As I go about my day in my office, a familiar voice often rises above the others in our Community Room. It was Brian (not his real name), a 30-year-old African American man facing significant challenges. Brian has complex behavioral and medical needs, compounded by substance abuse. He is simply not able to maintain stability despite being housed.
Our team has spent many hours over the years managing Brian’s behavior. He has been a topic of discussion at many of our staff meetings. Our Team is constantly trying to find ways to support him while enforcing appropriate boundaries. I believe, as does my team, that if not for the consistent support from the Center, (more specifically from one staff member that he works very well with), he would probably have had a fatal outcome.
Staying in constant contact with our organization where he receives regular support has literally been a lifeline for him. On occasion, we have had to call the police to remove him from our premises, to prevent him from being a danger to others. Brian is not an isolated case. There are several individuals we serve, who have similar needs.
On May 7th, I joined many other advocates from the Collaborative Advocacy Network, convened by the Bucks-Mont Collaborative to meet with legislators from Montgomery County to advocate for affordable housing and behavioral health access policies. While we look forward to policy changes in favor of the unsheltered individuals, their plight hangs in balance as we await the decision by the Supreme Court in the Johnson Vs Grants Pass case.
If you are not familiar with it yet, please go to https://johnsonvgrantspass.com/ to learn more about it.
I am anxious about what will happen if the Supreme court does not uphold the lower court’s decision on this case. We will see criminalization of unsheltered individuals at a more rapid rate than we see now. It will only push people deeper into homelessness and poverty. People, who are already marginalized, will face tickets and fines for sleeping and camping in public spaces.
The Center will be engaged in more advocacy in the days to come and I implore you to support our efforts to spread this message. As always I am deeply humbled to journey with you in our fight to end homelessness and poverty. Thank you for your support of our work.
