I was reading today about a man named Chase. Chase was not from our area but could easily be one of many folks around your very own neighborhood. He could have been the retired “hermit” in the north woods, the “bum” you saw outside Target today, the woman pushing a stroller that holds all her worldly possessions as she walked along the road, or the grandmother that got scammed for all she had in life.
Chase was challenged in this world to “fit in” he wasn’t trying to be “odd” he wasn’t trying to be a burden, he wasn’t trying to scare you and he wasn’t trying to “ruin your neighborhood”… He did get into trouble, he did steal from time to time, he did ask you to help him… He did smell funky, he did look unkept, He did have value.
Chase died alone, behind a Target store, nobody knew he was dead, nobody missed him. He was discovered days later, by accident.
This story is all too common, our system is broken, so many “un-homed persons” are given a huge check each month. Spending this check in only a few days, maybe getting a motel room for a night to shower and sleep like royalty. As they slip over to the local homeless shelter to wash clothes for free, get a free meal from the mission or local “community action” group. Eventually, this outcast will head back over to the corner of the county park, set up as a “tent city”… Month after month, year after year until one day, after seeking shelter in a fish house in the back yard of a local person, they quietly die and are discovered days or weeks later as the owner starts setting up his spear house for that big muskie.
Yes, many times this person will take advantage of everyone. Whether you are trying to help them or just ignore them, so often they will burn every bridge. BUT there is always that one “inconvenient truth”… Our government will pay them to be homeless! That’s right! Living on the streets is much more profitable that taking up residency in a home where people care and love them….
If I can get $1000.00 and get handouts for dinner, free clothes, as many tents and blankets as I want… Or, go to a house and pay $600.00 in rent, that only leaves $400.00 for smokes, food, utilities and “habits”… Loosing all the free stuff? Living in the county park for free, the freedom to go anywhere at anytime, folks buying you a meal at a restaurant you cant afford…. You might learn pretty fast how to manipulate the world too.
Don’t get me wrong, every homeless person we encounter that chooses to be on the streets has a counterpart that works to get off the streets… It’s not a one size fits all equation.
But the reality is this, it’s a challenge to be homeless, but many would rather be homeless and have the monthly paycheck than to live in a house or apartment and give that paycheck to a landlord.
I think our government should start attending “co-dependent” counseling and learn a bit about “enabling”. I am no “expert” by any stretch, but the solution is not more money poured into a system that clearly doesn’t work!
What was the ancient proverb? “Doing the exact same thing over and over and expecting different results each time is the true definition of insanity”?
Sam’s Place is one place that is trying to make a difference. We are not operating on some big budget, In fact it costs Jess and I every month to keep our doors open, yes, I pay to keep it going. One day we know we will reach a net zero, one day we know we will get to the point of making a difference and hopefully we will one day be able to reduce our rent price and meet those folks that “don’t fit into society”… I hope one day read about the Chases of this world, and how a small act of caring and kindness helped them overcome the challenges they face daily and become a vital part of society that gives back to the next person in the line of despair and solitude.
Not everyone that dies alone behind Target has to be there or should be there!
A young man that was brilliant, started his masters degree, excelled in mathematics, theoretical math, but struggled to fit into the society around him. A man of 60 plus, another brilliant mind, who lived behind his mothers house in a camper for two years, but never fit into the cookie cutter world we have. Another man who finished his degree with top honors and found himself alone and hearing voices, losing touch with reality, collecting pop cans. A mother who can’t get along with people, not receiving help because she doesn’t exactly fit the bill, she is almost to the point of getting help but doesn’t qualify. The motivated person who did some bad drugs and now lives with the constant looming cloud they may very well one day slip away into a psychosis that never ends.
We can’t help everyone, and not everyone can be helped by Sam’s Place, but we can help 15, we can help some become stable, independent and some to just be safe and loved.
Sam’s Place can’t change the entire world, but it can help change the lives of those we serve. Maybe one day, we can help more “brothers and sister” that are ready to come in out of the rain, a retired “man or lady” that is looking to find a home that doesn’t break the bank, a “cousin” that suffers from childhood trauma and needs a safe, secure place to live… At Sam’s Place, we don’t just take the ones that are homeless, outcast and don’t fit in, we take anyone that is looking for a loving home, but they must want to succeed, be safe and live clean.
God blessed you, if you can read this, God has blessed you. C