PLEASE MEET SEAN:
Please meet Sean. He's a reallyREALLY good guy. Over the past month his life has been turned upside down.
Sean works full-time as a mason. He also takes side masonry jobs. While working one of these side-jobs he fell 7'-0" off a ladder and shattered his heel. Instantly everything changed for him.
He spent two weeks in the hospital with doctors reconstructing his foot. When released he came home to find he'd been booted from his shared housing arrangement. His roommate's girlfriend had moved in. Without income there was nothing he could do.
He went to a friend's condo for some temporary couch surfing. A week later he found that his truck had been towed. He hadn't registered it with the condo-office.
In a matter of several weeks Sean went from living inside fully employed to being homeless without work and without his truck and tools.
By the time Facing Homelessness talked with Sean he was without HOPE. Early in our conversation he said, "I am so grateful that FH will listen to what I've been going through. I don't know where to turn." This is one of the things the FH COMMUNITY does best - to listen, connect, and be in community with each other.
Sean's truck had been in the tow yard for ten days. The fee was nearly $1,200.00 and all he had was $300. Facing Homelessness picked up the rest. For just under $900 this community helped keep Sean on a path of pulling himself back into housing.
We can Just Say Hello. We can get to know each other to be there in times of celebration and in times of need.
Sean has another month of healing before he can get back to work. If anybody has a small masonry job needing to be addressed, like tuckpointing a brick chimney, please let us know. We would love to connect you up with our new buddy Sean!
Wallingford Neighborhood | Rex
A QUIET THOUGHT - If you’re moved by the goodness of this community, please visit http://www.facinghomelessness.org/ and click on the ‘donate’ button and consider a gift that is meaningful to you--even a “monthly recurring” donation of just $5 in support of the work. THANK YOU!
#facinghomelessness #justsayhello #TheBLOCKProject #kindness #windowofkindness
coldTRAIL
PLEASE MEET SEAN:
Seattle’s Jungle is a splendid forest adorned with vine draped maples. Birds sing high in green canopies. Berries, fruit trees, and mossy foundations speak to earlier times. Mud trails lead to nestled camps. Wandering endlessly through English Ivy. But tangled souls cry pathetically from encampments twisted among the vines and branches. Stuck in a world most can’t conceive. The “Jungle” is a homonym.
I passed Sean’s camp regularly. There was a tent, a firepit and a small patio. He’d greet me with a smile and nod each time, appearing satisfied to see an outsider with good intentions. He invited me over once. We grabbed a couple chairs and sat for a while. It was cold. But the fire and conversation were warm. I immediately like this guy.
“It’s a continuous struggle,” he said. “I worry constantly. I have many sleepless nights. We’re always on our guard.” He tossed a chunk of broken pallet on the fire. Looking into the flame he said, “I’ve always longed for the structure of a family. To be a husband and a father.”
Sean grew up a latchkey kid. His mom worked graveyard. His dad abandoned them early before serving a long prison sentence. He died soon after. Sean worked the docks of Tokeland, WA packing ice and working crab boats. He is an experienced hiker and climber. But as a young man, Sean committed a crime. It would cost him a 13 year prison sentence and any substantial chance at housing or stable employment. Sean has been homeless most of his life. “Each time I find an open door it gets slammed in my face. I feel I’m stuck.”
As I departed he said, “Tell people not to honk when they see us. Some of us cannot function safely without sleep. Tell them we are human just like you. Each of us is doing our best to get out of this hell.”
As I walked the mud path outbound a memory surfaced. As a young kid I once trespassed across a muddy lot. The mud got deeper. Clutching and emitting suction sounds with each step. My right shoe was sucked off my foot. Then the left. I felt helpless and physically drained. I was cold. I panicked. I could see where I needed to go. I could see people who could help me. But they were busy. They couldn’t see me. Or hear me over the noise.
Georgetown Neighborhood | Damian
A QUIET THOUGHT - If you're moved by the goodness of this community, please visit http://www.facinghomelessness.org/ and click on the 'donate' button and consider a "monthly recurring" donation of just $5 in support of the work. THANK YOU!
#Kindness #JustSayHello #FacingHomelessness