A Reason to Be Cheerful in Portland

A Reason to Be Cheerful in Portland

In this week’s Reasons to Be Cheerful, Hank Sanders, a junior at Portland’s Lincoln High School, shares the story of how he started the program CardsCook to address youth hunger in the community. The idea is simple—he and a group of students from Lincoln’s culinary program, walk across the street once a week and prepare food for Portland’s homeless youth.

“After serving, each student sits down and eats with the people we serve. When that happens, when that barrier is broken, the people you see on the streets are more human. When I sat down and talked to these people, I realized the reasons I used to think were behind their homelessness were not telling the whole story.
While drugs and alcohol can play a role, their situation is more often a result of the cyclical poverty that harms many of the people we serve. Most of the people under 25 grew up in an environment of abuse and homelessness. They inherited the issues that they deal with today. Eat one meal at the same table and your perspective is changed.” -Hank Sanders

Read the full story at www.reasonstobecheerful.world