Pekin couples’ homeless ministry began with sandwiches

Elise Zwicky for Chronicle Media

Ryan Blackwell of Pekin spends time talking with a homeless man in Chicago as part of an out-reach he and his family have started there. Blackwell, who works in Chicago, distributes food, clothing and other supplies and administers wound care several times a week in some of the city’s grittiest areas. (Photo courtesy of Ryan Blackwell)

When Pekin native Ryan Blackwell first started handing out peanut butter sandwiches and antibiotic ointment to the homeless in Chicago in late 2015, he never envisioned that would eventually lead to buying and living in a shuttle bus to help with the ministry.

“I wanted to try to find a way to live in Chicago and be as close to the people I was trying to serve as I could and also recover some time back. I’ve probably taken back three hours a day in my schedule not having to commute or doing the things you do to maintain a residence,” said Blackwell, who works in Chicago during the week and gave up his apartment there in February to live in the 24-foot shuttle bus.

A sermon at a Chicago church in 2015 in which the priest made a specific statement to help the home-less first inspired Blackwell and his wife, Elizabeth, to start the ministry. Since then, it’s become a family affair that also involves their three kids.

A trio of people living on the streets in Chicago give a thumbs up after receiving help from Ryan Blackwell of Pekin, who operates a homeless ministry in the city with his family. (Photo cour-tesy of Ryan Blackwell)

“It’s increasingly become a priority for us,” said Blackwell, who travels three hours back to Pekin to be with his wife and kids on the weekends. “We spend nine to twelve hours on the weekends gathering supplies and getting everything ready for the week.”

The Blackwells spend $200 to $300 from each paycheck to purchase supplies and have set up a Go-FundMe page for donations. They also gratefully accept donations of clean clothing, medical supplies and non-perishable food, and they’re looking into filing for nonprofit status.

“We didn’t intend on starting a charity. It just sort of happened,” Elizabeth added. “We’ve made mis-takes along the way, and we’re figuring it out as we go.”

Having the shuttle bus allows the Blackwells to be more organized and creates a safer venue for handing out supplies. They stripped the bus inside and out and installed lockers on the passenger side that hold

medical supplies, hygiene items, food, clothes, shoes

A homeless man in Chicago takes supplies from a 24-foot shuttle bus Pekinites Ryan and Eliza-beth Blackwell use in a homeless ministry. Ryan, who works in Chicago during the week, and his family have been helping the homeless for more than a year and plan to continue their min-istry indefinitely. (Photo courtesy of Ryan Blackwell)

and seasonal items. They also mounted power and started doing haircuts and shaves.

“I was really surprised at how big of a deal the haircuts are, though it makes sense in retrospect,” Black-well said. “They obviously feel cleaner, and they’re getting treated for lice infestations and things like that. We’re also in the process of finishing out a small external shower so people can wash or get treated for bedbugs or lice from the side of the bus.”

Inside the bus, Blackwell sleeps on a mattress on the floor and uses a porta potty he bought online. He showers at the gym. He’s made a commitment to live in the bus for a year and then reevaluate.

“I wake up in the morning and instantly do (physical) training, then work 8 to 10 hours and then there’s nothing else to do but go help the homeless. So it was the removal of anything competing to my main priorities during the week,” Blackwell said. “There are surprisingly a large number of people who, for one reason or another, live in their vehicles in the city of Chicago. And it’s not homeless people. I’m find-ing people do it for reasons not dissimilar to me.”

Ryan Blackwell of Pekin gives a man a shave in Chicago as part of his family’s ministry to help the homeless. Blackwell works in Chicago during the week and ventures out to the streets to help the homeless three to four nights a week. (Photo courtesy of Ryan Blackwell)

Overnight, he parks the bus in a secure lot owned by his employer, Rush University Medical Center, or in other safe neighborhoods.

“I’ve talked to the leadership (at Rush), so they know what I’m doing. They’re excited for me, but also a little nervous for me,” said Blackwell, who directs the hospital’s project management office.

When Elizabeth and the kids—16-year-old Brody, 11-year-old Brayden and 8-year-old Brighton—are with him, Blackwell sticks to more public areas in the Chicago Loop where the homeless gather. When he’s alone, he more often goes to places like Lower Wacker Drive.

“In the Loop, you’re helping 100 to 125 people in a night, and the other area is more targeted where someone has lost a foot or a leg and is just ready to give up and die. You try to go seek them out and dig them out of the situation they’re in, sometimes literally,” he said.

Reflecting how the ministry has changed him, Blackwell said. “I think i’ve gotten to be a softer person. When I first started, it took a good five or ten minutes to get someone to trust me enough to take hy-giene items or food. Now it’s not five seconds before you’re shaking hands or getting a hug or getting into fairly intimate issues about their needs. I just have more sincere and meaningful time with people.”

He said he deals with the person standing in front of him and doesn’t dwell on how they got there.

“Dwelling on that would keep me from functioning,” he said. “But there’s no question that the goal is to get people happier and healthier so they can find success in whatever way that means to them.”

Blackwell said he’s never feared for his safety, though his wife worries constantly.

“I always fear for that unforeseen something. Just complete randomness,” she said. “I don’t necessarily know if I should worry about it because any of us could get hurt at any moment in time.”

The couple said they expect to keep it the ministry indefinitely. “We have a wonderful marriage, our kids are doing well, we’re continuing to become more spiritual,” Ryan said. “It’s been an incredible benefit to us.”

Anyone wanting to help should visit the couple’s GoFundMe page at www.theincremental-roadtograce.com/gofundme, their website at www.theincrementalroadtograce.com or their Facebook pages.

 

–Pekin couples’ homeless ministry began with sandwiches: Mission has grown as they serve those on the streets–