5:30 a.m. I woke up in my tent. It’s been cold lately. I’m all alone doing street outreach now. I put together my stuff and got ready. I head to work.
7:00 a.m. I arrived at the office. I always say hello to everybody at the shelter when I come in. I started working on some paperwork stuff trying to keep myself busy since I can’t go out in the street by myself.
9:00 a.m. My boss, the shelter director, arrives. She tells me that the assistant director, my friend, is being fired. He had said some things about the CEO that I guess got back to the CEO and she didn’t like.
I was unable to go out in the street today due to My outreach partner leaving the Outreach team.
I spent the morning coordinating with other community providers to go out into the street and do Outreach with me for the rest of the week. John The Outreach worker at the methadone clinic and Renee from another medically assisted treatment provider will assist this me in doing Outreach tomorrow
At 11:00 a.m. Mitchell from a local treatment center will assist this writer on doing Outreach on Wednesday and Friday. I also got other possible Community providers to assist in Outreach on Thursday.
At noon my boss and I went to the Outreach meeting with Community providers and talked about the 200 people living in the street and different ways we can work together with other agencies to provide care and services for them. When I arrived back at the shelter, I continued making emails and text messages to some of the people we talked to at the meeting. This way I am set up to do effective Outreach for the rest of the week, and I can develop relationships with others social service providers.
With so much need in the street. I can only provide so much service. I’m only one man, and at this time the agency I work for cannot provide me with enough assistance to help the large number of people living in the streets. Being able to work with fellow social service providers is the key. My plan is to continue to develop working relationships with other providers. I am overwhelmed by the massive population of homeless people in the city I work.
3:30 p.m. I left work and went back to my tent. The weather’s been cold and nasty lately. I tucked into my sleeping bag and blankets and did a little bit of writing. I went to bed earlier than unusual, around 8:30 p.m.
Tomorrow I will start work at 9:00 a.m. instead of 7:00 a.m. and work till 5:00 p.m. Those will be my regular hours; 9 to 5.