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My wandering into conversation dates back to 2007. I know Alan Burt was there, and I’m pretty sure Rick Presbury, then-head of the Housing Assistance Authority, was another. They were discussing losing a homeless customer to suicide, and Alan was in tears. He was recently thanked for all his efforts, but then a client later took his life.
We were at a 2007 “meeting” of Cape clergy organized by the Cape Cod Church Council to investigate homelessness. It was the pastor’s frustration when he saw that steadfast members of the congregation were ashamed to ask for help to stay home. That year, I met the parent of a student who lost his job that same month. “What shall we do?” they asked.
15 years later, we are still asking.
We know that our homeless population includes mentally ill and emotionally damaged people who are hard to love and help, but we want to know the impact the experience of homelessness has on the sanity of those who are already suffering. must be taken into consideration.
A fellow I spoke with was abandoned as a child in upstate New York. He spent part of that winter in a dumpster and became homeless at the age of 10. A few years later he ended up on the Cape. Homeless Not Hopeless Shelter turned his life around. Meanwhile, for millions of Americans, the economy is stripping band-aids faster than churches and shelters can wear band-aids. equivalent to firing an alarm.
There are almost 400 homeless people here on Cape Cod, not counting those who live in motels or couchsurf with friends. This is his best number in eight years. Many factors are at play for us, notably the chronic shortage of affordable housing.
more:The Mashpee Wampanoag needed help for the homeless.here is one solution
If you are a Main Street retailer, local homelessness can be a serious problem.
Who will spend the night when we can go to shelter? St. His Joseph’s Refuge is a ‘wet’ Refuge, although showing up drunk means taking care of people, but an addict might. People with mental illness may refrain from going out, and others are so traumatized that they have given up trusting others.
Don’t underestimate that last possibility. Imagine lying in the woods, wrapped in a tarp, shivering alone all night. It could be the lights of nearby houses, where people are warm, eating hot meals, and sleeping in their own beds, shining through the trees. Imagine that loneliness on top of the physical pain of being too cold to bear. How many nights of physical and emotional pain do you need to cause permanent damage?
more:A Cape Cod woman lived in a homeless camp. Dawn Squires’ brother tells her story
I have an answer to that — a sad answer. Last year, the Cape homeless killed at least 76 of his people known to his service providers. Some have died from the physical effects of chronic homelessness. Some died alone in the forest. Some have froze to death less than yards from the twinkling lights where we live.
On December 21st, the shortest day of the year, remembrances were held across the Cape for the homeless we lost. Some voluntarily camp or sleep in their cars that night. I slept in the car and did it once.it was Cold —and the night seemed endless—but unlike the homeless, I knew I could drive home if it got too cold.
Pastor Pam Wanny, a spiritual care provider at Duffy Health Center, regularly works with the homeless on Cape Cod. She speaks passionately about the struggles of those who care for her to better themselves and their lives.
Faced with unmanageable problems, some of us blame the homeless, while others eventually give up or succumb to donor fatigue.
more:Pandemic puts additional strain on Cape Cod homeless shelters and services
Our homelessness is the most visible evidence of systemic problems in the economy in which we live. It’s like stepping on water. But when the pie suddenly shrinks, millions find it impossible to survive on what’s left over. We can’t solve the homeless problem until we face it.
Finally, as the saints in the snow continue to serve the most vulnerable among us, we will never tire. When I see people doing God’s work, I can always support them. joining Those — by doing it.
Lawrence Brown is a columnist for the Cape Cod Times. Please send an email to columnresponse@gmail.com.
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