Reality Check Cashed...

January 25, 2015

Waiting the in rain for the library to open

Big SO to the Velvet Army for feeding dozens on a cold rainy day

Up to this point most of what I have chosen to write about has been shown in a positive light. This is because I have been blessed to meet some really great people. The past 24 hours has revealed one terrible thing after another. Excluding a great hot lunch where my family got to meet and hang out with 'L' and a brief meeting with the SSP team...I've run into one terrible thing after another. I don't even know where to begin and I am sorry if some of it is disturbing...I'm not a seasoned writer so this won't be very detailed and I'll try to numb it down a bit. I assure everyone I am fine and feel comfort knowing that God is using me for something bigger than me.

Yesterday morning I met what I thought was your pretty average camp of homeless people. I've learned that often a 'camp' will have a leader. This guys name was 'N.' There were 6 of them, 4 guys and 2 women. They did not get my full story. They were concerned with the fact that I was sleeping out in the cold most nights and invited me to stay with them (I won't mention where, but it was downtown, sheltered and sounded safe.) Two of the members had just been released from rehab and had suffered simultaneous seizures that morning. Their story was they were admitted to hospital and released within the hour...I am ignorant of these type of procedures, but it is safe to say they did not get adequate treatment...who knows really. For the sake of chronological consistency, I'll get back to them...

I did a little work in the library, before I began my walk to meet my family for lunch. (They had drove 3 hours just to check in!) Ran into 'L' on the way and asked him if he wanted to meet my family and get some legitimate grub. If you read my previous blog, you might remember he isn't your typical homeless man. Because 'L' is used to people suffering from schizophrenia and every other mental illness under the sun, he chose to read up on me (wait...do I seem crazy!) I was pumped to see he cared enough about the project to do some research; he knows everything about the SSP and was pumped to get to hang out and learn more. We all had a great time hanging out at Nashville Street Tacos and he was really engaging with my niece, nephew, and little brothers. He had to leave early because he really wanted to get into ''Room at the Inn'' and not one of the other shelters. We talked about starting to go to church together, and turns out that he has gone to the church I attend in the past. We exchanged phone numbers and now we get to print a special 6XL hoodie for my man! :)

'L' tells it how it is. There are amputees out here and I wanted to know why. Turns out he knows several and says he regularly runs into someone he hasn't seen in a while and they have recently lost a limb. Addiction and poor hygiene make taking care of infections, often related to diabetes (hey medical people--does that sound right?) very difficult. Not too long ago, he knew of someone passing out partially on the train tracks. He didn't die but it's bad. I am very thankful for some of the advice 'L' has given me. He seems to really care about my safety.

Last night I made a decision I ended up regretting.

I wanted to see what this 'camp' life was all about. I spent some time with my family, my mother forcing extra food on me. I headed back out around 9:30 pm and went for my nightly walk around town. I remembered the location of the where 'N's group was staying and thought that I'd give it a shot, they seemed like ok people. I don't carry any valuables on me at night, besides my phone which I usually keep hidden deep in my layers of clothes. This place was not a cool place. I didn't last 10 min there. To sum it up: drugs, alcohol, inappropriate sexual advances, invasion of privacy (my bag) and rough housing (not with me). Explaining my departure was uncomfortable and I could tell it wasn't landing good. I pulled some food out as a small gesture of kindness and basically just jetted. That sucked.

After that I slept in my car again...which I have done a few nights now. I keep my car in what I would consider a pretty safe place. This could happen to anyone-anywhere-anytime and probably has happened to some of you...but I bet you weren't in your car when it happened! I woke up to the jingling of change at about 7:00 am. Someone was in my front seat stealing change from my cupholder! With the frost on the windows, he had no clue I was in the back...we scared the crap out of each other. He literally fell off the passenger seat onto the ground and took off sprinting. How in the world did he get in without the alarm going off? The doors were locked. I'm an absent minded person so I've had my share of run ins with locksmiths. That process is not quiet. I know the doors were locked because after the fact, I checked the rest of them...DANG.

Reality check cashed.

-Matt

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