Why Are the Streets Empty?

It's early Sunday morning, around 7 a.m., and I'm combing the streets of downtown Santa Barbara looking for homeless people.

I'm on my way down to volunteer this morning at the Organic Soup Kitchen, where I'll be working in the kitchen to help them serve a fresh meal to a couple hundred people. While I'm en route, I decide that I might tell everyone I see about it, to help get the word out. At the same time, I'm hoping to amass a crowd of people to walk down there with me.

As I'm walking down the main stretch of State Street, I find that the sidewalks are oddly empty. It's too early yet for the general hustle and bustle of Sunday morning, but the homeless people you would otherwise find loitering on the street are nowhere to be found.

I approach one man sitting on a bench and extend an invitation to him. He politely tells me, "Oh, I'm not homeless, but thank you very much for the offer." Sheepishly, I bury my head and press on.

Where is everyone?

When I finally get down to the OSK, I find the answer to my question. Throngs of homeless people are standing around outside, laughing amongst themselves, and waiting patiently for eight o'clock, when the Organic Soup Kitchen opens its doors and begins serving breakfast. Word has spread fast on the streets of Santa Barbara: after only a few months since its inception, those in need of a good meal gather to meet us on Sunday mornings.

There's work to be done and fun to be had. I head into the kitchen and put on my apron.