Helping the Homeless Have a Better Life

Imai Sensei is a Baptist preacher with five kids. He wears heavy leather and rides a motorcycle. He works at a small college in Japan, where the students think he is cool because of his black leathers. But he just laughs and says he had an accident once that almost killed him. That scared him into sensibleness since he is responsible for so many and has so many mouths to feed.

And indeed Imai Sensei (Sensei means teacher and is a polite form of address) has far more lives to care for than the six he produced. As part of his seminary training, he studied in Germany for several years. While there, he awakened to the social action dimension of his faith. So, when he returned to Japan and saw the increasing number of homeless gathering in parks and train stations, he decided to do something about the situation.

He collected a group of like-minded people and they started their work by roaming the streets at night to find the homeless who needed their help. This band of devoted volunteers calls themselves The Yomawari Group”. “Yomawari” literally means “wandering around at night”. So, their name is a perfect fit for both the homeless people and this group that tries to help them. The people without proper shelter are mostly men. But occasionally there is a woman who appears on the scene, too. She has been around for ages and ages, long before the current “boom” in homelessness started.

Over the years the Yomawari Group has extended its services. It not only provides food several times a week, but also clothes, shoes, blankets and other treasures to these unfortunate men. Likewise, Yomawari provides showers once a week, giving a chance to freshen up and feel better both physically and emotionally. The shower service for homeless is quite unique in this country. And indeed the homeless here are in much better shape than their counterparts in other cities in Japan, including Tokyo.

Imai Sensei works tirelessly for these wandering individuals. He constantly wrestles and pulls with government officials. And gradually he is acquiring respect, which in concrete terms translates as a few apartments for some of these men. (The names of the homeless used in this article are not the men’s real names.)

Imai Sensei is also personally connected to every homeless person in the city. He knows their names and where they hang out. When I mentioned two who had reappeared in the park near my home now that it is warm, he said, “Yes, I know. They are Mr. Suzuki and Mr. Tanaka. They have sleeping bags, right? One of those bags is the one you donated to us.”

I was happy to do my share, of course. In fact, even though I am a small to average sized woman in my own country, in Japan I am HUGE! And that means that I am about the same size as many men here. Since I often wear loose fitting, unisex clothes (T-shirts, jeans, walking shoes), I am a perfect target for donations to the Yomawari cause.

Last winter Imai Sensei warned “his” people not to sleep at night for fear they would freeze to death in parks. Rather, he instructed them to walk all night and catch naps in sunny places during the day. That was sound advice, but the flip side was that the men wore out their shoes in no time at all. So, shoe donations became a top priority.

At one time there was a lone man who lived under a bridge near my home. He put up cardboard walls and a wooden board for a door. No one ever bothered him, so he came and went peacefully. One time I was cleaning out my closets and came across a blanket I had forgotten. So, I popped down the street to give it to this recently arrived gentleman.

He was “home”, so I peered inside. I was truly amazed! In his teeny patch of space he had arranged several blankets to make a comfortable nest. He had a stuffed bag for a pillow, and a battery run radio, which at the time was playing classical music. Soft light was flooding into this special space, making it appear like a cathedral. Mr. Ohashi was lying in his warm-looking bed reading a magazine, seemingly completely oblivious of my presence. I coughed to get his attention, and offered him another blanket. He barely turned around. I left my offering at the entrance and left. I was glad for his unconcerned, almost dismissive behavior towards me. For me it showed he had dignity and pride, which shone through both in his attitude and in his self-made cozy home.

Later when the real cold descended on the city, Mr. Ohashi packed up his worldly possessions and departed. The place under the bridge seemed so empty without him there! I asked Imai Sensei about him. He reassured me Mr. Ohashi was one of the lucky ones who had an apartment. I am sure he made his new home just as cozy and welcoming as he had his temporary one. And I trust he is just as dignified and proud as ever.