Notable Notes in March and April

By March, we had settled into a routine. We had trapped all but one of the cats so Susie, Karen and I took turns leaving food for the last cat and if there were at least two of us, we would go down under the bridge to check on the welfare of our peeps. (After the stabbing and arrests, we were a little more cautious). We were constantly watching the weather report and made sure we had room vouchers to pass out if extremely cold weather was predicted. On Friday, March 19, we stopped by to make sure everyone had enough room vouchers to stay the week end (there was a storm predicted) when Brenda walked up. We hadn't seen her for a few weeks and didn't recognize her. Her lip was cut up and swollen, her eye was black and she had dried blood caked on the side of her face and up into her ear. She said someone named Marvin had hit her last night when she was looking for a warm place to sleep. Since we had already given Sam the room vouchers and didn't have any more, Sam gave one to Brenda so she could go clean up and have a warm place to stay for the night. (Sam's generosity never ceases to amaze us.) Since Brenda was drunk, Karen helped her to find her room and get settled in. We reminded Brenda repeatedly that she was not to leave her room (Brenda has a habit of wandering around and knocking on doors) but, of course, as we were leaving we saw Brenda stumbling through the parking lot, headed to McDonalds with her last dollar. Sometimes we just have to give up.

On March 18th, I went to the City Auditorium for Project Connect. Thirty agencies were there with all kinds of information to help the homeless. I found a business called Men with a Mission, a construction company who was hiring. The guys turned in applications and were scheduled for an interview on April 8. Karen and I told them we would pick them up at 1:30 for their 2:00 interview but when we got there, Kevin was too drunk to stand and Taz was just drunk enough to think he was the only man for the job. They thought it was April 7. Sam was sober and had a great interview.

Since we're only hoping for 10% success we were happy. Our expectations aren't too high


We hadn't seen Kevin for a few weeks so started asking about him. We heard from more than one source that "word on the street is that Kevin died." We were very sad especially since we had just learned that he is an epileptic and suffers gran mal seizures. We assumed that the epilepsy combined with the drinking finally became too much. A few days later we ran into a group of our guys and there was Kevin. We were thrilled that he was alive and well.



A week later I found Kevin at Dorchester Park (where a church group provides a lunch for the homeless every Sunday). He had just walked back from detox (4 miles) and was trying to eat


His forhead was all scraped up and he was shakey and sick. He told me he was drinking with Taz the night before and had a seizure and fell on his face. The police gave him a ticket for public drinking but he tore up the ticket. We worry about him.

We lost track of Lisa towards the end of March. We heard that she was in the mountains. Since her mom lives in Divide we hoped that she had gone home to get sober. Not the case. On April 7, while looking for the cat, we found Lisa. Passed out under the bridge with her face dangerously close to the fire. A new guy, Randy, was asleep in a sleeping bag nearby and Jeff was passed out on the mattress. When we started talking to Lisa, Jeff popped up and said "can't a guy get any peace and quiet down here?" Randy eventually crawled out and told us he was just waiting for April 9, his 50th birthday. Told us the girls in San Diego say "rock out with your cock out on your birthday".
We didn't want to be around to witness that. (We heard later that while 'running her sign' on April 9, someone gave Lisa a cake and $10. Yum...cake and vodka)

The week before Easter, Susie made an Easter basket for the guys. They were at the motel so we delivered it complete with a chocolate bunny, jelly beans,trail mix and a card. They loved it. Sam said it was hard for him to eat anything but the jelly beans. "I ain't got no teeth."

On April 11, we met Joe. He just got out of prison in Wyoming on March 15 and hitchhiked to Denver. He walked away from a $35,000 drug deal. Said he had a feeling that that deal would put him away for life. He ended up in Colorado Springs and started walking until he found a place to toss his backpack and get some rest...under the Nevada Ave bridge. He was planning to leave after a few days but "The good Lord told me to get back down under that bridge and take care of that woman" (Lisa).
On April 13, I stopped to feed the cat and ran into Joe...'running his sign' on the corner.

He told me Lisa was in detox and could we go see her. After prayer meeting that evening,we went to see Lisa. When the three of us marched across the parking lot and got buzzed in, we imagined we were Charlie's Angels (OK...maybe elderly Charlie's Angels) Lisa seemed very surprised but happy that we were there. We talked to her about New Hope and Harbor House and she said she'd think about it. She's familiar with all the programs...she used to be the manager at the Alano House, s recovery home.
As we were leaving, we inquired about Kevin and were told that he was there on the men's side. He was surprised and shocked to see us walk in. We talked with him awhile and he shared that he doesn't know how he got there and he can't find his coat,and pack which has his seizure meds and food stamps. He thinks Billy might have it and if we see Billy can we get it? Sadly, Kevin was released the next day before we could find Billy. We haven't seen Kevin since that night at detox.

On April 15th, we took Joe, Zennison and Doyle to Men with a Mission for their interview. Joe and Zennison were told they would be hired. The job is to start on May 10. Not soon enough.

On March 22, Sam, Taz and others were walking down Nevada when a car pulled up and a man said, "Dad?" Sam said ,"Son?" Yes it was Sam's son whom he had not seen for years. Sam spent the night with his son. When I saw him that Friday, he proudly told me he was a grandpa. A week later I ask Sam if he'd talked to his son or seen his granddaughter again and he said, "No, I lost the number. I'll just have to wait until I run into him again."

Shortly after we met Lisa, we were feeding the cats and saw her sitting on a rock under the bridge. When she turned to look at us, we were shocked. Her face was black and blue, one eye was swollen shut and the other had stitches across the eyebrow. she was covered with blood. She said she had tripped and fallen on a rock. She had no idea how she got to the hospital and from there to detox but we've learned since then that detox is a revolving door for Lisa. She goes in about every 4 days and stays for 2 to 3 days. At least for those 2 to 3 days, we know she is safe. During one of her more sober moments, she asked me to call her mom. I asked her what she wanted me to say and she said, "Tell her I love her." Her mom said she loves her, too.