Apparently dedication to making blog posts is not my strong point. I see that the last one was in June of last year. I could use the excuse that we have been busy, but that wouldn't be much different from anyone else or any other time, so I won't.
A lot has happened since June, most of it good. We have had many people in and out. For some, it hopefully was a good thing. For others, it may not have been. There were several folks who left at our request. That is usually because of drug use or contentiousness, or refusal to make any effort to change. There was one resident who claimed to have been kidnapped by her drug dealer. Maybe that happened and maybe not, but she has since moved on. The next day, to be precise.
We see folks who are just down on their luck, and we see folks who have learned very well how to get what they need from others while seemingly oblivious to any need to do anything to help themselves by their own initiative. The question is often, if not always, what is
can't, and what is
won't? On a personal level, it would be very distressing to ask for help, and I cannot imagine how people can continue to keep asking despite having been told that there is no more help available. On the other hand, I have been blessed in my adult life to not have needed the kind of help that we offer at My Friend's House, but many people have helped along the way in many other ways. So I don't know what I would do if night was coming and I had no place to sleep.
Have we learned anything about operating a shelter since we opened in June? You betcha. Do we have anything left to learn? For sure and certain! Do we need to make changes? Always. One of the changes we are making is to make the Internet available to residents. For a long time that did not seem necessary or desirable, except to use the computer in the office for job-hunting or other necessary or helpful activities, and we did not want it to be a distraction for those not needing to waste time. Now, however, we have one person who is taking college classes online, and for whom it would be much more convenient than going to the library. So we will give it a probationary time and reevaluate later.
Speaking of evaluation, we have added a self-evaluation form that residents complete at regular intervals. This is used as a guide to evaluating progress and for determination of continued residency. It is our belief that if residents are not making a good faith effort to make positive changes, it doesn't do much good for them to stay here. They would have a roof, a bed, and a place to take a shower and wash their clothes, but without that effort would not progress.
On another note about progress, we are making slow but steady progress in getting the store built. We get calls from people needing clothing, and are anxious to be able to supply that once again. Right now the remainder of what we moved from the downtown location is still in storage. We have been able to sell some large donated items, such as refrigerators, a drop-in stove, and other items to raise funds for the shelter. Some of the money to do that comes from various churches and individuals, from the small charge to the residents, or from us. Residents are not charged for the first three days, but charges begin to accumulate after three days.
Enough nattering for today. Please, if you have had the patience to read this, be aware that we have not quit, and are not planning to. There is still much work to do. We are grateful for the help that each of you has been so generous to supply, and hope you will see fit to continue.
