On my usual morning coffee run, I take the time to do a welfare check around the downtown post office. I am particularly concerned with those homeless souls with medical and mental issues, such as one homeless senior citizen who sleeps in front who has has had multiple strokes.
Another poor handicapped homeless soul I would love for folks to rally behind and help is a handicapped senior citizen in a wheelchair I will call "Jay"
You may have seen "Jay" as he pushes himself around town backwards.
This morning I found "Jay" in a most uncomfortable position sleeping at the post office. Concerned for his welfare I found him sleeping with his pants down.
To give you a little history of what I have been told by "Jay" is at one time he had a motorized wheel chair that was stolen while he was staying at the Good News Rescue Mission, which he vowed never to set foot in again. As I have been monitoring him over the last several years I can see he is fading fast. One of his hands now curled in a stroke like position.
He tells me he falls out of his wheelchair sometimes and people refuse to help him get back in.
Perhaps its the stench of advanced MRSA or Gangrene that can all to often be found eating up the weakest most vulnerable homeless population at this downtown location.
Perhaps it is because this poor languishing soul is incontinent, and during the coldest Redding winters he can be seen on the streets soaking wet, or worse.
Which is how I found him this morning at the downtown Redding Post Office....
2 comments:
I know this man from when I worked on the ambulance. Because of his mental state of mind and all the medical issues he has he can be very aggressive and deny help. But that is what the lack of facilities have made him into. We need a mental illness deversion center tp help rehabilitate the people back to health and into normal living life styles. It takes REHABILITATION. You can not just give them a house then expect them to know how to live. Its like training a child and then some. The city and the count board refuse to seek solutions. I have idea and no one will listen. We need to vote in new board member with fresh open minds. People change on the streets it takes time and patience. You cant expect fire police and ambulance to fix these people we cant. It take facilities and better programs. The mission can not be the only resource here for help. They are religion driven and that is not fair to others.
Write to congress.
THE GOVENMENT took away funding for the mental health hospital over 12 years ago.
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