Friday, November 5, 2010
A thought for today
Housing First, part of Riverwood Mental health, reaches out to the chronically homeless - doing whatever necessary to put a permanant roof over their heads.
As we went around the table introducing ourselves, Riverwood's clinical supervisor shared his name, title, and then a few words that left me refreshed.
He said,
"I work with people. Not bi-polars. Not schizos. I work with...people."
Ahhh. Living, breathing, heart-beating, metally aware, deliberating social beings. Not any lesser than you or I. As worthy and deserving of a leg up as the rest of us.
This idea is seemingly PC, but I think it's all too easy to subconciously fall into the "us" and "them" trap.
At the end of the day, I'm still going home to my warm bed. And my clients, the people I work with - my fellow humans - don't have that same advantage.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Lost In Woonsocket
Missing for years, two alcoholics are discovered living together in the back woods of Woonsocket, RI. A series of profound coincidences lead to miraculous reunions with their families and a chance at treatment, recovery and redemption. The real challenge, however, is yet to come: What happens when only one of the men is able to remain sober?
Last evening, about 60 folks filled the chairs at Praise Tabernacle in Cranston to watch a free screening of Lost In Woonsocket, previewed above. This film captures the recovery journies of two homeless men who, five years ago, lived in a tent amid empty vodka pints and 40's.
The local screening, part of a three month nationwide film tour called Lost and Found in America, was sponsored by the Rhode Island advocacy group Faith Infused Recovery Efforts (FIRE). Comprised of members from faith and recovery communities, FIRE represents over 25 organizations, including the Diocese, who share the mission to create a welcoming environment for individuals and their loved ones who are searching for recovery from alcohol and drug problems. Members work to reduce the stigma surrounding addiction in order to encourage people to seek the help they need and realize their full potential.
Last night's screening was one of FIRE's endeavors to “break the silence” about addiction and foster an environment where people feel comfortable - even safe - talking about their problems or the problems of those dear to them.
I had never seen the film before last night. After about two good cries - just 15 minutes in - I started tallying my teary moments. The final count equaled seven, but I'm sure there were others in the room who topped my total...people were sitting on the edges of their seats, embracing, reflecting...
I found the movie heart wrenching and inspiring - showing me that one man can find something outside himself to hope for, look towards. Normand Cartier was shown that someone cared enough to find him in the wintery cold of Blackstone Valley. He glimpsed the life he lost and for once realized that he might be able to piece together some of the broken peices that others helped him discover still existed.
We were lucky enough last night to be joined by two men from the film, Barbershop Joe and Norm Cartier, who answered questions after the screening ended. The crowd didn't know they were present, so the visit was certainly a pleasant surprise!
I sensed an overall warm feeling in the audience throughout the evening and it was obvious people left feeling inspired to do more for recovery in our small state.
Here's a picture of Barbershop Joe watching the film from the back of the room.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Powerful Humans: Battling Disappointment...
With human limitation.
It's simply impossible to be or do everything I want to, make everyone happy, fix everyone's hurt. I can hardly bandage my own wounds. And I find it increasingly difficult to be the person I want to be...on a moral level.
I claim to be a social warrior, as I'm sure you are as well, dear reader.
But often times the front lines take a toll on you.
Poverty...despair...sickness...regret...rear their ugly heads at us...the hopeful ones.
We must lift our chin and stare them in the eyes without fear and with the knowledge that if we try, if we care to enter the fire, it's better than running.
One heart is stronger than none, and all of our hearts...banded together...can do remarkable things.
We will win this battle.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Stream of Conciousness: What should I do?
Monday, September 20, 2010
FIRE!
Friday, September 17, 2010
Powerful Humans
You are strong, bold, unique, and undeniably important to the multiverse.
In the sea of galaxies, you are a bright, bright, brilliant light.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
More reasons to love the Bucket...
Friday, September 10, 2010
A Second Chance
Check out Gregory Taylor's story.
He went to jail for 13 years in California after stealing food from a church.
A regular Jean Valjean.
Tossed in the slammer, the world closed its eyes and forgot Gregory was there.
But I'm sure he remembers.
In my very humble opinion, he was - or is - a great writer. A well spoken man with a fervor for giving people in his situation a voice...a voice heard by more people than his case worker.
During one visit, this client went to refill at the water cooler in the back room. Shortly after, he left to return to his new apartment (aside: success!!!). Later in the day, I went back to make lunch and noticed that our dish soap and papertowels were missing.
Logically, my client was the only one who could have removed these items.
The moment of theft was a little jarring. It opened my brain to ethical thoughts I don't normally contemplate.
Was I mad? Angry with him? Disappointed?
Was I happy my client now had something he really needed and couldn't afford?
If he asked me for some papertowels, would I have given them to him?
Probably yes.
Convinced he stole from us, could I...should I...help him in the future?
ABSOLUTELY.
Sure, angry feelings swirled in my heart for a few days. And even more so, the shadow of disappointment lingered for a while. But after the emotional clouds subsided, my brain cranked the volume on logic.
This man needed something, and knew nothing else other than not having. He was without and stole, probably an action not too unfamiliar to his lifestyle. His little stealing habit simply indicates that he's struggling...and as deserving of help as anyone else.
I'm not giving up.
I think he deserves a second chance.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
In the midst of hopelessness, there is hope.
Yesterday's Recovery Month kick off was a beautiful experience.
I ran into a friend who used to serve me coffee. He's now in treatment at the Providence Center. I could see the hope pouring out of his eyes, as well as the desire to live his life richly.
And, as a side bonus, Jim Gillen gave me a new pair of maracas. Will try not to lose them this time. Third times a charm.
Watch this video piece spliced together by the crew over at Turn to 10.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Kicking off Recovery Month!
Yo yo, blogosphere.
- September 1st - Recovery Month Kickoff - Quilt Event- 11:00 AM - West Warwick Senior Community Center (Washington St.)
- September 11th - 8th Annual Rhode Island Rally for Recovery - 2:00 PM - 7:00 PM. Roger Williams Memorial National Park - North Main Street (Corner of Canal Street & Park Row) - Providence.
- September 14th - F.I.R.E. Recovery Month Event at Public Square Days - 11:30 AM - Burnside Park, Kennedy Plaza, Providence
- September 15th - RICAODD Annual Dinner - 6:00 PM
- September 16th - ARI Patient Appreciation Celebration
- September 17th - CTR Recovery Month Celebration - 9:00 AM
- September 24th - Recovery Month Awareness Day at Providence Center School
- September 25th - Amos House Friendship Cafe Recovery Month Celebration with Recovery All Stars - 6:00 PM - 11:00 PM.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Proyecto in the Projo!
The Diocese of Providence
Volunteers are needed to train as recovery coaches for individuals who are struggling with drug and alcohol addiction.
Coaches spend time each week supporting persons on the difficult road to recovery. Training dates are: Wednesday, Sept. 1 and 8 from 5-8 p.m.
Contact: Kim Caron, (401) 728-0515 or e-mail kcaron@ dioceseofprovidence.org
Read the full article!
Yup, that's right folks.
St. Matthias Recovery Coaching is on the up and up, so we're recruiting new volunteers to meet the growing demand for coaches.
Give me a ring a ling for more info, or to sign up for training.
Look at these 'lil images of our recruitment flyer. Me thinks you'll find the details helpful!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
11:1
This one for example:
Faith is the realization of things hoped for and evidence of things not seen.
- Hebrews 11:1
Thanks Monsieur Anony. I'm not 2000 years old, but I find this very helpful. Your timeless wisdom gives me faith in the human race, and hope to hang onto the reigns as we trample through the rockiest life paths.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Dreaming
After spending time down there, I can easily say I have never been more touched by the warmth and connectivity of a community. The tightly knit family that populates Westerly perpetually - incessantly - continually - AMAZES me. People in this town have each others' backs. I'm constantly fighting back little bursts of water at the corners of my eyes. This town loves each other. And - as the sticker slapped on the bathroom sink at my office down there reads - "Love Conquers All" - even flood ravaged homes and piles of water logged memories.
One of my clients, a single mother (I'll call her Abbey) and mother of three, was struggling far before the waters entered her house. Several close friends and relatives that live in Westerly referred her over, because the community cares and knows she needs the aid.
Even though Abbey's on a fixed income and barely keeping the lights on, she makes sure her children have a normal childhood - at least a childhood where you're concerned about how to obtain ice cream...or building forts in the woods...NOT where you're going to find dinner.
Her son's (I'll call him Victor) BMX bike currently sports a rusted out frame and parts from big two-wheelers that make the thing virtually un-rideable. Since a kid's bike has to be up to snuff to properly ride in the Westerly skate park, Victor is currently unable to cruise around during the morning rides with his friends.
When Victor and Abbey came in to meet me, I could tell the 12-year old was a little embarrassed his mom was asking for help. I also observed he was antsy, and I heard him express under his breath a desire to get home and put on new pedals.
Since I'm a little cycle-crazy, my ears perked and I immediately starting questioning him. I soon discovered all the details above about his bike's state of disrepair. In an divinely inspired moment of creativity, I recalled that my friend Warren works at the Red Shed bike shop in Olneyville, empowering the neighborhood kids to be young bike mechanics. It's a great program sponsored by the Woonasquatucket Watershed Council. The youth can access tools and parts for their bikes simply by volunteering. I contacted Warren...and then my friend Emerson donated a frame. The end of this long story is that Victor, in just under two weeks, will be riding a brand new bike at the Westerly skate park.
Photo cred: http://www.wrwc.org/gwyRedShed.php
You should check out the website for the RED SHED, up there.
Thanks to the generosity of Catholics across the state, Abbey no longer hesitates to flip the light switch...fearing that her electricity service has at last been terminated. And thanks to the tight knit community that exists in Westerly and Rhode Island at large, Victor's summer...and his childhood...are a happy one.
Here's a poem I found in the Rhode Island KIDS COUNT Factbook about living the happy life. These few words remind me to be a kid...ALWAYS...and to NEVER stop dreaming.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
A piece of cardboard for a Veteran
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Pause: Time with a Liberian Refugee
Monday, June 28, 2010
From Ice Cream to Inmates: Opening Doors!
A morning gander at the Projo has left my insides craving ice cream...and reintegration alike.
Aside:
This surprising craving arrives, coincidentally, after a late night cruise down Broad Street just last evening...in search of cheap McDonald's cones with my dear friends Lizzie and Mark. Disturbingly the convenient Broad Street location claimed to be sans ice cream. Yet our persistent desire for the delicious-yet-faux creme glacee confection carried us to North Main Street...where cones apparently cost 60 more cents a unit (interesting tidbit for all you penny pinchers).
Back to my first thought:
Shortly following the opening of an exciting new volunteer-powered community center in S.L. (Scalabrini Dukcevich Center), OpenDoors (formerly Family Life Center) announced plans to turn an an old ice cream factory into supportive housing for the formerly incarcerated! Wooohooo! Inmates are overlooked and often uncared for by most of society. Scorned for past indiscretions...sometimes undeserving of the full punishment dispersed...these members of the human race deserve a chance to succeed once again.
Look at offenders serving mandatory minimums for drug crimes and how aggrandizing dollars have found a home behind bars since the institution of such practice in 1988.
The 2003 RIDOC Annual Report demonstrates that since that date RI has opened three new facilities, expanded current prisons, and doubled expenditures - from $52 mil in '88 to a whopping $130 mil in 2003. Inflation? Hmmmm...perhaps not.
In a policy brief by the Family Life center (H7075/S2172), I found info from a 1997 study by the RAND corporation that reports "discretionary sentencing, conventional enforcement and drug treatment are all more effective, per dollar spent, at reducing both drug consumption and drug related crime."
How about re-routing funding to other services outside the slammer?
A wise Mr. Lewis once wrote,
"There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations - these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit- immortal horrors or everlasting splendours."
Our systems and our laws will fade and morph with time, but the indelible mark we leave on each other's existence is irreversible.
I admittedly say I worry about the dangers of working with a client who has spent 40 years in prison on murder charges. However, it is hope in the human race and an open disgust for the misanthropic that propels me to believe redemption is possible.
Dear Blogosphere: Ahhhh (breathing fresh summer humidity), it's nice to be back.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Still here...
Friday, January 8, 2010
Not always so picture perfect...
I watch as white flakes begin to collect on the neighboring rooftops. Sure looks cozy. My eyes wander over to the chimney of one home to look for smoke, perfect addition to the cozy image. I find the chimney smokeless, however. This little flaw in a picture perfect moment stirs me from the daydream. I take a look down at my desk, and dive back into the pile of heating assistance applications. The phone's been ringing off the hook with requests today. When I'm on a call, more messages go to voicemail.
The picture perfect home is not that common these days. The people of Rhode Island are barely living paycheck to paycheck. Empty oil tanks and five day notices are becoming a new reality. Even the folks lucky enough to have a job are barely keeping up with mounting expenses.
We're trying to do what we can here to provide some relief, one person at a time. The bishop's Keep the Heat on Fund helps individuals and families all over the state stay warm during the bitter winter months. Click here to read about how we helped an elderly woman and her disabled son keep oil in their tank this season.