Spring Break
Lifesaver
Buying a sweet treat can help recovering addicts stay off the street.
Steve Markley, Senior Staff Writer
Issue date: 4/25/06 Section: Features
When Bill Mason, a 45-year-old Cincinnati resident pays a visit to Oxford, he doesn't worry about the looks he gets or the words he hears when people think they're out of his earshot.
He spends most of his day selling candy for the Christian-based charity United Restoration Ministries, and he shrugs off what he calls the "mixed reaction" students sometimes exhibit.
"I'm sure there's a lot of people who don't think this is a real place or that this is a scam we do, but I don't let it bother me," Mason said.
Any Miami student who walks by Shriver Center at any point in the week is well aware of these older men who stand on the corner hocking Blow Pops and other candy for financial support.
"There are those who probably think it's a scam," said senior Josh Jacob. "But I'd say the majority of students see these guys and feel bad, but at the same time they view them as just another obstacle on their way to class."
Last semester, Jacob took it upon himself to write a letter to The Miami Student supporting the Restoration Ministries and the work they do. In the letter he asked students to take a closer look at the people they passed every day and contribute when they could.
"I was just getting sick of people denigrating these guys," Jacob said, explaining why he wrote the letter. "I have a brother who is a recovering coke addict, and to hear certain people with money coming out of their pores talking about these guys like they're the greedy ones is upsetting."
The United Restoration Ministries, rest assured, is no scam. The men who come to Oxford represent only the Cincinnati chapter of a national program dedicated to helping victims of drug and alcohol abuse recover their lives through the application of Christian principles.
The program is free to anyone who needs help and involves nine months in a group home followed by a program that helps individuals find a job and a temporary residence. Because it is a Christian organization, the Restoration Ministries receives almost no government money, and therefore relies on these donations of a dollar at a time as their sole financial support.
He spends most of his day selling candy for the Christian-based charity United Restoration Ministries, and he shrugs off what he calls the "mixed reaction" students sometimes exhibit.
"I'm sure there's a lot of people who don't think this is a real place or that this is a scam we do, but I don't let it bother me," Mason said.
Any Miami student who walks by Shriver Center at any point in the week is well aware of these older men who stand on the corner hocking Blow Pops and other candy for financial support.
"There are those who probably think it's a scam," said senior Josh Jacob. "But I'd say the majority of students see these guys and feel bad, but at the same time they view them as just another obstacle on their way to class."
Last semester, Jacob took it upon himself to write a letter to The Miami Student supporting the Restoration Ministries and the work they do. In the letter he asked students to take a closer look at the people they passed every day and contribute when they could.
"I was just getting sick of people denigrating these guys," Jacob said, explaining why he wrote the letter. "I have a brother who is a recovering coke addict, and to hear certain people with money coming out of their pores talking about these guys like they're the greedy ones is upsetting."
The United Restoration Ministries, rest assured, is no scam. The men who come to Oxford represent only the Cincinnati chapter of a national program dedicated to helping victims of drug and alcohol abuse recover their lives through the application of Christian principles.
The program is free to anyone who needs help and involves nine months in a group home followed by a program that helps individuals find a job and a temporary residence. Because it is a Christian organization, the Restoration Ministries receives almost no government money, and therefore relies on these donations of a dollar at a time as their sole financial support.
