A Pathway to Hope
“If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
Jimmy* was walking to the convenience store when he was jumped by three guys. They took what little money he had on him and began to beat him mercilessly. Before he lost consciousness, Jimmy had a stroke.
I met Jimmy for the first time last week. He was checking in to the Entry shelter at the Springs Rescue Mission (SRM) in Colorado Springs. Or I should say, he was trying to check in. Though he was already in the system and - according to records - had been in the shelter the year prior, he was having trouble remembering the rules. He had too many bags with him, didn’t know his ID number, and was in possession of a variety of prohibited food items and beverages. He kept apologizing and saying, “I forgot... I forgot...”
On Wednesday nights, my job as a volunteer at the shelter is to greet men and escort them to their bunks. It sounds simple enough until you realize that the guests include a radical span of ages and a vast spectrum of physical, mental, and chemical issues. Left to themselves, they could quickly turn the place into Lord of the Flies. So there are rules. And I’m tasked with making sure everyone plays by them. (Thankfully, I’m backed up by security.)
There are countless others in our city who, like Jimmy, are experiencing homelessness. The reasons are legion.
The shelter was packed that night, as always. I had one bottom bunk left when Jimmy showed up. As I led him to it, he began to tell me his story. It involved military service, a divorce, the loss of a job, and more recently, getting mugged and spending several weeks in the hospital recovering from his stroke. He can barely walk now, has trouble speaking, and one arm is refusing to respond to his brain’s directions.
I talked to Jimmy for 15 or 20 minutes. Later, I helped him figure out where to go the following day to store his stuff, take a shower, get a meal, etc. (all services SRM offers). Before I left for the evening, Jimmy thanked me by name.
The following Saturday, we were down at SRM helping with a cleanup day as part of something called CityServe. I recognized many faces and had the opportunity to talk with several guests. I saw Jimmy too. But when I approached him, he had a vacant look in his eyes and obviously didn’t know who I was. His memory, at least for the moment, is shot.
There are countless others in our city who, like Jimmy, are experiencing homelessness. The reasons are legion. Rob* has had two head injuries, has seizures, and can’t hold a job. Paul* is a smart, resourceful young man who was recently released from the Colorado State Penitentiary and is finding that his felony conviction makes it tough to secure employment. Then there’s the man undergoing chemo for a huge tumor on his face who doesn’t have the stamina to work, lost his home, and is living on the streets. Or the big dude who begs at intersections and then comes into the shelter roaring drunk. The list goes on and on. On top of their vocational/housing challenges, many of these individuals wrestle with addiction and mental illness.
Fran and I were motivated to begin serving at Springs Rescue Mission because they’re doing something to help these people. In addition to providing essential services like meals, showers, laundry, and a safe, warm place to sleep at night, SRM functions as a “transitory facility.” That means they aren’t merely an emergency refuge. Their goal, for each and every guest, is independence. And to that end, they have programs to encourage, equip, and enable people to move from survival mode back to being contributing members of the community.
Guests who wander in off the street are offered a “pathway out of homelessness.” That involves residential and outpatient addiction recovery programs and meetings, work programs, job training, career classes, and assistance finding both employment and housing.
At the center of their efforts is the Hope Program. As SRM President and CEO, Jack Briggs explains, this program is “a guide that provides opportunities for our guests to improve their health, their access to work, and ultimately their housing needs. And it is our desire that these individuals will also find hope in the process.”
As clients engage with the program, they are assigned a case manager and receive access to 16 partner agencies (including counseling, dentistry, and medical services). Unemployed clients are coached in job hunting. Some begin working on the SRM campus, doing laundry, cleaning, or working in the kitchen. This makes them eligible to move up in the tiered shelter system – graduating from the basic, no-frills Entry, to the more accommodating Next Step, to the comfortable Advanced housing – and eventually to their own home. Each step involves more responsibility and expectations.
There are things you can do. Little things to be part of the solution.
Success stories abound. In my short time volunteering, I have personally met and watched a number of individuals progress through and out of SRM, into careers and housing. In 2022 alone, the mission provided 2,974 men and women with shelter. They served 204,000 meals. Nearly 150 guests secured permanent housing, 129 were involved in addiction recovery, and 137 found jobs.
In the end, of course, it’s not about numbers. It’s about people. People like Jimmy and Rob and Paul who, for whatever the reason, find themselves in need of a helping hand. “It’s hard to know how to help homeless neighbors,” the SRM website says, “but you can be part of the solution.” How? If you live in the Springs, consider volunteering. Or you can become a Good Samaritan Sponsor through monthly donations. Even a one-time gift is appreciated.
Wherever we live, there are things we can do. Little things to be part of the solution.
*Names have been changed to respect the guests.
Postscript: We saw Jimmy again when we went down to the shelter last night. He was sitting outside the entrance in a wheelchair, looking pretty rough, begging for cigarettes as he waited for a ride to the hospital.