I woke up in my tent around 7:30 a.m. and I drove to work around 8:30 a.m.
I arrived at work around 9:00 a.m. I learned from one of the shelter workers that the 19-year-old girl had left early in the morning. I was worried that she had lied to me and did struggle with substance abuse issues. I saw that she had made some friends when she was at the shelter so I asked one of the shelter guests who she seemed close with. A young fellow around the age of 20, tall with a mustache, and kind of feminine. I asked him if she had told him anything about where she might be going. He told me outright that she said that she was going to smoke crack. He also explained to me that the 19-year-old girl loves to smoke crack. This saddened me because I knew that she would get eaten alive in the streets of Lawrence.
At 9:30 a.m. I went and I picked up the Outreach Worker for the methadone clinic. We took a ride over to McDonald’s and we visited the people at the taxi cab parking lot where 7 homeless people were all smoking crack and shooting fentanyl. We offered them drinks. When I went between a couple of taxis I was surprised to notice that two of the women there had a shopping cart full of soda 12 packs, probably about ten 12 packs of soda.
The outreach worker for the methadone clinic and I drove over to the bus station where I engaged with Michelle. Her lawyer had dropped off a card at the shelter and was looking for her because she has a case that could get dismissed if she appears in court and talks to her lawyer. I shared this information with Michelle and we were able to contact the legal counsel and she was able to find out the date and time of her court date. Michelle struggles with severe opioid use disorder as well as various other mental health struggles. Michelle was extremely high on fentanyl, she was sitting on the edge of a bench with her head pressed against a concrete wall. It looked very uncomfortable. I felt really sorry for this woman. She was very grateful that I brought this news about her case and that she was able to speak with her lawyer. Michelle also said she would come see me soon when she wants to go into treatment.
From the bus station we drove around looking for The 19-year-old girl. We did not see her or any other homeless people so we drove over to the encampments behind Doyle Street along the Merrimack River. There we engaged with Angel, Nora, Jose. We did not see the 19-year-old girl there. I drove around a few more homeless spots asking various homeless people if they’d seen the 19-year-old girl and no one seemed to know who she was. So it was a dead end.
Next the Outreach worker from the methadone clinic and I went over to the old encampments at West Street and we saw that the whole area had been cleared out. I drove the outreach worker back to the methadone clinic and came back to the shelter since the outreach truck was needed for a delivery. I called Dana, The 19-year-old girl’s mother. I let her know that her daughter left early in the morning and was not sure if she would return. Dana told me that her daughter had a long history of institutionalization. At least five hospitalizations. She told me that her daughter was adopted and her father had died of an opioid overdose. She mentioned that her daughter struggles from many mental illness diagnoses, stating that one of those could be bipolar. She mentioned that her daughter had struggled with crack addiction and had overdosed on fentanyl two times to her recollection. She also mentioned that her daughter was smoking crack with a gentleman named King in the streets of Lawrence. I happen to know who King was. King is a young homeless man who is known for selling and using drugs in the street. I figured I would talk to him about the 19-year-old girl when I see him. I had also learned that the 19-year-old girl had been living in a shelter in Manchester New Hampshire for the last 2 years.
During the afternoon I took a couple walks past McDonald’s and to the bus station. I did not see many homeless people in my travels. At one point while I was on the deck of the shelter Rod, a homeless man, was over in the area by the taxi cabs and he had picked up a 2×4 and was getting ready to hit another man because he said that he took his 20 bucks. I yelled to Rod from the deck of the shelter telling him not to do it, he was visibly upset and nothing happened.
I left work a little bit late around 6:30 and I drove to Medford to the theater there. I bought tickets to see a movie made by Andrew Callahan. It was actually pretty good. Andrew followed the life of a man who became a far-right eccentric, who had lost his house and was on a mission to take down Bill Joiner, the corrupt lender that had taken his house. Ultimately, the protagonist in the story turned out to be the cause of all his problems.
The theater was filled with millennials. I was one of the few Gen xers in attendance.
After the movie I drove to my girlfriend’s apartment where I slept over for the night.