So many issues in society are connected, and situations tend to be more complex than we could ever imagine. Complex problems often required thoughtful, complex solutions. I had to the chance to talk to a friend several months ago about his personal experiences in healthcare, especially when dealing with the homeless population, and he was kind enough to share a few thoughts. Our recent follow-up conversation was equally thought-provoking, thought neither of us have found any easy answers to the complicated issues of health care, mental health, homelessness, Covid, and addiction… all of which are intimately woven together, especially in our city (and country’s) current circumstances.
Thank you, Anonymous Friend, for sharing your thoughts about what you see on the other side of the fence.
I wanted to send you a note on my brief stint at Brother Francis shelter. I guess I thought I would gain more insight on the homeless issue in Anchorage when I worked as a nurse doing wound care at Brother Francis. I feel like I have less of a clue now, I’m sorry to say. Most people I saw were friendly people, who were not hard to talk with at all.
The biggest thing I noticed was the isolation and lack of family involvement with most residents I spoke with. There were many residents who we would help out and I often would wonder if we would see them again because people come and go quite a bit. In the past we would see residents who would be gone and we heard that he or she had to be kicked out of the shelter for some reason or another. Often times it had to do with drinking or substance abuse.
It is always exciting to see someone coming back for a dressing change as it means he followed directions and cared about his well being. I saw a patient with a disability (not mental or addiction related). I could imagine that she must have been taken advantage of quite a bit. She was alone with a disability.
The Covid protocol that often was devastating to the residents was when someone would come into the clinic with a routine cough or sore throat. The Brother Francis rules were to perform a nasal swab and remove the resident from the shelter. The resident was put up in a hotel and had to take her belongings.
When the result came back negative, her name could get back on the waiting list to come back in a few days later. If it was positive, she had to stay in the hotel for 10 days since symptom onset. Then she could get on the waiting list to come back in. If the shelter was full, she may have to wait days or weeks to get back in. Luckily the few people I saw got back in pretty quickly. It was pretty worrisome during those below zero days in early December.
The only insight I have is that we see the breakdown of our society in homeless shelters. I feel that many of these families have given up on their kids or have chosen not to spend time with them. I think the best thing we can do for our kids is to give them our love and time. Whether we are wrong in raising our children or not, they will remember this.
