The Vulnerability Index changes everything

The other day on the West Side one of the kids came by to ask us to help him get blood stains off the pavement.  A relative of his had tried to take his own life over the weekend and they were in the midst of cleaning up after the event.  The relative is now at Cottage.  We walked over with him and saw the stain ourselves.  My son is nearly the age of this boy – and I wonder what it would be like for him to have to be cleaning blood stains in an apt and off the pavement.

Also recently a woman on the streets burned to death as she was sheltered in a local industrial yard.  She was around 40 years of age.  You can read about her and the story at Noozhawk.com if you read the most recent article by Ken Williams.  The questions are many – but why are there so many women living on our streets?

I was talking with a co-worker at the Village about this existence we now share – how it is slightly surreal and neither of us know how we got where we are.  She is younger and has spent less time within this side of Santa Barbara – but wonders why less emotions are coming when faced with the situations she sees… I encourage her that it is normal but not to become as cynical as I am sometimes.  We have to remain hopeful and “in” with others – “present.”

I can remain hopeful because I see light at the end of the tunnel – I can see awareness building and people desiring to enter in more – to the “other side of Santa Barbara.”  There’s the post card Santa Barbara and then there are the snapshots that don’t quite fit the economic niche.  Part of my job is to bring these photos out of the dark room for you.

But it is not so much that we need to fix the situation – but we should be “with” these people.

Recently there has been a swing in a certain term – the scale of these terms – “homeless” and “friends without homes.”  You can catch the local paper now using “street neighbor” or “street friend” more – and I have heard that a few local pastors are using the “friends without homes” term from the pulpit.  That to me is a sign of success – because it means we are moving toward a relational “being with” focus.

We cannot fix this – but we can be with our friends in the midst of this… and I believe by this move systematic change happens, because advocacy happens.

I noted this with the vulnerability index which took place in March, 2011.  The VI sought to discover the most vulnerable in our county.  County wide government, agencies, advocacy groups, faith communities worked together to canvas the streets and discover those who are most vulnerable on our streets.  It has sparked a huge change – opened the door to better collaboration and embarked us on a new volunteer movement.

And guess what, 94 people have been housed off the index list.  This includes individuals and families county wide.  Sylvia from Good Samaritan in Santa Maria told us that for the first time, she moved whole families from her shelter into local housing.  This happens as awareness and advocacy grows.

I sat in two days of discussions as local stakeholders facing issues regarding our friends without homes discussed how we can work together better in the future.  The vulnerability index really was the reason for the discussion, and has bridged us all together to face one issue – getting the sick off our streets and into housing.  Our friends and neighbors should not die on the streets.

I only need to mention one story – the story Jesus told of the Good Samaritan.  Santa Barbara needs to continue to move toward becoming a good samaritan city.  Our issues are “our issues.”  We face them together.

The are moments to set a movement a change – the VI index has given us that opportunity.  But what solutions are still to come for women on the streets who may not be the “most vulnerable” (though I have a tough time believing that)  What solutions are there for our West Side (and East Side) youth for an “empowered future?”  What leans young people from suicide to hope?

The solution is not found in the ivory tower – but in human real life engagement, where your story meets the story of the other.  The hero of the good samaritan story is the one who recognized that “the other” was really a part of his own history, his story – an unavoidable connection.

I discover my own vulnerabilities as I work with those who may at this moment be at huge risk.  My mind cannot solve, handle or understand even what I have immersed myself into – but I know that I myself am just as vulnerable, at risk and in need, and at any moment could be injured on the side of the road.  I am selfishly hoping that someone will be there for me as well.