These two black ladies are the mothers of Charlie and Laka, and are considered Luke’s “close confidants”.
Charlie and Laka can now earn more than 3,000 US dollars a month, all thanks to Luke and his friend who "trained" them in decorating skills in advance.
As for whether cleaning up construction waste and moving bricks are considered decoration skills, these two old ladies obviously don't care.
Money is more real than any words and it won't lie.
This rescue station was built after the Battle of New York.
Luke's Disability and Poverty Relief Foundation has been making regular donations to the Clinton District Social Worker's Office.
This time the foundation bought the dilapidated old building and handed it over to the community volunteers to shelter the homeless in the New York community after the war.
The home improvement company initially stopped all work in the yard, but they came to work overtime for a day, repaired the damaged areas roughly, and used composite panels to divide the large space into small rooms, a public toilet, and a bathroom.
Although everything here is very simple, there is 24-hour hot water, you can take a bath, and there are clean old clothes to change.
If you have no requirements for your hairstyle, you can ask the social workers to help you shave your head or give you a short, neat hairstyle.
Now, it's safe here.
Patrol cars from the 15th Precinct pass by here every day, and patrol officers come to check on the guests once in the morning and once in the evening to make sure no one comes in with weapons.
There are no drug addicts here.
Thanks to Toluk and the other man, the trafficking gangs in Clinton District have changed almost five times.
The first three batches of upgrades took only four months, while the next two batches took half a year.
It’s not that the later groups are more persistent, but that the first three groups are inexperienced.
One gang was collectively hospitalized, and within a few days another one appeared, one after another, rushing in to grab territory.
But after passing the first three forks, the pigs knew that business in the Clinton area was extremely risky.
The fourth batch was delayed for two months and all of them broke their bones in less than two weeks.
The fifth batch was delayed for four months and didn't even last a week. Not only were all of them hospitalized, but even their headquarters in faraway Brooklyn was destroyed.
More than 200 people entered the hospital together, and the scene was extremely spectacular.
Since then, no gang of traffickers dared to enter the Clinton area.
Because they all understand that it's not that Batman doesn't know how to find the truth, it's just that he doesn't have that much free time.
The repeated media reports after the New York battle let everyone know that Batman had "left", and the members of the Bat-Team fell completely silent.
But still no gang dared to enter the Clinton area.
Mr. Batman "ascended to heaven peacefully" with his weapons, and Catwoman is still fine.
In the legend of the two demons who broke their knees, Black Catwoman’s contribution rate is no less than 50%.
When it comes to violent criminals targeting women, she is even more ruthless than Batman and can cripple all of their limbs.
Relatively speaking, many criminals would rather meet Batman because as a man, at least he won't be too cruel.
The gang members hid far away, but other scattered robbers were not having an easy time either, and were knocked unconscious from time to time during robberies.
This is much better treatment than a broken bone, but having a headache and dizziness for several days is not a big deal, and you still have to go out to find food every day.
As a result, criminals of all kinds left this hellish neighborhood.
The public security in the Clinton district is now well-known throughout New York, and street crime is almost extinct at night.
There is now a small supermarket and a fast food restaurant on Guangluke Street.
Without those gangs and thugs who come to rob and steal every now and then, this kind of small business would not be difficult to do.
Even if gangs and thugs really come in to cause trouble, it is not necessary for Batman and others to show up.
The two stores are owned by a few middle-aged women from the neighborhood, and their children mostly work in home improvement companies and social work offices.
If there is any abnormality, dozens of people will appear nearby.
They are the new kingmakers on the block—at least their tonnage is enough to warrant that title.
After chatting for a while, Luke and Selina started patrolling the aid station.
I took a quick look around and found that apart from being a bit noisy and shabby, everything else about this place is fine.
It's much more comfortable than building a shelter with cardboard and plastic sheets outside on the street corner in the middle of winter.
But the rules here are stricter than in other places, and many homeless people who are used to wandering are unwilling to come here.
Luke did this on purpose.
He didn't want this place to become a detention center for criminals, it only targets civilians who are willing to follow the rules.
Suddenly, a girl walked out of a room quickly and almost bumped into him.
Luke grabbed her shoulders and laughed, "Why don't you go and rest? Taking care of children probably isn't part of your job, Skye."
The girl was Skye, who was "picked up" from the sewer some time ago.
More than two months have passed now, and her originally too thin body has basically recovered to the appearance of an ordinary girl.
The blush on her cheeks, the fine beads of sweat on her forehead, and the slightly rapid breathing all show the girl's vitality.
She saw Luke and exclaimed in surprise, "Luke?"
She then awkwardly moved the "fragrant-smelling" trash can a little further away: "Wait, let me take it to the garbage station first, okay?"
Luke let go of his hand: "No problem, I'll wait for you in the hall."
Skye nodded repeatedly, said hello to Selina behind him, and walked away with the trash can.
Selina turned her head and said, "It seems that she is in good spirits and can help take care of the children."
Luke poked his head into the small room and saw a mother with two children.
The older one, about four or five years old, was grinning foolishly at his younger brother.
The younger one was only two years old, and was also grinning foolishly at his brother.
Their mother, who was a little young, was busy cleaning up.
Luke knew what was in the toilet paper and diapers left on the ground without even looking. Even if his sensitive sense of smell was 99.9% blocked, he could still distinguish the smell.
He curled his lips, turned around and slipped away: "She should find a bigger trash can."
Selina didn't even look at it, she had already turned and walked towards the hall.
A few minutes later, Skye, who had hurriedly thrown away the garbage, saw the two.
Just thinking about it, she raised her hand awkwardly again: "Wait a minute, I'll wash my hands first."
Luke waved his hand to indicate that it was no problem, then smiled at Charlie's mother and said, "Two cups of coffee, Maria."
"Do you know Skye?" Maria swiftly grabbed a disposable paper cup from the service counter and poured two small cups of coffee over. She asked curiously, "This kid is good. He's honest and much smarter and more hardworking than my stupid son."
Luke nodded: "I met her by accident. It's not safe for a girl to be alone outside, so I asked her to come here."
Sugar and milk were nearby, so he answered Maria's question while adding a piece of sugar and a small amount of milk to his coffee, while Selena doubled both.
Picking up the coffee, he sat back on the plastic chair next to him and handed Selina a cup: "Try how it tastes."
When it comes to coffee, Selena has better taste than he does.
After taking a sip, she hummed, "It's about the same level as the one on the report list."
Poaching is something that is difficult to avoid anywhere.
The list can only show what was purchased, but it can absolutely not prevent people from exchanging good items for their own use.
This is also one of the functions of field research.
Drinking coffee, Skye trotted out from the bathroom.
She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Luke and the other man were still there.
These two are really too busy. Every day they are either at work or staying at home.
She has a lot of work to do here, but she is too embarrassed to come directly to the door.
It’s such a great chance encounter today.