Lost & Found
“You all got any extra Narcan you can share back here? It is getting used on someone left and right these days.”
“It doesn’t matter where I move to out here. You all always seem to find me.”
ROC Member: “We have a place for you to go to recover from your surgery on Friday.”
Client: “Oh, thank goodness! I have been so worried about this! You all have really gone above and beyond!”
“I was about to say that I didn’t need this bag, because I didn’t know it was you all, but now that I see it is you, that makes all the difference in the world.”
“I could use a jacket. It’s starting to get cold out here at night.”
(ROC Member hands them the jacket off their back.)
Client: “I have to be at a job interview across town in an hour. I hope this bus shows up in time.”
ROC Member: “Just hop in the van; we will take you there now.”
“Thank you for helping me move all this stuff. I would have never been able to do that by myself. And you can see that none of my so-called ‘friends’ are here to help me. I’m so glad to be getting out of this spot and getting into the shelter where I can stay sober and continue to get my life back together!”
“Wait, you all have folks that really work with CADAS with you today? I need to get off of this heroin. I’m so done with this!”
“I move around a lot because the people I find myself around make me so angry, and I hate being angry. But it doesn’t matter where I go; it ends up being no different.”
“Hey, where did (other client) go to get clean? I have to get off of this stuff (fentanyl). I have never had something control me like this. It’s like nothing else I have done. I quit doing the ice and all that, but this stuff is scaring me.”
“Every time I turn around, you’re there. I can be on the complete opposite side of town and, you find me there. And you’re always there when and wherever I need you.”
As we work with those experiencing homelessness, it is important for us to hold the perspective that our client'’ lives are like that of a maze. Each person's maze looks different. Each one comes with its own unique challenges. There are different turns. There are more or less barriers. Some are shorter, and some are longer. Some are brighter, and some are darker. Some clients are going through their maze with others. Some clients have been separated from their team and are now faced with getting through alone. More information about how to navigate the maze is obtained by some clients and not others. Mental capacity can a lot of times affect a client’s ability to see and decide which turn is the correct one to take or how to regroup and turn themselves around after a wrong turn has been made. Some clients have been in their maze for so long that they are now content with sitting down and settling in to their maze and calling it home. They think, "Well, I can survive off the ‘corn’ that is served at the community soup kitchen.” At some point a feeling of not belonging outside of their maze sets in.
Given this perspective, how are we to respond? What is our role? Our response is to be the ones that run through the stalks of the maze, to search for people in the uncomfortable places, and to run through the barriers. We find them over and over and over again. After finding them, our role becomes that of the support system to help lead and guide them through the maze, to give information that will assist in making helpful turns, and to assure them that they will not be left alone and that they do belong outside the confines of their maze.
There is power in being found when you are considered lost. There is power in being met when you feel alone. There is power in breaking through when you feel trapped. There is power in being built up when you have been beaten and broken down.
#ROCAndRoll
#ROCRetrospective
#LostAndFound
#ItsAMazeThing
