Let me introduce you to Alan. He is a 64 year old man and lives in West Brom. Nothing unusual in that you may think, lots of 64 year old men live in West Brom. What's so special about Alan?
When someone reaches their 60's the natural assumption is that they are settled, have a home and family and are enjoying their work or in some cases their retirement. Think again!
Alan has problems. He once invited some 'friends' to his home, they caused so much trouble that he was eventually evicted. Since then he has lived on the streets. He has been beaten up, had his benefits stolen and been in hospital at least once. One of my colleaues from the food bank actually saw him walking the street in hospital pajamas, and, thinking he had walked out persuaded him to go back to the hospital. They had in fact discharged him. When I met Alan for the first time, he was filthy, wearing dirty clothes and his face was covered in that stuff they use when treating cuts. He had no money, was waiting for an emergency payment from the benefits agency and had been to see the police about his being beaten. He did not want to press charges or make a statement and so the police could do nothing.
I managed to talk to his social worker who said that he could do an assessment but if he 'passed' he could only signpost him to support agencies for his alcohol problems. I did, however, manage to get Alan an appointment for the next day.
The next day came and at lunch time Alan and his friend turned up at church. They were both soaking wet and very cold. Talking to them, it turned out that Alan had not made the appointment but had been to see the police again and had decided to press charges against those who hade assaulted him. He was to go back later to the police station and have photos taken of his injuries.
At this time, we had just finished serving senior citizens at our weekly luncheon club and as there was some food remaining, Alan tucked into a hot meal and really enjoyed it. His friend was also fed. While it is not our practice to give money to anyone coming in to the church, a member was so touched and concerned about Alan's plight that she gave him some money to buy a coat. Alan should be in sheltered or supported housing with support workers helping him to work through his issues. He should not be walking the streets of West Brom!
Where have we gone wrong? We can explore space with no problem, we can get involved in wars that are illegal, we can bail out the banks who through their own fault have lost millions, but we cannot look after some of the most vulnerable people in our society!
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