One thing I’ve learned doing outreach in the drains is it’s difficult to predict who’s ready to get out. I used to assume that the clean-cut fella with a part-time job who uses drugs only occasionally was most prepared for a change—but it’s often the soiled, knit-capped heroin addict who’s nodding off in the shadows. This makes some sense, I guess, as the heroin addict (in this case) is closer to his “bottom.”
I say all this to make the point that I never thought “Gordon” would move out of the drains. In fact, I expected to stumble on his lifeless body at the mouth of the tunnel, surrounded by cans of whatever beer happens to be the cheapest at the nearby Terrible Herbst. (He’s an alcoholic who has lived underground for at least three years.)
Best of luck to Gordon, the second housed client in the Freedom House/Shine a Light partnership! We will keep you updated on his remarkable story.
