Two hospital calls today, something Iām used to doing as a pastor. One guy is recovering from some sort of insect bite. A chunk was taken out of his arm which required overnight stay in the hospital. Going back to live in a tent must be awful. The other guy was discovered to have a heart valve issue. Heās a hard worker, doing physical labor. Now, what will happen to him after they open his chest tomorrow? Iām hoping there…
One of my homeless friends was really drunk last night. Iāve never seen him like this before, but I heard second hand about his problem. He was sitting in a chair outside ā it was pretty cold. I offered him pizza, but he was not responsive. At all. Ten minutes later, I hollered at him. He opened one eye, looked at me and said, āI love you too much to kick your butt, but I want to kick someoneās butt.ā…
Imagine being sick while youāre living in a homeless encampment. Youāre in a tent. You have limited access to running water, and a pit toilet. And then you are hit with food poisoning. Without getting too graphic, the usual things happen. Only, youāre in a tent. We showed up at a homeless camp, and this was one of several tales of woe, all health-care related. Besides the food poisoning incident, two of the 35 campers were in the hospital. One…
Danny slept outside the door of Nightwatch, while getting treatment for brain cancer. This week, I met Miles. He spends three days a week on dialysis. He sleeps in a tent. Dirk had all the usual aches and pains of a 73-year-old. These were amplified by having to sleep on a mat in a room with a bunch of other guys. The few times Iāve been laid low by surgery or illness ā Iāve been in my own bed, with…
Over the weekend, I spent time in the Nightwatch shelter doing some minor renovation with a long-time volunteer. Everything about the job went better than expected. In other words, it was not an all-day ordeal. I went home and collapsed in a heap. Itās been awhile since Iāve exerted myself physically, and Iām not 40 anymore! The heat didnāt help. About 8:30 that night I roused myself and suggested to the wife that we should go get a little pampering…
I placed my pizza order. We take pizzas with us when we visit the camps and shelters, and so we have to call ahead to have everything ready. When I was done placing my order, the helpful person on the other end of the phone said, āIs this Pastor Rick?ā āYes, who is this?ā āThis is Barney. I used to be in a camp you guys helped. Now Iām working here.ā Isnāt that great? When I got to the restaurant…
Come inside. We donāt care if you are addicted, mentally ill, or made dumb choices. Come inside. No one should have to sleep on city streets. Summer or winter Come inside. Lay your bones down and rest in peacefulness Knowing that tonight, you will be safe. Come inside. No college-kid will kick you here, No policeman will make you move, No property manager will cuss you out, Come inside. Soothe your troubled mind. You will be among friends. We will…
Apparently some folks in local government came to see one of the homeless programs after hours. It must have shook them. Some funding has been restored. It wasnāt our program, so I wonāt name them. Thereās something about looking into the faces of the people being served ā old, physically worn, disabled, broken. This will clear bureaucratic fog, to meet some homeless people at 10:30 at night. Tell us what to tell homeless people at the end of the night…
After my interaction last night with a homeless woman, Iām curious about what kind of society we want. Her husband is on dialysis. He lost his job because of this. Which means they lost their place to live. And so they wait. It will take several months to get any disability, and who in the world will rent to them with such limited income, and a black hole in their rental record? I have heard neighborhood people say, āIf you…
One evening out on Capitol Hill, we ran into a guy that I hadnāt seen in at least two years. He was happy to see us doing the same thing he remembered us doing. I was glad to know he was alive, and we spent some time catching up on where he had been the last couple years. He filled me in on the details and then got somber real quick. “You know Ben,” he said, “I still remember that…
