LULA NFP - Peoria

Hello friends! We wrestled with posting these photos because we don’t want to shame anyone or make them feel bad. However, we feel strongly that in order to protect our friends on the street, we need to show and explain our thoughts about these food drop offs.

These lunch sacks of milk, ham and cheese sandwiches, and apples have been dropped off repeatedly this week at an encampment. There are no refrigerators here. The apples are generally tossed aside because dental issues prevent them from being edible for many of our friends. The milk is spoiling. The sandwiches are sitting in the heat and being eaten hours later. People are drinking spoiled milk. Many of our friends now have gastrointestinal issues and no access to bathrooms. I’m sure you can imagine the health risks that come with a situation like this.

While this gesture may feel kind, it is actually harmful. We would implore you to stop dropping food at encampments and instead work with organizations (like ours) so we can make sure all of our good intentions have positive outcomes. We’re happy to answer any questions you might have, and encourage you to reach out to us!

What does it look like to love your neighbor?..
This..💗💗💗
Water, Ice, and Lunches by Lula
Harm Reduction supplies by JOLT Harm Reduction
Unconditional Love and support by both ❤️
Teamwork makes the dream work 💗💔

STOP THE SWEEPS!

For those of you who don’t know..
The (UN)Supreme Court passed a law last week, that criminalized sleeping outside.⛺️
It is a targeted bill that criminalizes people JUST for being unsheltered.

We have been in several meetings advocating for our folx.
We keep asking where do you want them to go?
No one has any answers, other than somewhere no one can see them?
While we are disheartened 💔
We continue to fight for our unsheltered neighbors right to simply exist.

Love yoU Like Always 💗

Azzy-Mae thanks for the share.

Hello, friends. As I write this, it is 91 degrees outside. And that’s important for a variety of reasons. One - the outreach team will be providing ice and coolers for our folks who sleep outside - donations to our paypal fund really help with this.

But the other reason the temperature is important is because of food spoilage. We’ve noticed that some generous hearts have been dropping sandwiches and other food items off at the camps. While we see and appreciate your kindness, we would implore you not to do that, and instead reach out to us. Food items that were dropped off this morning sat in this high heat for about 5 hours. Street family folks were so happy to see this food, that they of course ate it. But the reality of the situation is that they’re now at risk for food borne illnesses. If you or I get food poisoning, we’re probably lucky to have a bathroom and a comfy bed nearby. Access to lots of clean drinking water to keep from getting dehydrated while the food poisoning works its way out of our system. A doctor, if we need one. Our friends on the street don’t have most of these things. And worse, with no access to clean bathrooms and regular hygiene, a single case of food poisoning can make a whole campsite sick. While we love to see people’s love in action, we feel strongly that we need to share the reality of the situation - these food drop offs can be dangerous and we implore you not to do it. If you want to help feed our friends on the street, please reach out! We can help direct your efforts so that they do the most good 🩷🩷🩷

LULA is entirely volunteer run - we’re able to do what we do thanks to a generous network of volunteers and donors.

Each week our volunteers pack shelf stable meal kits which include 3 different meat proteins, fruit, juice, crackers, and a fruit snack dessert. These meal kits are then distributed by the Jolt Outreach Team every Friday, so that Street Family folks can have them for the weekend, when regular meals aren’t being served.

Camilla and Nancy are two members of our meal prep team - we’re so grateful for all they do! 🩷🩷🩷

When an encampment gets big enough to attract attention, we know that it will more than likely be bulldozed to the ground. We also know that there are probably many people who think that with a big encampment being gone, the people who lived there are no longer living outside. The “problem” is solved (insert eyeroll here).

They are still living outside. But now their community is fractured and they have been scattered all over the city. Trying to find a place that’s more hidden. Less visible. No one can see their homes, or their homes will disappear. And make no mistake about it - when an encampment is torn down, homes are being lost.

This week, we saw homes with fairy gardens, “floors” being swept up and tidied, ashtrays being used to prevent littering, art being made.

These are people’s homes.

Happy Pride Month
❤️🧡💛💚💙💜
we Love yoU Like Always

My outreach partner and I both looked at each other and said at the exact same time..
“IRONY”

The sign on the ground says:
A Night To End Homelessness
GIMME SHELTER
Friday February 16 2024

**if you don’t know this is an annual fundraiser, where you sleep in a box to “end homelessness”

On another note, I have a ton of people outside and am completely out of tents. 🏕️
Give me shelter, please 🙏?
To give to our neighbors until they get the ending homelessness figured out.
We appreciate you ALWAYS 💗

Also if you know anyone who can edit this picture to be more clear, let me know.

Hey friends! When you order from our Amazon wish list, there IS an option to have it shipped directly to us, but you have to click it. The default address will automatically be yours. Ours should be right below. Hopefully that helps!

Our supply closet is low on some much needed items, and we could use your help restocking!
We need tents, tarps, baby wipes, blankets, and sleeping bags. Everything except for the blankets can be found on our Amazon wish list (in comments). We often pick-up smaller tarps at Walmart. I’ll include those in the comments, as well. Blankets and other wish list items that aren’t ordered through Amazon can be dropped off at Imago Dei Church in Wednesday nights between 5:30 pm and 6.

Thank you SO MUCH for your hearts and your generosity. You are loved and appreciated 🩷🩷🩷

Hello friends.
This is just a note to say that we love you ever so much. Your hearts, your generosity, your continued support. We started LULA in the beginning of the pandemic and we started it by accident. Once upon a time we had a personal fundraiser to raise money to buy 24 sandwiches …but instead you funded hundreds of sandwiches.

… so we went from individuals passing out 24 sandwiches to a non-profit providing regular meal distribution, tents, bus passes, hotel rooms, ice, bottled water, hygiene kits, and more.

You show us and the world what love looks like, and you fill our hearts every day. Thank you.
We Love U Like Always 🩷🩷🩷

What does love look like?
What is humanity?
What is basic human rights, dignity?
My friends lost their home today..
Where do you go when you have no home?
💔💔💔💔

Hello friends! Our volunteers did a closet evaluation this week and we are low on the following items: socks for men, tents , XL underwear for men, baby wipes and tarps. We have all of these items on our Amazon wish list and would be so grateful if you could help us restock our supply closet. As always, we appreciate you. I hope you never doubt how much 🩷🩷🩷

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3V1WGD139MLN7?ref_=wl_share

It’s also the other people at the table believing you belong there…
And welcoming and empowering you ❤️
Support your peer workers
Support people with lived/living expertise
Support the people who do the work
Co-option isn’t an option.

Hello 🩷

Our Lula volunteers did some supply closet organizing and let us know that we’re short on socks, tarps, sleeping bags, and blankets. Most of these items are on our amazon wish list, which is linked in the comments. We can also accept clean, gently used blankets in person - just message us for drop off information.

We love your hearts, and we thank you so much for your continued generosity 🩷🩷🩷

We’re so thankful for the donors that keep our outreach closet stocked, for the volunteers who keep it organized, for the outreach team who distributes everything, and for our street family who lets us know what they need. We all work together, and it is such a blessing to know and walk alongside every one of you.
❤️❤️❤️

Hello! We’re restocking our closet and we could use items for our period packs. We’ve updated our amazon list to reflect these needs - tampons, pads, and wipes are staples for these packs. Thank you so much for all you do and for trusting us with your continued generosity ❤️❤️❤️

Check out my list on Amazon

We've said good bye recently to several long time volunteers who have needed to leave us due to health issues. We miss their good friendship dearly.
Are you ready to join our crew of angels? Fill out the Adult Application at www.CatholicPeoria.com to join a weekly shift. Men and women are welcome to help us as we serve lunches with cooking, cleaning and more. A joyful, cooperative attitude is a must. We'll train the rest! We look forward to meeting you!
"It is not that I want merely to be called a Christian, but to actually be one. Yes, if I prove to be one, then I can have the name."
–St. Ignatius of Antioch

Did you know ..we deliver lunches 52 weeks per year? We also provide “snack packs” non-perishable food to help supplement the weekends.
On holidays and when others are taking much needed breaks. We know we help serve the most vulnerable and people with the least access to resources.
This past week we made, and packed, and delivered 300 lunches over the holiday break.
From LULA with love ❤️
Thank you for your kind and generous hearts ❤️

So if you know me you know I’m not the biggest fan of Thanksgiving.
But I got several reminders about gratitude yesterday.
This is my friend Gator. He was recently displaced from his camp. He wanted me to take a picture of him and his new house and say THANK YOU to everyone who donate all the things for LULA to distribute. From food, to socks, to tarps. He wanted me to say “ I love EVERYONE mama, they are good people. Tell them thank you. “ ❤️
The second thing was..I got the privilege of seeing the apartment of some of my friends who recently moved into their new spot. It’s so exciting but my friend Doug said something that hit hard. “6 months ago I was using a bucket for a bathroom. Now we got 2 bathrooms!!” They will be spending this Thanksgiving inside with friends and hot food ❤️ paying it all forward. ❤️ I hope you are able to find something to be grateful for today.
Happy Thanksgiving from me (Kshe), the LULA volunteers, Gator, and all of Street Fam ❤️
Your donations, support, and love all really, really matter❤️
We Love yoU Like Always 💗
Bigg Love 💗

We packed our outreach van with..coats, jeans, hoodies, underwear, hot hands and wipes for our “Friendsgiving” we are doing with street family tomorrow. Thank you, for your kind and generous hearts ❤️
Harm Reduction is Love.
We Love U Like Always. ❤️❤️❤️

Special thanks to JOLT Harm Reduction, Reachway Church, Dreamcenter, and OSF street medicine

Hello! As the weather is getting colder, our friends and family on the street are requesting sleeping bags. We’ve adjusted our Amazon wishlist to reflect this ask.

When the weather gets cold like this, sleeping bags with a couple of hot hands at the bottom can make all of the difference in the world. Our Amazon wishlist link is here: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3V1WGD139MLN7?ref_=wl_share

Alternatively, if you have clean blankets and/or sleeping bags that you would like to donate, we accept donation drop offs every Wednesday night - please message us for the address!

Thank you so much for trusting us with your donations- we love you like always ❤️❤️❤️

Thank you so much for your recent donations to help us restock our jeans selection! We purchased approximately 15 pairs of jeans from a local thrift store (every pair they had in the sizes we were looking for, some of which were brand new with tags!), which allows your donations to do the most good - for the planet, for the thrift store we purchased from, and for the people we serve ❤️

We also received lots of hot hands, which we have already started distributing for some of our more recent cold nights.

Thank you so much for your continued support and generosity. You make good things happen ❤️❤️❤️

People often ask what household items they can donate to us.

If you’re cleaning out your closets, we are currently accepting blankets, and mens jeans in waist sizes 30-34. We do ask that the items be clean, as we don’t currently have the volunteer power to take on laundering donations.

If you have these items, please message us and we’ll arrange for pick-up or drop- off.

We Love U Like Always (LULA)
❤️❤️❤️

Hello friends! I’m sure we’ve all noticed the sudden drop in temperature. For our friends who live outside, this is when an already hard life gets even harder. We just placed a large order for hand warmers, but as we move into the winter months, we go through them very quickly. We’ve also seen an increase in the amount of people we’re serving, so your help continues to be deeply appreciated. At this time hand warmers, socks , and food items from our Amazon wish list are our highest priority. And of course we are always accepting financial donations. We thank you so much for your generous hearts and for always loving your neighbors ❤️❤️❤️

Amazon wish list:
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3V1WGD139MLN7?ref_=wl_share

Venmo link is in the comments and our website is www.lulapeoria.com.

We’re often asked about an address to send checks to - please message us and we’ll gladly provide an address for you.

We hope you have a good day.
We hope people are kind to you and that you are kind to them.
We know you’ll show the world what love looks like ❤️