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it shouldn't have to happen...but what to do?

One of the things that has puzzled me in my job is knowing that there are many homeless who don't sleep in shelters, and yet not knowing where they are sleeping. As I've gotten to know more and more people I've been able to gain insight into...

Published 27 Mar 2009 10:28 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a (not quite) Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: alcohol, intoxication, IPDA, sleep, substance use, van patrol, winter, work
the night of 18 turnaways

As a write this, the Sophie cat is high on cat nip... I'm such a drug pusher, lol. It's a lot easier to laugh at her antics though, and encourage her to "use" then it is to deal with the human consequences of drug and alochol abuse and...

Published 24 Mar 2009 1:23 PM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a (not quite) Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: alcohol, harm reduction, homelessness, intoxication, shelter, substance use, thoughts, winter, work
dumped on the door step

The other night a taxi stopped in front of the shelter. This isn't all that unusual as people are always calling to get picked up from the drunk tank. In this case though, the taxi was dropping someone off... I guessed almost immediatly what had happened...

Published 23 Mar 2009 1:05 PM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a (not quite) Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: health care, homelessness, necessary evils, nights, thoughts, winter, work
it's almost spring

I can't believe I haven't posted in a week. Things are not going well in dreamerville, and writing just seems like too much, that and I just haven't seemed to find anything I really want to write about, I know I'll feel better if I write...

Published 8 Mar 2009 7:45 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a (not quite) Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: IPDA, life, me, mental health, sick, sleep, social work, the enforcer, thoughts, whining, winter, work
Situational Ethics: A Case Study

Jared is a man whose burned a lot of bridges, and when I say a lot of bridges, I mean it. Jared is not welcome, ever, at any of the other shelters in town, and has been permanently restricted from many of the hotels, medical clinics and rooming houses...

Published 21 Feb 2009 11:51 PM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a (not quite) Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: attitudes, ethics, necessary evils, shelter, snow, substance use, winter, work
Frozen to Death

This is my last post about death for a while. I promise. Well, my last post about death until someone else dies I guess... Death is pretty common in my line of work. I don't even know how to write about this one. It wasn't a client I knew particularly...

Published 31 Jan 2009 6:09 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a (not quite) Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: death, thoughts, winter, work
juxtapostion of reality... part two

I drove my car to yoga yesterday. It's three blocks away. It was FREEZING cold out, and the car was "warm" anyway because I'd had it out earlier. As I was driving I was pondering how incredibly lazy I felt. And then this nagging guilt...

Published 15 Jan 2009 10:56 PM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a (not quite) Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: homelessness, thoughts, winter
what you do unto the least of these

There's a verse in the Bible which has been on my mind a lot lately. Jesus is telling a parable about the Kingdom of God and what things are going to be like in the end times. Jesus tells his followers, as recorded in the book of Matthew. In the story...

Published 30 Dec 2008 12:36 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: church, crying, emotions, homelessness, intoxication, necessary evils, nights, snow, whining, winter, work
when the shelter become home

Frank is somewhat of a celebrity among the cities homeless population. A friendly man he's known at pretty much every drop in center in the area and does his rounds supported by his cane barely missing dying by traffic each day. Frank's brain...

Published 23 Dec 2008 3:22 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: homelessness, social work, thoughts, winter, work
the itching problem

Itch, itch, scratch, scratch, ewwww! That is work these days, because well, the normal scabies and lice problem seems to have gotten worse. I've been catching our shelter cleaners taking short cuts while cleaning the mats, and the clients sleep so...

Published 23 Dec 2008 3:07 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: health care, homelessness, thoughts, winter
blue christmas

As many of us in helping professions know, the holidays are not a happy time for everyone. In fact, for many people, the holidays are a time of stress, business, frustration and sadness. Society places great pressure on people to be happy and joyful while...

Published 23 Dec 2008 2:57 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: health care, homelessness, street ministry, substance use, winter, work
overwhelmed - or something

I'm feeling a little overwhelmed these past few days. The enormity of the problems I see on a daily basis can be kind of consuming. For the most part, I'm quite good at maintaining a healthy distance, putting things in perspective and staying...

Published 16 Dec 2008 1:24 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: church, crying, emotions, first aid, firsts, homelessness, intoxication, IPDA, me, nights, social work, winter, work
if you build it they will come

Every night we keep a record of everyone we have to turn away from the shelter. I'm a huge fan of this record, for me it serves a few purposes, but mainly, I just really appreciate the fact that the documentation records each and every person. The...

Published 26 Nov 2008 4:21 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: homelessness, nights, shelter, snow, thoughts, winter, work
SNOW!

Well, it snowed here a while back and while most people are trying to dig themselves out, the homeless are trying to find a place to dig in for the winter. The first night was horrible, it was practically a blizzard. I had to psych myself up in the car...

Published 12 Nov 2008 6:22 PM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: homelessness, nights, shelter, snow, social work, thoughts, winter

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