Hope is not the same as optimism.

By Vicki Judice, Executive Director

I remembered Daniel from a couple of years ago.   I was walking out of our satellite center located down the street at the VA Community Resource and Referral Center when I saw him. He was walking slowly with his walker and had stopped to catch his breath.  He had just gotten back in town after abandoning his house in South Carolina, afraid that someone was out to get him and take all his money.   Now he was here, all alone and looking for help.

I thought “Oh my goodness, this situation seems rather hopeless. How’s he going to get from one place to the next when he can barely walk 3 feet in front of him?”  I try to be an optimistic person but this situation was seemingly impossible and severely testing the limits of our homeless safety net system.  Yes, housing programs for the homeless  (“permanent supportive housing”) are the primary solution to re-housing individuals like Daniel, but there was the question of what to do with Daniel that moment, like where would he stay that night?  Luckily, NOPD Outreach Worker BB St. Roman, one of the heroines of the homeless in New Orleans, was available to transport him to the Salvation Army where he could receive 7 nights of free shelter ($10/night after point).

While we were waiting for BB to arrive to pick up Daniel from the Rebuild Center, he started to cry uncontrollably. He started to attract attention, especially from Sarah, a young woman who had recently started hanging out at the Center.  She came close to where we sat and then gently asked him if she could give him a hug.  He said sure and then thanked her for the hug.  She said, “Well, I’d like to thank you for that hug.”

So it goes….another beautiful moment experienced at the Rebuild Center one recent Spring day. Staff and volunteers minister to the homeless but they also minister to one another.