Well, I made it through the first night. It was quite challenging, but I met some great people and learned a few things. I am back at the downtown library this morning writing this post.
Right after I published yesterday's post, I ran in to 2 of the young men that came to Ground Floor last week. They were both eager to show me their new state IDs. They said Harold at Upward Transitions took care of them. Thanks Harold! They also received hygiene kits while they were there. One of the two went to the Jesus House recently and got some dress clothes for a job interview. He is a bright young man, I am sure he did well on his interview. It is great to see people accessing resources from our great service agencies. Kudos to Upward Transitions and the Jesus House.
It was about 5:30pm and I asked the two if they had eaten dinner yet and they responded that they had not. The three of us walked to one of the emergency shelters for dinner. We had pork chops with cabbage. I met some friends of my companions and after 7 plates of food between the three of us, we left and headed back to the downtown library. The library had already closed and we decided to go to bricktown and hang out. We took the #50 bus from downtown to the Bass Pro Shop. By the way, the #50 bus is always free. I did not know that. Anyway, at the Bass Pro Shop we took a picture with Santa and spent about an hour looking around. The guys wanted to go to Hooters and I opted not to join them. I had planned on meeting another gentleman at the Cox Convention Center to talk about employment barriers for people without permanent housing and headed that direction.
The Coalition to End Poverty is currently focusing on employment challenges for our homeless folks. One of the things I hear frequently from members of the community is that homeless people just need to get a job. Of course, the problem is a little more complicated than that. For people without the obstacles associated with homelessness, finding and maintaining employment can be difficult. For people who are homeless the mere fact that they don't have an address can greatly limit employment prospects. So, back to the gentleman I met at the Cox Convention Center (we'll call him Johnny). I have known him for some time. He frequents the Oklahoma City Day Shelter and we have been working with him on getting into housing. Johnny desperately wants to work. He hangs out at the Cox Center when they have hockey games, conventions or other events, hoping that he can pick up some work. He is industrious and eager. He is also chronically mentally ill. He is clearly delusional and occasionally has aggressive episodes. Traditional employment opportunities don't accommodate his challenges. Saying to someone like Johnny, "Just get a job" is simplistic and uninformed. If Johnny could get a job, he would have already.
After departing the Cox Convention Center I headed up Broadway looking for a spot to sleep for the night and I ran into another guy that we work with at Be The Change. We'll call him Jones. It was about 9:00pm by this time, and Jones was heading toward the Chesapeake Energy Arena. There was a Thunder game last night and Jones works for a temp agency cleaning up after basketball games, concerns and other events at the venue. Great news, right? Not really. Even with fairly steady work at the Chesapeake Energy Arena, Jones does not make enough money to get off the streets and into a place of his own. He is still camping on the streets. He said when it gets too cold, he will get out of the elements and go to a shelter. But employment has not solved his housing problem. In some ways, Jones breaks the stereotypes we often hear about homeless people. He is quiet and unassuming. He does not drink or use drugs. He is not diagnosed with a mental illness, but does have PTSD. He is a veteran and he has been working with the VA on housing and benefits. Employment alone does not solve the problem, if you can't earn enough to provide for your basic needs.
So, let's talk about my sleeping arrangements last night. After I left Jones, I checked out a few spots where I might camp for the evening. I will not tell you where I slept last night, but I will just say that Kim Woods called it! I stayed outside. I did not get any blankets yesterday. So all I had to keep warm were the clothes I am wearing. That wasn't a problem at first because it was not too cold when I laid down to sleep. However, about 1:30 this morning it started to drizzle and get very chilly. I got up a few times and walked around the block to warm up and that helped some. At about 3:30 this morning I could no longer bear the cold and I walked to St. Anthony Hospital, where I slept in waiting room for a couple of hours. I got a couple of odd looks, but nobody said anything. I am convince that if I looked a little more haggard, I would have been asked to leave. It is pretty chilly outside and it started raining this morning about 7:00am. I walked from St. Anthony Hospital to the downtown library. A fairly short walk, but this morning it was miserable. I am headed out now to go to eat lunch at the day shelter, provided by Mayflower Church. Emon is scheduled to meet me at noon to do another short video. If you have liked the Be The Change FB page you should, so you can continue to follow along. I have to go so I don't miss lunch.
Oh, yeah. And the title of the post? "Houseless not homeless"? On the way back to the library after sharing a meal, one of my young friends said, "You know, I'm not really homeless....I'm just houseless. You can make a home wherever you are." So, there you go
Much Love,
Jonathan
No comments:
Post a Comment