Thanks for this reminder Kevin. I never really thought about the idea of palliative care for the chronically homeless before. It makes a lot of sense though.
I think it's why I struggled with the Rough Sleepers book like I did. It was almost as if Dr. Jim "failed" by not healing everyone he encountered on the street. Kidder tried to present Jim as a "savior" to the homeless and he just couldn't live up to that.
You're argument seems to be that true healing comes when our friends experiencing homelessness are shown genuine compassion resulting in their experiencing a sense of worth, dignity, and value as persons.
100%. Thank you for this post. This is one of the things I love so much about the Founder's Cafe at Blanchet House (https://blanchethouse.org/free-food-meal-services/). It is just about meeting people where they are and giving them a tiny bit of dignity and respect.
Yes, to all of this… but those last two paragraphs…💥! I had to start the second-to-last paragraph over again because it was so powerful. Thank you for this.
This made me cry. I worked as a social worker in a shelter in medical respite (I didn't know what palliative care meant until recently, and that's exactly it) for two years, and I regret and glorify the day I left every day of my life. My caseload was men 45 years and older, and I had ten beds. The part of experiencing God himself in the "least of these".... tears. I never had the words for that experience. Now I do. Thank you.
This is a beautiful validation of the intrinsic worth all of us humans hold. As someone who is disabled and unable to produce in the way society says I “should” I appreciate the reminder of my worth, and the nudge to continue to work to see the worth of others who fall outside of “normal” in different ways than I do.
🎯 This hit every.single.reason I have for the work I’ve done as a nurse providing hospice care, and now in a unit right off the ER, most days caring for the Least of These. It’s not anyone’s dream job. Very few people understand the way the system is structured, fewer learn how it works, and fewer still venture to the dark places in search of those the world/system seems to have forgotten. It IS in those places where we get to experience God in the most amazing ways. Thank you for continuing to do this work. Thank you for sharing your wisdom. ❤️🩹
This is really beautiful! I was a missionary with an organization called Christ in the City where we truly just spent time with people on the streets, mostly those experiencing chronic homelessness. Since then, I’ve worked in permanent supportive housing for the past 5 years. Almost all the people I knew well as a missionary have passed away and several clients I’ve known over the past 5 years have passed away. It struck me early on that in these roles, I have really been given the gift to accompany people in the last years of their lives. I didn’t even think to frame it within the concept of palliative care. I might bring this framing up to my team sometime soon! You’re right, there is SO much they have to offer — deep wisdom, humor, gratitude, faith, honesty…I could go on!! Thanks for writing this!
Thanks for this reminder Kevin. I never really thought about the idea of palliative care for the chronically homeless before. It makes a lot of sense though.
I think it's why I struggled with the Rough Sleepers book like I did. It was almost as if Dr. Jim "failed" by not healing everyone he encountered on the street. Kidder tried to present Jim as a "savior" to the homeless and he just couldn't live up to that.
You're argument seems to be that true healing comes when our friends experiencing homelessness are shown genuine compassion resulting in their experiencing a sense of worth, dignity, and value as persons.
This seems much more Christlike to me.
Crying @ this
100%. Thank you for this post. This is one of the things I love so much about the Founder's Cafe at Blanchet House (https://blanchethouse.org/free-food-meal-services/). It is just about meeting people where they are and giving them a tiny bit of dignity and respect.
Yes, to all of this… but those last two paragraphs…💥! I had to start the second-to-last paragraph over again because it was so powerful. Thank you for this.
This made me cry. I worked as a social worker in a shelter in medical respite (I didn't know what palliative care meant until recently, and that's exactly it) for two years, and I regret and glorify the day I left every day of my life. My caseload was men 45 years and older, and I had ten beds. The part of experiencing God himself in the "least of these".... tears. I never had the words for that experience. Now I do. Thank you.
This is a beautiful validation of the intrinsic worth all of us humans hold. As someone who is disabled and unable to produce in the way society says I “should” I appreciate the reminder of my worth, and the nudge to continue to work to see the worth of others who fall outside of “normal” in different ways than I do.
🎯 This hit every.single.reason I have for the work I’ve done as a nurse providing hospice care, and now in a unit right off the ER, most days caring for the Least of These. It’s not anyone’s dream job. Very few people understand the way the system is structured, fewer learn how it works, and fewer still venture to the dark places in search of those the world/system seems to have forgotten. It IS in those places where we get to experience God in the most amazing ways. Thank you for continuing to do this work. Thank you for sharing your wisdom. ❤️🩹
This is really beautiful! I was a missionary with an organization called Christ in the City where we truly just spent time with people on the streets, mostly those experiencing chronic homelessness. Since then, I’ve worked in permanent supportive housing for the past 5 years. Almost all the people I knew well as a missionary have passed away and several clients I’ve known over the past 5 years have passed away. It struck me early on that in these roles, I have really been given the gift to accompany people in the last years of their lives. I didn’t even think to frame it within the concept of palliative care. I might bring this framing up to my team sometime soon! You’re right, there is SO much they have to offer — deep wisdom, humor, gratitude, faith, honesty…I could go on!! Thanks for writing this!
thanks so much! this is one of my "favorites" that I've written, glad you found it.