Soft spoken, eyes deep with shadows, skin rough, moving his hand to touch mine.
“Steven, I need help” tears filling his eyes.
Homeless for ten years, tossed around from hospital to hospital, shelter to shelter. Alcohol dependence that surfaced after a mental illness diagnosis, self medicating symptoms. A history of physical abuse, environmental trauma, a case file that read more like a horror story, my own tears soaking into the documents as I poured over them.
It isn’t often when a client reaches out in such a strong way, igniting a fire within my heart, the same fire that brought me into this work, “not this man, not today, we… no I, I will not fail him.” The next four weeks of my life would be spent in housing trainings, hundreds of phone calls, hours of paperwork, plenty of arguing, and one less than glamourous outburst. Sitting at my desk on a Thursday afternoon, paper spread from floor to desk, an email would come, “Steven, he’s been accepted.” My back braced against the wall as I let out a sigh, as the tears came, as my emotions caught up with my voice. His life was about to change.
I informed the hospital social workers, joyful screaming erupting as I explained the details. Walking on unit the next day, ready to go over details of his new home, the nurse informed me they hadn’t told him, “We wanted it to be you.” I looked into the day room, finding him drinking his morning coffee, staring out the window. Saying his name, he turned toward me, “we’ve done it, we’ve found you a place to live.” His coffee crashed to the ground, tears filling his face as he laugh cried into my shoulder,
Two weeks, bags in hand, new cell phone, bidding goodbye to the medical team that fought for him just as much as I. He finished the last of his hugs and we were off to his new home. “I have a chance at a life now, because of you.” He told me as the car weaved through rush hour traffic. Looking at me with tear soaked cheeks, he stated, “No one listened to me until you, no one cared, I will never be the same because of you, thank you.”
Words will never be enough to describe that moment, the beauty, the humanity, the raw emotions. This career is anything but easy, but it will always be worth it.
I wouldn’t trade another lifetime for how I felt that day.
“Steven, I need help” tears filling his eyes.
Homeless for ten years, tossed around from hospital to hospital, shelter to shelter. Alcohol dependence that surfaced after a mental illness diagnosis, self medicating symptoms. A history of physical abuse, environmental trauma, a case file that read more like a horror story, my own tears soaking into the documents as I poured over them.
It isn’t often when a client reaches out in such a strong way, igniting a fire within my heart, the same fire that brought me into this work, “not this man, not today, we… no I, I will not fail him.” The next four weeks of my life would be spent in housing trainings, hundreds of phone calls, hours of paperwork, plenty of arguing, and one less than glamourous outburst. Sitting at my desk on a Thursday afternoon, paper spread from floor to desk, an email would come, “Steven, he’s been accepted.” My back braced against the wall as I let out a sigh, as the tears came, as my emotions caught up with my voice. His life was about to change.
I informed the hospital social workers, joyful screaming erupting as I explained the details. Walking on unit the next day, ready to go over details of his new home, the nurse informed me they hadn’t told him, “We wanted it to be you.” I looked into the day room, finding him drinking his morning coffee, staring out the window. Saying his name, he turned toward me, “we’ve done it, we’ve found you a place to live.” His coffee crashed to the ground, tears filling his face as he laugh cried into my shoulder,
Two weeks, bags in hand, new cell phone, bidding goodbye to the medical team that fought for him just as much as I. He finished the last of his hugs and we were off to his new home. “I have a chance at a life now, because of you.” He told me as the car weaved through rush hour traffic. Looking at me with tear soaked cheeks, he stated, “No one listened to me until you, no one cared, I will never be the same because of you, thank you.”
Words will never be enough to describe that moment, the beauty, the humanity, the raw emotions. This career is anything but easy, but it will always be worth it.
I wouldn’t trade another lifetime for how I felt that day.
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