there is to risk more distress.

The traditional Christian teaching of concentrating aid on the neediest amongst us is also poorly served today. There are folks trying, but they are grossly underfinanced….and our society has no understanding on how much money is needed to fulfill the holy intention of caring for the needy (or even what methods are best).

She has not called. I continue to think about her.