Gavin's Update - June 2024

The month of June definitely brought its challenges with the main one being the humidity. The Governor activated the “Extreme Hot Weather Protocol” during the back half of this month. Agencies and public buildings became cooling centers during this time, allowing people to get out of the extreme humidity and heat for a bit to get some water and cool off. Even when this protocol was not put in place, we were making sure all of our friends who are sleeping outside had plenty of water, ice packs. We are also fortunate to hand out some personal battery fans to help them keep our friends cool thanks to donations. 



One encounter of my work that I would like to share is regarding a 72 year old man who reported to be living outside for nearly a month. Once Josh and I met with the client, he discussed with us his medical concerns that led him to being sent to the hospital recently. This client was unable to return to the shelter due to requiring a handicapped accessible facility. Unfortunately, there were zero beds available in the entire state. During the intake with this client, his health began to decline so we made a call for an ambulance to pick him up. He was sent to the hospital where he was nearly discharged with no safety plan in place. We began pleading with the nurses to keep him for more observation and fortunately they listened. After further observation, they found that he had serious heart complications and he required surgery. He is now currently in a short term rehab facility and then he will be placed into residential living. This is a glimpse of the work we do and one highlight of the month.