“I’ve been thinking about maybe applying to a different role here. This is going to sound ironic, but tonight a blind man made me see that this is where I need to be….”
Cristina (my coworker) said this last night. As I was helping a guest with something the DOAP (Downtown Outreach Addiction Partnership) team came in, Cristina spoke with them and then came back to me because somewhere there was a lack of communication. She explained to me “social workers found him sleeping in a park…I don’t think he can see.”
Her and I talked for a few minutes and I was so torn because we are not really set up to help someone who is blind. As we left the office to go talk at the front, I asked God to lead this decision because I really didn’t know what to do. We spoke with all involved and I hate to imagine the DOAP team think they have to convince me, because I felt compassion for this man and want him to be in a the best place possible. I explained to him when they left that my hesitation was nothing personal.
His name is Karlos, although he said only his mother calls him that. He is legally blind, 57 years old, and served in the Canadian military. He doesn’t have addiction problems, but just ran out of money as paperwork was being transferred over for AISH (Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped) from long term disability.
I didn’t know if I wanted to start crying as he told us he walked through the park that night trying to find a place to hide using his cane, or if I wanted to laugh, as he told Cristina and I we were beautiful because of the sound of our voices.
Throughout the night we got to know more and more about him. And in my mind this goes from a sad story to a victory. Karlos told us how for the past 15 years his cat has been his best friend and his constant companion (the cat went to a safe place when Karlos lost his housing). He also shared how he generally doesn’t spend much time with people, how humbled he feels and how astounded he is that so many strangers have come together to help him.
Karlos will not be in the shelter long, as there is another agency working to get him housed. I’m hoping he leaves knowing he is loved. This whole experience with him has left me baffled at how God can use something like a miscommunication to speak his love into the life of one of his own.
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