I have mentioned many times about the various needs of the homeless. Some are life threatening and others are not. One of the individuals that assist them with their life threatening needs is a nurse that is assigned or loaned to Triune from St. Francis Hospital. I got to talk to her last Tuesday night.
She outlined her responsibilities for minor things like taking blood pressure to major things that revolve around medications that are necessary to maintain their health mostly for diabetics or high blood pressure. The homeless can go to the emergency room for a health assessment and get their prescription, but getting it filled is another thing. Since most don’t have the money they rely on her to help them cut through the red tape and get it filled.
Currently, the nurse told me that they have to go to one agency to be certified as homeless. This agency will issue a letter to that effect which they must be taken to another agency to get the prescription. That is a lot of walking or they need a bus pass to get from one place to another. After that is accomplished, then there is the challenge for them to keep up with the prescription and take it as directed. Since they don’t necessarily have a place to stay, it is not uncommon for them to lose it within day on street. Then there is the problem if they are incarcerated. Any kind of prescribed drugs are taken away from the homeless, so when they get out they have to start all over to receive the necessary prescriptions. Even though it is challenging for her, it is obvious she loves her job because she genuinely cares about the people she is helping each day. All of us at Food for Life salute her for her unselfish service and dedication to the most vulnerable in society.
This week most of the requested needs ranged from tooth ache medicine to a roll of toilet paper. Although not life threatening, I guess both requests are very important to that one individual.
We had a good crowd this week. We served 65 meals with the assistance of 18 volunteers.
~Marc
