Dinner gathering helps county’s homeless

Cindy Leise | The Chronicle-Telegram

 

LORAIN — For 31 years, Paul Brown of Elyria worked as a truck driver and he squirreled away money for retirement.

But a bad investment left him nearly penniless. Now he is homeless and waiting for a chance to move into public housing.

Brown, 68, said he was grateful for a chance to have a nice meal Friday night at Black River Landing where a dinner was held to bring awareness to the homeless.

“It’s nice people would do this,” Brown said after eating a dinner of chicken and mushroom gravy, mashed potatoes, summer vegetables, baby greens salad, rolls and cake and ice cream.

The event was the brainchild of Joan Samkow of the Lorain County Board of Mental Health and Carla Hartman of PATH, a program of Gathering Hope House which provides outreach to the homeless.

Dignitaries who rubbed elbows with the homeless or served them dinner included Bill Harper, assistant director of the Ohio Department of Mental Health,  state Sen. Sue Morano, Lorain County Sheriff Phil Stammitti and Marcia Ballinger, vice president of strategic and institutional development at Lorain County Community College.

The speaker was Aman Motwane, author of the book “Yes, You Can Change the World,” who talked about finding good in all people.

Motwane, who was born in India and later ... Read the rest here.