Although its name suggests a warm meal, the Stewpot downtown soup kitchen provides much more than meals to the area's homeless.

DCMS member Elgin W. Ware, Jr, MD, offers free medical services one day a week to the Stewpot, and has since July. Dr Ware, 76, has a busy urology practice several days a week, but spends much of his free time treating the homeless.

"I don't play golf," he says, "and I tried just three days of work and four days off, and I found the four days off were boring. I sail, and you can't sail every day of the week like you can golf."
People are treated on a first-come, first-served basis at the shelter, which is operated by First Presbyterian Church of Dallas at Park Avenue and Young Street, near Farmer's Market. He and DCMS member M.L. (Buddy) Hurst, MD, who volunteers on Mondays, have had almost 500 patient visits since they began volunteering at the Stewpot. Problems range from broken bones to chronic diseases.

"It's a panoply of oddball cases," Dr Ware says. "I saw one guy three weeks ago who had crawled up in a dumpster to keep warm on a cool night. He woke up the next morning just as the dumpster was being emptied into a compactor. He jumped out and had a few scratches.
"Then I had a guy who worked day labor. He'd been assigned the job of unloading brush from the back of a pickup truck and had felt a sting on his leg. The next day, his leg was black and blue. He'd been bitten by a snake that was in the brush. A fang was still in his leg."
In addition to the usual broken hands and athlete's foot was the man with second-degree burns on his trunk.

"He was hitchhiking from San Antonio and had gotten a quart of whiskey," Dr Ware recalls. "He and his friends went into a field and lit a campfire. They were drinking booze, got careless, and his clothes caught on fire.

"And last week Buddy saw a guy who'd been shot by a shotgun-had lots of pellets in his rear end."

The Stewpot also offers meals, operates a food pantry, and distributes clothing. It operates from 8 AM to 4 PM Monday through Friday, but closes at 3 PM Wednesdays. In addition to breakfast and lunch, the Stewpot provides dental clinics, employment assistance, drug and alcohol counseling, and inner-city youth programs, plus transportation assistance.

And if you wonder what's the best way to help those people who inhabit busy intersections requesting money or employment, the Stewpot has the answer. It prints coupons that are good for a free meal and lists information about other services available. To get a supply or to learn more about volunteer opportunities, call the Stewpot at 214-746?2785.