Breakfast with an Old Friend

I've been feeling guilty lately for neglecting a promise I made to one of my friends, Jared. When I was living in Lake Forest Park and taking the bus to work each morning, I would often find him across the street from where I got off the bus. A good relationship developed over time and I'd get him breakfast and chat pretty often. He has an apartment in Seattle but no job. He's also got schizophrenia which likely explains the lack of employment even though he's a great guy. With a close family member also affected by schizophrenia I feel extra close to Jared's struggle. It takes so little to end up in a situation over which we have no control, especially with a condition like that. This could easily be my own family or myself asking for handouts on a street corner to make a living.

When I was seeing him a few times a week I had said that I would take him to the library and help him get set up so he could learn some computer skills. It never happened and now that I rarely see him I have been thinking about it a lot. So I took a detour on the way to work from the ferry docks this morning and walked past his corner, he wasn't there but half a block away I was very happy to run into him. We talked quite a bit, got some breakfast and talked some more. He is such a great guy it is depressing to think of him in his position. After he got his breakfast we sat down and he asked a blessing over his food and extended his prayer quite a bit with thoughts for me and my family. Unfortunately, I don't think I will have much to do with getting him to the library the way things are working out beyond encouraging him to get it done. In an attempt to not lose touch again I asked him if he had a cell phone. He used to have one but lost it. My mind was put a little at ease when he gave me his address so we could keep in touch via snail mail. Hopefully after a while of sending letters (I'll have to remember how to write those things...) and harping on him to get to the library he'll get set up and start emailing. Who knows, maybe he could pull off an online job and earn himself a more satisfying living. When I met him today he told me that he had just finished after making $30 and not wanting to be "greedy" by begging more than he needs...

Kind of a short post but maybe it'll get me writing more frequently again.

Clever Seattle Artist, Shanti

It's been far too long since I posted anything in my little blog here and with Lent upon us once again I have been motivated to revisit the project.

A couple weeks ago a man came up to me as I was walking to the bus and asked if I had a car nearby so he could wash my windows for some grocery money. Well, I didn't think the bus driver would accept his offer but it had been a while since I had helped anyone so I offered to get him dinner. He had already ate but now I was committed to help so I upped the ante and said we should go get him some groceries. An hour and a little bit too much $ later I was helping him carry too many bags back to the bus. I helped him load them on but didn't accompany him further so I hope he managed to get it all home okay...he got a little carried away, and so did I, because it was his wife's birthday the next day so he wanted to get her cake and ice cream in addition to all the other stuff he needed.

He was a very talkative guy and told me all kinds of things as we perused the isles. He admitted being a hopeless drug addict and a bit of a con artist but insisted that he wasn't taking me for a ride. I told him I didn't care if he was, everybody's gotta eat. He told me would pray for me for a month because I helped him out so much and I told him I'd reciprocate though I think I've dropped the ball a little bit on my half of the bargain. He also told me he was a paranoid schizophrenic...he had to explain this because he kept pointing out this guy who he insisted was following us around the store. It was a bit comical (he thought so too) but the feeling he had was quite genuine.

Anyway, all that was just supposed to be a side story leading in to why I hadn't sought out any more meals since the beginning of Lent...my budget can only handle so much...but today my attention was attracted by a street artist on my way to the bus. Once I started talking with him about his art he seemed almost a street performer as well, he had a very smooth way about him...even with the slightly crazy, political personality.

Ultimately I bought a $7 sticker of his artwork (but I only had $6.25 on me...I felt bad ripping him off but he insisted it was okay)


H2O/Fire by Shanti (Seattle, WA - duplication of original water color)

When I asked him if I could post a copy of his image in my blog he said okay, so long as I mentioned this:
    H20/Fire, two great things. Without which you couldn't have "coffee, tea, hot chocolate, or my favorite, soup."
I couldn't quite quote the whole thing verbatim but I got the important part right.

He was a great guy, I hope I'll see him around again, if for no other reason than to give him the $.75 I owe him...

Some of his art was extremely thoughtful and he had great explanations for the symbolism. I'm not really much of an art fan, I picked this one because I liked the colors I guess but he has a great way of putting very poignant messages into his artwork that, unfortunately like much in the art world, may need a little explanation to the simple minded like me but is still brilliantly done.

Anyway, if you're ever walking through Seattle and spot an older middle age African American, surrounded with art and missing his front teeth (and if you have a few minutes to spare) stop by and take a look and a listen to what he's got for sale, it's well worth the time.

Hopefully I'll get back into the swing of this blog again here...if people are interested still (???) and share some more good stories.

This just in...

Bit of a hiatus lately due to a class I started taking but there's still been some activity on the Just One Meal front. I haven't been down to help with Morning Watch for quite some time now and probably won't until after my class is over since I've got to be out of work and onto my class by 4pm so I can't show up later to work as easily.

But anyway, I was prompted to write today's blog because I caught sight of a friend of mine on King 5 news last night during a segment where they were covering a new program for drug addicts where, when caught, they are given a choice between jail and rehab instead of just being tossed in the slammer like nobody cares. My friend who is a great guy and has had a tough go of things, was picked up, it seems, for possession of a small amount of crack cocaine and decided to take advantage of the rehab option. I'm really praying hard that this works for him, gets him clean and off the streets but I'm very worried that the program won't be comprehensive enough for my friend because he's definitely got some cognitive challenges beyond being addicted to cocaine. It's strange but I really didn't think he was into drugs until last night. He's a super nice guy, loves to talk (in fact if you aren't careful lots of time can disappear in between "Hi" and "Bye"), and has a very faithful outlook on life. If you're talking with him, it's likely that your talking about God and how wonderful He is. Either that or you are talking about lotion because this friend of mine also happens to have lupus (now Tim knows who I'm talking about if he reads this one) which is an autoimmune disease that effects, among other things, a person's skin, making it very hard to care for. Because of his condition  he needs to use a lot of lotion and has to bathe every day which isn't easy on the streets. So he was forced to use the fountains down in Waterfront Park...not the cleanest solution but they served their purpose well enough for him and he was very grateful to have them. Hopefully he'll have a better option in rehab and after.

I'll tell you about my Just One Meal connections sometime later, I've got to get ready for work. I just wanted to get this out of my head since it's involving my friend (send some prayers his way if you feel so inclined) and this new program in Seattle. Hopefully it's a very successful program and lots of people choose life over incarceration.

Something a little different

Over the past few posts I've noticed a diminishing number of readers. I take this as an indication that there's been too much of the same thing and people are getting bored and maybe a little depressed by my posts. Therefore for this post I'm going to try to spark some discussion with one of my harebrained ideas. Hopefully this accomplishes a few things: it's an idea to provide for our homeless neighbors so hopefully it'll be less depressing, maybe even hope inducing; I expect people to get involved in the comments section, tell me why my idea won't work, what parts might work by themselves, what could be added to the idea to make it better, even just tell me just how much of a waste of time this crazy talk is; and finally I just needed to diversify my posts a little to break up the monotony for you guys so hopefully it works.

The Question:

Why don't we engineer an entire city designed to help people get out of poverty and back on their feet?

Pros: Central entity to provide support for all homeless individuals; Homeless would get warmth, food and community; Assistance, therapy and counselling could be focused; Homeless people and their often associated drugs would be out of the main cities making them cleaner and safer places for our non-homeless neighbors (also a con, see below); the overflow areas would be extra valuable in the event of a natural disaster where housing has to be found for vast numbers of people quickly.

Cons: Homeless people would be out of the main cities making it easier for main city residents to forget about them, "out of sight out of mind" would be a big hindrance to getting the country to provide adequate care and funding to the Homeless City (Or "Gateway City" as I thought I'd like to call it, as in a Gateway off the Streets...in a side note I also thought this name might help convince Bill Gates to invest ;) ); I'm not sure how exactly this would effect the national drug trade but centralizing those individuals that are involved in the use of drugs could initially have very negative effects by making it easier for suppliers to find their buyers...however, over time if the system worked then it would be effectively reducing the number of users by giving them a system through which to kick the habit without judgement and at their own pace. Even if they relapsed they would know that all they have to do is show back up to one of the Gateway Cities to find their way back out of the rut. So...kind of a pro-con on that one but I'll put it down here in the cons because that's the way I think most people will view it.

The Design:

It would have to be a tiered system, allowing anyone and everyone the freedom to come and go at will, safely and un-judged from the lowest tier as well as providing protection to those individuals who manage to shed some of their baggage and succeed in moving up tiers (ie. recovery from drug addiction, getting a job but still not able to make house payments or keep up with rent while building savings and re-establishing healthy credit).

The city could be engineered so that, just by existing, it is giving back to the surrounding communities by making it state-of-the-art in green tech, efficient and solar power.

The city would be designed entirely of dwellings eliminating the need for large roads and vehicles inside the city (most homeless don't have and can't afford vehicles anyway). It would need an effective commuting system for inner-city travel and connecting to excellent commuter options for getting to the neighboring cities where the ex-homeless would be holding most of their jobs (some jobs would still be sustained inside the city, ideally by lower tiered individuals as a starting point for developing the work skills and honing their communication and social skills with their coworkers before being expected to interact in a common work place. Jobs like these would be mostly custodial and maintenance related within the city)

For a real leap of faith, the city could be organized, for all but the highest tiers just about to leave, as a mini socialist community where everything done within and without is for the benefit of the city as a whole (As a point of reference it's important to note that this is how many, if not most, tent cities are currently being run)  This would help build the community involvement, encourage working together and give people a support system larger than themselves and their counselor to rely on. Coupled with the higher tiers' focus on getting jobs, learning how to save money and establishing savings and good credit on the individual level this setup would give everybody the chance to take advantage of community assistance until they had things figured out enough that they could get out on their own. All income from the lower tiers therefore would be put into a central fund that would be used to maintain the city, pay the limited staff and employees of the city and, if anything is left over, contribute to improving the neighboring cities as well. This would make it easy for people to make donations to their homeless neighbors because they could just write a donation to the city and it would benefit thousands.

I don't think I would try this system with any more than 50,000 individuals in one particular city since these social societies historically only work with smaller populations. Using homeless population estimations from the internet I figure that 5 or 6 of these facilities around the country would cater to about 10% of our homeless brothers and sisters. Hoping that the system would be effective in funneling people out of poverty and back into healthy living, eventually this would be enough to service everybody's needs. A central part of this system would be getting people to the city in the first place. For this I see taxi services run by the Gateway Cities and called by people who would like to become residents. I also see potential collaborations with airlines or bus and train companies to help facilitate the movement of this very vulnerable population.

Here's a 1st draft for the design of the community built around a 5 tiered system moving people closer and closer to independence and self sustainability at each tier. (I imagine, with the buildings having several stories, the building area taking up about the space of half of CenturyLink (Qwest) Field because 60ish thousand fit in just the seats there...the garden areas could take up as much or little space was available but ideally enough to provide for at least the community itself)

The 1st tier is completely open providing anybody the freedom to sleep in a warm, dry location. One of the things I hear a lot in my travels around Seattle is that people have been "Kicked out" of particular places for bad behavior. The first tier would have a large capacity area for sleeping on mats when there are no rooms available, another similar area for people who are disciplined for bad behavior and need to be separated from one group but still need and deserve a warm place to lay their head (maybe a couple different of these areas would be needed) and another area for couples that are experiencing drug related problems. Children could be taken care of in a facility inside the administration building where the families would be able to spend time with them but they would be kept safe from the drug infused environment.

The 2nd tier would comprise a secure area where people's movements may be restricted because these people would be undergoing voluntary treatment to quit their abusive habits. This would be a high turnover tier and so would probably not need to have as great a capacity so it could be kept in the upper stories of the admin building where the patients would be closest to the help they need.

Tiers 3-5 would be for people reaching increasing levels of independence. Anybody would be welcome to enter directly to tier 3 so long as they were not bringing drug related problems into that area of the community. The living quarters would improve from tier to tier just enough to make it an added incentive to improve your situation but not so much that the tier 5 dwellings are a place one would want to live out your days in...the goal of the whole system is for people to eventually move on (though it is designed with the willing acceptance that some will choose to stay put and that choice would be respected).

Gardens in the community would provide produce for the residents as well as, hopefully, enough for some of the higher tiered individuals to be able to take some of it into the neighboring cities to sell at farmers markets and grocery stores. Fields above and hydroponic gardens below ground with artificial light sources or light tubes would be a good way to maximize the useful area.

In the ultimate optimistic gesture I envision the whole community being designed in very flexible buildings such that, as the homeless population diminishes, the residences on the outside of the community (in the non-drug side only) could be retrofitted easily into either nicer apartments that could be rented/purchased or retail store locations that could be sold or leased out to companies and businesses or residents of the community could start their own businesses in.

To be completely clear, I have no dilutions that a system like this would ever actually come to fruition (not that I don't think it would be very successful in its goal but there is just no way it would ever get great enough support or funding from our non-homeless neighbors) BUT I do believe that we can learn a lot about what we could do with the systems we have in place and those that we plan on devising by thinking about our ideal systems and this is simply my version of that. Especially because of that fact I welcome your comments to help me learn what I can :)

Morning Watch and a Meal

After a communication snafu that left me catching up with Tim and the Morning Watch van half an hour late this morning he had already picked up the lady we usually check in on at Westlake Center and we got her to the shelter for breakfast before heading off again.

I can't remember if I've mentioned this is an earlier blog but this lady has a severe addiction to something and has her good days and her bad days. On one of her better days she was telling me how she wanted to write a story about her life and how she was frustrated by the lack of resources to do so. I've been thinking about what it would take for her to get access to the technology to write her book and I realized that people used to write books before computers existed...I know, and I don't even have a degree in history or anything! It probably won't amount to anything but I think I'll bring her a notebook one of these days so she can start writing. I'll get one of those fancy looking ones that look like they're bound in leather or something so that maybe she feels different about it, or treats it better than her other possessions...and maybe that'll help get her focused on writing her life story like she wants to. Then, if she gets started, I'll be able to help her transcribe it electronically if she wants. I am doubtful that she'll be able to focus on it over her addiction well enough to make any headway but who knows, maybe all she needs is the means to do it and a little encouragement.

We didn't see anybody else until we got down to the waterfront where we met a man who just moved here from Boston a little over a week ago. He wasn't homeless in Boston most frequently, had been before though, but for whatever reason he chose to come here and start over. We found him wrapped in blankets on the stairs of Waterfront Park by the fountain. After we got him into the van he said that he'd been praying for help just before we got there, it's nice to think that we could be the hands and feet of God for some of these people who need help. We introduced him to the welcome center staff at UGM and he went in for breakfast. Hopefully they'll set him up with a bed and give him the help he needs to get off the street quick.

While driving back up under the viaduct we saw another friend of ours that we've brought coffee to on several occasions. He's severely disabled, both overweight (3-400+?) and missing a leg from poorly controlled diabetes and past drug use. He now gets around in a wheelchair and sleeps on the concrete. We got him some coffee and talked with his friend. They are heading down to Portland so that he can get some other care. I'm not sure what he can get down there that he can't get here...not sure they are sure either, sometimes it seems easier to grasp at straws than it is to accept reality and find a way to cope with it...though that is a harsh judgement of this situation because I really have very little information.
We helped the friend jump his van because the battery was completely dead and then we went on our way.

We saw a few more folks down at the waterfront but they just took some coffee, told us we should bring sack lunches with us and kept on sleeping for the most part. And that was the morning.

I headed down with a coworker to get lunch near the convention center today. I went to Subway and saw my old friend Marc begging outside the Cheesecake Factory again...he's there quite often. I had them double my order and brought him a sandwich. He's a bit of a talker and I didn't want to keep my coworker (who went to a different sandwich place) waiting so I just said hi, told him I couldn't chat and gave him his sandwich. He was very grateful and remembered the cake I had bought him. He felt bad he couldn't remember my name so we got re-introduced. He looked a little depressed when I told him it was a turkey sandwich, but if he doesn't want it I'm positive he'll find someone who'll eat it...I just didn't want to buy him another giant piece of cake! (which likely would have happened if I'd gone and asked him what he wanted because I can only put my foot down so hard).

Surprise opportunity

Usually I seek out my beneficiaries during lunch time or on my way home but today I was surprised by an opportunity to help a young man with lots of needs. Sammy flagged me down on my way to REI to prepare for a hike this weekend. When he asked for help I almost got to ask him if I could buy him food before he asked me if I could buy him some sandwiches from the little grocery store behind him for himself and his family. Of course I obliged and followed him in. We filled a basket with things for his family, including his mom, brother and his brother's kids and then got some change so they could do laundry.

Sammy told me that he will be turning 18 on the 3rd, the same day he'll be able to get his food stamps. He actually offered to pay me back in food stamps. He was an interesting person to talk with; he had no problem taking advantage of the help I was offering as it quickly got pretty expensive, but he was also very thankful and kind of still awkwardly embarrassed about the whole situation...that is to say that he wasn't the same kind of embarrassed that I've seen from other folks, but can't really explain the difference. He was also a bit frustrated with people in general as he'd apparently asked a lot of people for help before I happened along. I got a hint of a mental sickness but it could also have been simply a lack of education or just frantic communication skills but he definitely cared deeply for his family and is willing to do what he needs for them.

The thought did cross my mind that the whole thing could be a ruse, if it was then it was a successful one as he got quite a lot of food out of the deal, but talking with him and listening to him tell me about his family and their need for diapers, food and general hygiene products and the fact that he mostly just wanted food helped me feel that he was being genuine. If I think about it now, even if it were a 50:50 likelihood or even greater that I was being put on by a twisted punk, I would still help every time I could because the benefit gained by the person or family in need is far more valuable to me than the money potentially lost on a loser after some petty cash. As it is, I'm pretty confident that Sammy is an honest young man who I'll be praying for to find a way out of his predicament into a comfortable life for him and his family.

Morning Watch 7/20 and 7/21/11

7/20/11
After my excellent vacation it's time to get back into the swing of things. Tim is out of town for a few days so I'm filling in today and tomorrow as best I can solo. It was a pretty slow morning really. I did manage to give one man a ride to breakfast from Waterfront Park but nobody else needed anything today.

It's definitely a different feeling out there without anybody else to work with. It's more lonely during the driving so I find myself looking forward to the brief interactions I have with the people on the street a little bit more. And it's admittedly a bit scarier approaching strangers by yourself because, lets face it, they aren't all going to be exactly civil. But I recommit to every individual, reminding myself that they don't deserve to be on the street any more than anybody else I will see today and then still more often than not I find that they're genuinely quite pleasant.

Most of the regulars weren't there today. A lot can happen in three weeks so maybe they've found a new place to sleep, but I'll hope that they miraculously found a way off the streets until the next time I see them ;)

The Totem Pole for John T. Williams is looking incredible. They've started to paint sections of it since I left and it's beautiful. The Williams family, while they can never be consoled after the tragedy, will at least be able to be proud of the beauty that is being added to Seattle because of their brother's memorial.

7/21/11
Another slow morning, missing most of the regulars and driving around in search of people in need. A couple of the regulars may have moved to another location because the spot they were storing all their stuff during the day is now a construction site. They had a lot of stuff too so they probably had to figure out another arrangement.

No rides today, but I did have a long talk with a young man named James on the waterfront. He is a driven guy who's been through programs to get clean and had a job until a couple weeks ago when he got arrested for a week. Without a way to contact his employer he lost his job and is now, as I see it, at that breaking point where something is going to go his way and he'll work himself out of this spot or, if nothing works out for him soon he may get stuck on the streets without a way out. He seemed a well educated fellow and told me that his trade is concrete. Ultimately he'd like to have his own concrete company, pouring foundations and piles. Right now he is struggling to make the step from homeless, without a job to non-homeless with a job and asked me if I knew of any programs that helped with that step when there are no other barriers in the way like mental illness or addiction. Unfortunately I am not aware of anything really but hopefully he gets in touch with the UGM welcome center for more ideas.

It really does seem like there's a lack of continuity in the programs out there for homeless people. There are programs for folks that need food and shelter, not enough but they are there. There are some for people who need mental care and addiction therapy. What James needs is a program to help him get through some court issues, network to find a job and get an affordable place to live.

I had a passing idea for a program I'd call "One at a Time" or something. The program would be an organization of volunteers with resources to support them going to the streets to find a homeless person that has a desire to be off the streets. They would stay focused on that one person giving them whatever help they need until their goals were met if it took a month or 3 years, then going out and finding someone else.

In a more positive and completely unrelated note, I saw Nate Jaqua this morning walking past Waterfront Park. I said "Good Morning" with an undoubtedly goofy starstruck grin on my face. He responded in kind and I kept walking with a smile on my face, proud that I didn't ambush him for an autograph or something completely stupid like that :P Go Sounders