Day 9: Vision of Universal Respect

Day 9: Walking in the shoes of the homeless and unemployed

I’ve been up since about 3:00am, and it just finally hit me—that which is needed. Materializing in my mind’s eye like wisps of smoke, I saw the words Homeless Bill of Rights.

All night I tossed and turned with the guard’s words entwined with my caseworker’s flippant response etching ruts in my mind. Why should their treatment of shelter residents be any different from serving someone in a restaurant? Why must residents approach the counter slightly withdrawn or cowering while the guard carelessly tosses or slaps the food upon the counter? 

His actions remind me of how my grandmother used to grab a handful of feed from the barrel and scatter it across the lawn with one flick of her wrist. These are not chickens they’re feeding. These are human beings in a vulnerable state who deserve to be treated with the same dignity and respect as anyone else in a commercial establishment.

After only five days of being here, I saw the truth. Since I am looking through God’s eyes rather than the haze of alcohol, drugs, meds, indifference, selfishness, or self-importance, I can see the truth about what’s going on inside these walls. 

A client asked me the other day if I saw the television commercial for this place. I said no. She snorted, “It’s so degrading.” When I inquired further, she said the commercial portrayed the shelter as clean and inviting when her reality of it is much different. So, from her perspective, it’s degrading because it doesn’t reflect the truth.

Here is the truth. All acts of the General Assembly seem to be limited to housing in terms of the homeless. What about their treatment? Members of the Rhode Island General Assembly toured this facility not too long ago. Were staff instructed to be on their best behavior, to treat all residents with patience, respect, dignity, and care? Certainly had the lawmakers seen what I’ve seen, something would have been done. Are there no standards, no requirements, or no protocols to guarantee protection from verbal, mental, and emotional abuses within shelter facilities? There should be. God is instructing me to ensure that it happens.

Ergo, I’d like to exercise my First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and to petition the government for a redress of grievances on behalf of all citizens. What is needed is a Homeless Bill of Rights.