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“The more you help people, the faster they heal.”
PHOTO COURTESY DERICK ALLEN
www.wrightsvillebeachmagazine.com WBM
without the use of drugs. Just for today,
I will try to fight it, with the help of
Jesus, to the best of my ability.”
Prayer typically ends with the
Serenity Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer,
and with a newfound energy, the group
gets back to work.
“This place here, doing God’s work,
many people do it from their brain and
it doesn’t work. Me, I do it from the
heart,” he says.
In the dining room, the homeless
have formed a single line that wraps
around the three walls surrounding the
food line. Following a welcome and
prayer by Deacon David, Allen reminds
those assembled that the women and
children will be served first.
From a row of simple tables now
loaded down with hot, wholesome
foods, guests are greeted (many by
name) with compassionate smiles and
served as much as they want. There is
music, plenty of food, and the kind
of camaraderie that can only be found
through the virtues of service, love and
kindness. For one hour, they are free.
“The more you help people, the faster
they heal,” Allen says.
Allen began volunteering the first day
after his third attempt to stay clean. He
was being held in a South American
jail cell awaiting trial for larceny with
the possibility of a ten-year sentence. A
priest named Andy Carto approached
his cell on the seventh day and offered