The Homeless Program

Today, we met James at Emmaus at 7:30am. This is our third attempt this week to take him to The Homeless Program office (pictured right). The first time, he showed up having lost all of his paperwork and ID that Brian and I (Lail) had helped him get only 2 days earlier. The second time, he didn't show up until 8:15am and we had already left around 8am thinking he wasn't going to come. And this third time, he came with all of his paperwork with him.

We had a flier from the Homeless Program explaining that they work on a first-come-first-serve basis so it is imperative to arrive early if we expect to be seen. The office doesn't open until 9am and we were outside waiting in line at about 7:45am. There were already 14-15 people ahead of us. Thank God, we were able to get in for James to meet with a counselor for an initial interview (this was to help determine what services were available for him) as well as apply for a Gold Card, which would provide James with free health care and medication.

Roger talked to the security guard there and explained that James often gets volatile and angry, and requested that he allow us to accompany James throughout the process. The security guard and the counselor allowed for only one of us to be with James during his interview. Roger suggested that I do it because I have a good rapport with him.

The counselor asked James some standard questions about his life. He then moved on to the health part of the interview, asking if he had any health problems. James replied harshly, "I'm dying," he stared at him as if he should have known that. The counselor, who was not expecting that type of response, said, "Oh, OK. From what?" James, getting more and more agitated said, "Everything." The counselor didn't say anything, so James continued, "I have Hepatitis, Syphilis, and I'm HIV positive" he counted on his fingers, "I have no strength, I'm tired all the time, I'm homeless so I don't get much sleep and can't eat right, I'm loosing 5 lbs. a week, I'm in excruciating pain all the time. Does that answer your question?"

I just shook my head and apologized silently to the counselor. I actually felt really bad for him because he was doing his best to be supportive and helpful. We soon got on the subject of emergency housing for AIDS patients. The counselor called a woman at an organization who then wanted to speak to James. The counselor handed James the phone. As they were talking, the counselor showed me a flier describing the organization. I read it and thought it sounded wonderful. It was a small facility that specialized in helping AIDS patients with a holistic approach. However, within a few minutes, James was yelling at the woman and finally through the phone across the desk and said, "Stupid bitch. No way am I going there. The hell with this." After he calmed down he explained that she wanted him to stop doing drugs. Guests at that facility are expected to be clean. To him this was absurd. He claimed, "I have to self medicate! It's the only way I can not feel pain."

At the end of our time at the Homeless Program we left with the following:

• A $15 waiver, to pay for his birth certificate and ID.
• A referral to the AIDS Foundation Houston
• 5 different referrals to emergency housing for AIDS patients
• And a Gold Card (considering the way the social system works here, this was huge to get done in just one morning!)

Overall I found this to be a frustrating experience. How do you help someone who doesn't make it easy to help them, who yells at people who are trying to help him, and demands that things be done his way? Can you ever actually help someone like this? Once they've gotten everything they want, will they just find something new to be unhappy about?

I have to think of Christ. How patient is He when I refuse His help and assume I know better? How often do I demand that God does things my way? Is it fair of me to really be that frustrated with James, when I do the exact same things to God and He shows me patience, grace, and mercy in abundance?