I am about to make several people's lives a tad more uncomfortable. Not quite miserable, perhaps, although I'll give it the good college try (albeit neither for the gipper nor for the Reagan portrayal of same), but, yes, distinctly uncomfortable. It seems that we--and I use that pronoun loosely in this case--are not providing quite the number of services that we have told our funding agencies and our board of directors that we would be providing. This is by and large NOT true for the whole organization, just for one segment of it, i.e., I hasten to reassure you that your tax dollars are being spent prudently. But I am diligently providing my boss with the fuel to light some fires under some asses. And the matches. And the kindling. And, if need be, some bellows.
I'm kind of enjoying it, if you must know. Keep in mind that I'd be just as happy--even happier, really--if everyone were doing what they were supposed to be doing and I was merely gathering evidence that that's so. The reality is, I just like having systems in place, and backups for those systems, so that we know what we're doing, we can show other people what we're doing, and we have proof that we are, indeed, doing what we say we're doing. One of the things that's turning out to be fun about this job (and frustrating, some days) is the fact that there ARE no systems in place, despite the screaming need for same, which means I get to create them, which is a task I actually enjoy. This may not be a surprise, coming from someone who created systems to make 4,000 croissants or more a week.
I keep starting paragraphs and then erasing them, which I'm going to take as a sign that I'm done with this post.
9 comments:
Of course, you wouldn't want to demonstrate to anyone, beyond all doubt, that your agency is not worth funding any more.
My word verification: "sultweed," which is a variety of marijuana with aphrodisiac properties.
Given that we (as a society) are unlikely to run out of the population we (as an agency) serve (i.e., people who are homeless), I'm not worried. Though, really, our organization's stated goal is to END homelessness, so if we were out of work because we had succeeded? That would rock.
Actually the team of which I'm a part seems to be turning things around, so I'm excited about that, too. But we'll see.
When I worked with the homeless and was feeling down about the "revolving door" effect at the shelter, a wise counselor who worked with the indigent at the shelter told me that homelessness is never going away. The problem of homelessness should be treated like the problem of potholes, he said. Care for each case as it arises. "If a homeless man wants a toothbrush, give him a toothbrush," he summed up.
The counselor was, indeed, wise. Our stated approach is to meet a person where he or she is, both physically (e.g., in a shelter; under a bridge) and mentally.
I actually don't think homelessness is never going away. I do think many people do and will need tremendous assistance to stay housed, and we as a society have not figured out how to allocate the resources to make that happen.
1. I meant that you wouldn't want the money sources to find out that you are not doing what they are funding you to do, because then they might take their money and go somewhere else.
2. As you know, some people will always be homeless, because they want to be. Some of them seem "crazy," and maybe they are, but who gets to judge?
3. If we built one less stealth bomber we'd probably have enough money to find shelter for everybody who wants it.
Larry--you're right, some people seem pretty happy being indigent. Freedom to come and go as they pleased.
Others have mental health problems that go...beyond. I've seen people so mentally ill that I've wondered if they could ever become mentally healthy. There is also the problem of families with generations of homelessness. That is one tough cycle to break.
PS In any case, helping those who would choose not be homeless is always a good thing to do. I don't meant to sound as if I think otherwise.
Actually, to speak to both of you simultaneously, there are a number of people who (theoretically) want shelter, but who do not want to obey the particular rules of the shelters available. We can argue about these requirements, and I could argue for AND against many of them. Nevertheless, the stealth-bomber-cost would, indeed, pay for an awful lot of stuff for them.
Hi,
I was reading ur blog posts and found some of them to be very good.. u write well.. Why don't you popularize it more.. ur posts on ur blog ‘Dharma Practice’ took my particular attention as some of them are interesting topics of mine too;
BTW I help out some ex-IIMA guys who with another batch mate run www.rambhai.com where you can post links to your most loved blog-posts. Rambhai was the chaiwala at IIMA and it is a site where users can themselves share links to blog posts etc and other can find and vote on them. The best make it to the homepage!
This way you can reach out to rambhai readers some of whom could become your ardent fans.. who knows.. :)
Cheers,
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