Ahavat Chinam: Dignity in the Bathroom

On her very first day as director of Margaret’s Village, a women’s shelter on Chicago’s South Side, Angela Hicks noticed something that stopped her in her tracks.

Before using the bathroom, residents had to stop by the staff desk to ask for… toilet paper.

They were handed a few squares at a time. This rule was a cost-saving measure, but it came at a steep price in dignity.

Angela ended this practice immediately – and she vowed to find a way to cover the cost, no matter what.

Over the past year, Solu has been building a bridge between our community and Margaret's Village in Englewood. When we invited Angela to Skokie, she told a packed room of Jewish volunteers the story of toilet paper and its overlooked importance in keeping her shelter running.

In the room that day was 11-year-old Yafa Gryka, who was preparing for her bat mitzvah. Yafa had never met the residents of Margaret’s Village. But she knew that no one should have to worry about toilet paper. 

With help from Solu, Yafa launched a toilet paper drive -- collecting at volunteer events, a Hillel Torah chesed day, and at her bat mitzvah itself. With Rav Hody, Solu’s Program Director, Yafa studied the halachot of kavod habriyot, human dignity (cf. Shabbat 81a), to ground her project in Torah.

Last month, Yafa delivered 1,000+ rolls — over a year’s supply of toilet paper for the shelter.

Angela Hicks greeted her at the door, incredibly moved and shocked by the amount of toilet paper, and what it represented - our community’s concern for human dignity.

Now, it’s our turn.

We’ve entered the Three Weeks of mourning for the Beit Hamikdash, which was destroyed through sinat chinam, senseless hatred (Yoma 9b). For the last few years, Solu has infused the Three Weeks with ahavat chinam, boundless love: feeding our neighbors, helping refugees, supporting the poor.

This month, we’re building on Yafa’s work, finding more ways to give dignity to our homeless neighbors, with a focus on the most basic needs.

The need is high: with new housing stock low, many struggle to afford housing in Chicago, according to a recent analysis. Meanwhile, last year's migrant crisis severely stressed the existing shelter system. Margaret's Village struggles to make ends meet.

To help, we’re collecting towels, shower shoes, and lotion to create a year’s worth of welcome kits for every resident at Margaret’s Village’s Englewood shelter.

Margaret’s Village’s clients, mostly moms and kids from the South Side, arrive with next to nothing, and almost always need towels. Many feel lonely and depressed; receiving a handmade shower kit will, in Angela's words, give them a “gift of hope”, showing them that someone cares.