Mary does crisis relief work at a place called Shalom Center. Our good friend, Marti, drove us out there from D.C. and dropped us off. Before we even got out of the parking lot we felt we'd stepped into a tempest.

Mary's passion to help others in need is almost feverish. What she does is, when someone is teetering on the brink of homelessness, she finds a grant or a community service, a job or some kind of program to help them pay the bills and keep a roof over their heads. When she talks about the people needing their help she gets teary with emotion.

We hadn't been there five minutes when she told us about the petition they're fighting with town council. Some neighbors and local businesses object to offering services that will bring "those kinds" of people into their neighborhood. From Mary's perspective, it's a community responsibility to care for the down-and-out.

If you'd like to know more about what they're doing, you can write to Mary at mary@gundo.com