I Remember Johnny...
This is a story, where I remember someone I journeyed with in Chicago. This reflection was originally written at the end of a longer post where I look into why Outreach is needed and important and vital for those experiencing homelessness.
I remember Johnny...
- I remember 1st meeting him when he wandered in to eat at the Soup Kitchen I helped run.
- I remember him sleeping under multiple blankets in the entryway to my house in sub-zero temperatures.
- I remember him coming into the shelter with an oversized green trench coat. The bottom was wet because he'd been walking through the snow. He requested something that fitted him and I gave him a beautiful Blackhawks jacket and he gave me the coat. I washed the coat and still have it today.
- I remember him telling me he’d been homeless since he was about 12 or 13. He would have been in his late 30s when I first met him.
- I remember praying for him and with him.
- I remember him loving to ride bikes. He always had a bike and those bikes frequently changed.
- I remember finding him passed out under a bridge in snowy sub-zero temperatures and bringing him into our warming centre. I remember how swollen his fingers were. I remember how long it took us to warm him up. I remember this happening a few times over a few winters.
- I remember how he'd hug my daughter Muriwai when he'd see her.
- I remember sharing communion with him at St. Augustine's for American Indians.
- I remember networking with other agencies to get him off the streets and into housing.
- I remember discovering he struggled to read or write but could sign his name with immaculate handwriting.
- I remember taking him downtown to get his State ID, as he couldn't do it on his own. He needed this document to have a chance of getting housed.
- I remember vigorously advocating for him when he lost an opportunity due to being arrested for something small and petty.
- I remember him qualifying for a permanent supportive housing program.
- I remember him signing a lease and finally getting a place he could call his own.
- I remember helping him move into this place. I remember his smile. I remember his excitement. I remember him showing me his collection of country music cassettes.
- I remember him drawing me 3 pictures and giving them to me. What a beautiful gift! I remember they'd been drawn with crayons, had a little colour and had indigenous themes. I remember hanging his artwork on my office wall. I remember them still being there when I left Chicago and headed to Aotearoa.
- I remember him losing his place.
- I remember him immediately moving into another place because he was registered in a permanent supportive housing program.
- I remember the day I heard he had sadly passed away in a park. He was only in his 50's.
- I remember reflecting on his life. I remember wondering what more I could have done. I remember crying, but glad to have known him and walked with him.
- I remember attending Johnny's wake and funeral, saying a few words of remembrance and hugging his relatives and friends. I remember looking at him lying there and saying goodbye with tears in my eyes.
- Rest In Peace my friend, until we meet again...
Please click the link below to read why I believe Outreach is needed and is important...
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