Good morning, Marchers!
Shoes, that's a great way to help people in difficult situations. So many of us don't like to ask for help and when someone asks "What can I do?", it can be just plain overwhelming to have to do yet one more thing - figure out what to have that person do. Having someone "just do it" during a difficult time is an incredible gift.
Marcher, sorry The Bake Show was a dud but it sounds like you had a lovely time at the book store and picnic :-). It is very hard to see homeless folks. I feel that can happen to any one of us so that makes it especially uncomfortable to see. The hard part for me is that I want to do something about it but don't even know where to start. Giving them money is an enabler, IMHO. Perhaps a better way is to support organizations that help the homeless, or volunteer with an organization that helps the homeless.
Perhaps because of our own struggles with addiction, we as a group are more frightened of being homeless than non-addicts.
DD, I'm glad that AA welcomes all. It's so important that everyone feels there is somewhere they can land. Although I'm not actively engaged with AA now, I have attended in the past and it's always good to know that it's "there" if I need it. Although I havenn't been in your shoes, I have suffered with serious pain from different causes at several times in my life. The last episode went from last October until I had surgery this past May. I suspect that there are many others who have. I am in NO way minimizing what you are going through, DD! I mention this in the sense that, as bad as it is, there is an end in sight. That's cold comfort when we are in serious pain but it is nevertheless true!
I feel really sorry for people in chronic pain who have no hope of getting better. I can't imagine how that must feel. Well, perhaps a very tiny bit. Years ago I had a condition that resulted in periodic horrendous pain. It only lasted for about 1/2 hour but it was brutal. I knew what caused it but didn't want the surgery that would fix it because of other effects. Sometimes I would wake up in the middle of the night with the pain at full blast. I had previously learned self-hypnosis and started using that. Using that and visualization together, I was able to dampen the pain enough that it was not too bad and it shortened it to maybe 15-20 minutes. Still not pleasant but better to me than the alternative. That lasted for about 20 years but was manageable. There can sometimes be non-invasive, non-drug ways to help. It may not work for you. But it can also help during the worst of it to do slow, deep breathing and keep on telling youself that "this is temporary" and "this will get better".
The challenge for you is to figure out what works best for you to get through this!