I know! It’s so exciting! “What’s changed?” you ask. It’s the possibility of adding other initiatives to the End of the Tunnel project. If this was shared by a friend and you have no idea what I’m talking about, you might want to spend a minute checking out EndoftheTunnel.org first. Now, let me open a door to my brain for a minute so you can see what I’ve been thinking…
Meeting people face to face, in their environment, you see things. You hear things. Since we’re going inside my brain, let’s just say it–you smell things. Some of these things are ugly. It makes you realize that there are a lot of people who are not in a state of mind that’s conducive to getting out of the tunnel. You could dump a ton of money into them and it would be like throwing it into a fire. But, some people are ready! Sometimes circumstances just got out of control, and they ended up living under a shade tree in a tent. Why?
That’s the real question, isn’t it? Why?
Too many people see homelessness and think, “They need homes!” But that’s not the solution. What these folks need is to solve the problems that caused them to be homeless in the first place. I thought, if I was going to help them become self-sufficient and stable again, I had to identify the root causes of their being homeless.
A-ha!! Now we’re getting somewhere! After talking to a couple of hundred people or so, I was able to really narrow down the causes that I felt I would be able to address–successfully. Also, I nailed down the characteristics and habits of the people who I felt, regardless of their root cause, I would not be able to help. Having personal experience dealing with addicts, I know they cannot be helped without wanting to get help, so addicts were off the list. I can advise them to get help to conquer their addiction, but until they make the effort to get cleaned up and sober, I have to accept that there is nothing I can do to help them get out of the tunnel, other than showing them success stories.
The causes were narrowed based on the reality that some things are beyond my scope. For instance, people who escape from prison–nah, I’m just messing with you. People who are released, however, from incarceration–these folks can sometimes have a hard time rejoining society. Well, I can’t just tell them about the job placement programs for ex-cons; they’re going to know all about that already. It sucks, too, because these guys are not as likely to be chronic addicts or suffer from mental illness, and they’re likely willing to put in the work, but I just never felt like I would be in a position to help them get out. I’ve run into a number of ex-cons who wound up in the tunnel–I met one just the other day. He was out five days, had no place to go, and was suffering from heat exhaustion. He’d been in an air conditioned facility for a long time, and wasn’t used to 100-degree temps.
Things have changed. The project is growing fast enough that I can easily see a connection with organizations that specialize in areas that I had earlier deemed “beyond my scope,” so now I’m thinking it’s time to start building another arm of the network and stockpiling funds earmarked for this group. So, that’s the first initiative I’d like to add to the project. Tell me what you think.
Families Facing Foreclosure was another initiative that didn’t make the cut originally. The issue was the rarity of interaction between myself and people who fit into the category. People who aren’t in the tunnel yet, aren’t in the tunnel for me to meet. Yeah, that’s how my brain works. So there was really no point in collecting funds to help people that I wouldn’t meet, or even hear about, until it was too late. That seems like a big bowl of not-good-enough. But things have changed. In building a network of industry professionals and local volunteers, I’ve connected with people who specialize in finding financial aid for people who are in danger of losing their homes. Again, I can see this becoming a very effective preemptive effort to combat homelessness before it takes hold.
The toughest debate is regarding disabilities. When someone is disabled and ends up in the tunnel because they can’t hold a job, or can’t make enough money to afford the cost of living, that’s a failure of society. I want to help that situation by supplementing that person’s income after getting them back into a house. Easy, right? Not so much. The issue is that the term “disability” covers a wide range of circumstances. Mental illness is certainly a disability, and I didn’t want to open a can of worms by saying we’re going to help people with “disabilities” then neglect a huge swath of people. I get it, in all fairness, it’s better to overextend than to neglect.
Things have changed. I learned that there are government programs that are specifically designated for amputees, and ones just for people with combat injuries, etc. So, what I’ve decided is that it’s better to specialize than to overextend. There’s a lot of room for debate on this initiative, so let me know if you have anything to add.
Lastly, unwanted pregnancies are an issue. I spoke with a man a few days ago, who explained that he’d witnessed a woman giving birth and discarding the child into a dumpster. It kills me to write that. I’ve seen pregnant women in the tunnel before, talked to a couple. As much as a woman might want to have a child, she knows the reality of the situation. Adoption is the best choice and addiction is the enemy. I spoke with a woman last week who couldn’t hold back tears as she expressed her regret for not being able to kick the meth while she was pregnant–her daughter, who she refers to as a crack baby, will be fine, but the regret is still prominent. I hadn’t really considered it before, but there are programs–again, beyond my scope–where mothers of unwanted pregnancies can be cared for by people who want to adopt. Funding from the End of the Tunnel project would go toward immediate treatment and temporary housing until a sponsor family is found.
Weigh in if you’d like. Whether the initiatives make it to the website or not, I always like to take people’s thoughts into consideration–maybe get inside your brains!