Helping Code Blue
By Albert B. Kelly
As we close out the month of September and head into autumn,
we’re entering into what is for many their favorite time of year. The time of
year when children head back to school, stores put out their fall decorations, the
football season gets into full swing, and the leaves on the trees start to
change- hinting at the cooler temperatures to come. This time of year is also
one of stress if you are one of homeless individuals in our county.
I say that because winter is a particularly brutal time for
those with no permanent place to call home. Homelessness is crushing to body
and soul under any circumstances, but the onset of winter weather ramps up the
stress even more because in addition to everything else, homelessness carries
with it the prospect of frost bite and literally freezing to death. While that
might sound too dramatic, I remind myself that Code Blue started precisely
because a man named Joseph Hanshaw died of exposure during a cold snap in
December of 2013.
Those of us who were in positions of leadership at the time,
me among them, will have to live with the fact that it took a man losing his life
before we put our collective heads together and figured out a code blue framework
so that people had a warm place to be on our coldest winter nights. While we
can’t change the past, we can work hard now and prepare for the 2019-2020
winter season.
As far as Code Blue, it is basically a network of churches and
faith-based organizations willing to serve, on a rotating basis, as warming
centers whenever overnight temperatures are 25 degrees or below with no
precipitation or 32 degrees or below with precipitation. When conditions
warrant, a “code blue” is called and whichever organization is scheduled to
serve as the warming center for that week opens its doors from 6:00pm to 6:00am
the following morning.
The other thing the Code Blue program has is a great group
of volunteers- though we need more volunteers to ensure adequate coverage over
the winter season and also to ensure that the volunteers we do have don’t get
burned out. To find out what’s involved with being a volunteer, please visit www.m25initiative.org/volunteer.html
and view the volunteer handbook.
Those of us in Code Blue realize that not everyone is in a
position to donate their time. Between work, family, and a host of other
obligations and commitments the one thing many people lack is time. Beyond
that, there are also good-hearted people who are simply not comfortable around
the homeless for a variety of reasons, some valid others not so much, yet they
still have compassion and want to help. In such cases making a monetary
donation to Code Blue is just as valuable. These resources go to purchasing
blankets, sheets, pillows, personal hygiene items, meals, and more.
That said, Code Blue is a short term measure and while it is
gratifying to be able to help, it is also frustrating that needs seem never
ending. This frustration led to the creation of the nonprofit known as M25 with
its mission of ending homelessness. M25 adopted “Housing First” as a guiding
philosophy in approaching homelessness.
“Housing First” as a guiding framework says that you
stabilize a person’s living situation first and then tackle other issues
whether mental health, substance abuse, or some other set of wrap-around
services needed to address underlying issues in someone’s life. This
distinction matters because many programs offer help but only if a person
“cleans up their act” first which is very difficult to do when your life has
unraveled.
This approach works. Over the last 2 years, upwards of 70
people have been housed and all but a handful remain in their homes. Police are
free to deal with more pressing matters, there’s been a sizable reduction in
the number of frivolous ambulance/911 calls and ER visits related to the homeless;
a 50% reduction in chronic homelessness overall since 2014 and a reduction in those
needing to use Code Blue.
The bottom line is that we’re at the time of year when it’s
necessary to think about the season ahead and what provisions will be in place
to help our homeless population when winter sets in and temps plunge toward
freezing. Anything you can do to help would be valuable and very much
appreciated. To make a donation, please visit www.m25initiative.org/donate.html