On fresh starts
Back in March, I shared a bit of a sad update on my unhoused friends.
Cops raided their camp and took everything they owned. Within the week…
- Mike had relapsed
- Manny got arrested for stealing copper
- Ron was all by himself
But last Friday, I got an amazing phone call from Mike!
Sometime over the winter, he checked himself into rehab. He’s several months clean now. He’s doing therapy to address the trauma that’s caused him to use. He’s in the process of getting a job helping other addicts get clean, too, like the person that helped him.
He’s got stable housing. And he just found out he’s going to be a grandfather for the first time, just as he’s finally clean and able to enjoy it and be in his family’s life again.
Mike told me that there were a few points this winter where he felt like he couldn’t keep going.
It was a brutally cold winter, and I through sheer luck met them the day after they’d ridden out a particularly cold night with no sleeping bags.
If you feel comfortable doing so, I want to encourage you to take a moment to stop when you see someone who’s unhoused and ask them what they need.
Money is always useful, of course, but Mike specifically told me that the thing he appreciated most was that I took some time to just stop and chat with him for a bit. So many people “look at {him} like {he} was a scumbug,” as he described it. Being treated like a person kept him going.
There’s risk in doing this kind of thing. I’ve talked to a few folks who struggled with more severe mental health issues. You can never really predict how they’ll act. You definitely need to use a lot of situational awareness, and go in knowing you might need to back out quick.
But I’ve also had some amazing conversations, met some wonderful people that I consider friends, definitely kept some folks alive this winter, and for Mike, at least, played a (very) small part in getting him to the next chapter of his life.
It’s rewarding AF. I hope you’ll join me in spreading more hope and joy to people who desperately need it.