I have worked in Social Work for over twenty years and consider myself a seasoned professional. But nothing has quite prepared me for my work thus far as the Going Home Services Coordinator for TACO. I have grown spiritually in a deep compassionate way for the most vulnerable, the forgotten, marginalized people that are rejected by society based on not living up to societies standards of having their basic needs met.

 

My work at TACO reminds me of Mathew 25:35-40:

     For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

     Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

     The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.

 

Being homeless and on the street is tough in itself but when one is terminally ill or medically vulnerable the exposure to outside elements can make life physically unbearable. In March of 2019 I started working with a Going Home Services client for his privacy I will refer him as Mr. C in this article.

 

A friend of Mr. C’s stopped by TACO to let us know Mr. C was found unresponsive where he camped below the freeway overpass and was in the hospital. The friend also dropped off Mr. C’s personal belonging because he knew it would be safely stored at TACO.

 

Mr. C stayed in the hospital for about two weeks and spent another three weeks in a rehab facility. He had several medical issues, the most concerning being Congestive Heart Failure. He was discharged to a local independent living facility. Mr. C stayed at the facility for a night and decided to leave because the living conditions felt unsanitary. Mr. C stated he would rather stay outside than live in a place where he was not comfortable.

 

As a result of Mr. C’s decision to leave the independent living facility he had no place to go but the streets and had a very high risk of being re- admitted. Going Home Services was able to pay for Mr. C to have a hotel room.

 

I assisted Mr. C in moving into his own apartment. We established supportive services from a visiting physician company, he has a nurse to help him weekly with medication management and he comes to meals at TACO. Mr. C thanks everyone who made his dream of getting an apartment come true. He is happy and loves his new place.

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