Navigating
the Safety Net.
A
person I know was heading toward being homeless. He needed a job and his search
was coming up empty. He seemed resistant to a number of opportunities. He also
limited himself to the library computer for job offerings, seldom going in
person. I enlisted a friend more knowledgeable than I to help in the job
search. He too found him resistant to suggestions and possibilities. All the
time he was needing funds. I found two grant sources in the community. One
handled a one time grant for 22 different self help groups. With the grants he
had a temporary cushion.
501.c3
from the IRS for charitable groups require a submitting your purpose. It turns
out the variety of purposes apparently cause fragmentation in the social
network.
I
enlisted a social worker from CASI to help us understand the various resources.
I also encouraged him to file for Social Security since he was 62. He didn’t think
he qualified since he hadn’t paid in for a lot of years. After an illness when
young he lived with his parents. They apparently became overprotective and he
left the workforce, then he became their caregiver as they aged and until each
died.
Little
by little I kept finding out new elements in his story, surprises as well as
the need for financial aid. A sister and brother who lived some distance away provided
some support. They had been frustrated by his procrastinations over the years.
Out
of necessity he filed for Social Security. He was accepted and he began
receiving enough to eek by. The weather became spring like and he started
supplementing his income doing yard work.
Then
one Sunday my son noticed he was breathing heavily as he walked from the church
to the parish hall. When asked about this he said he was out of shape since he
hadn’t been bike riding. I thought of other possibilities since his father had
congestive heart failure.
I
encouraged him to see his doctor, then went to his doctor’s office ahead of his
appointment to inform them of my observations. The nurse at first gave me the
confidentiality issue so we had a conversation that we never had. They do
accept the information they do not have.
After
seeing the doctor he was admitted to the hospital for heart problems. Cardiac
rehab came next. This allowed him to apply for Social Security disability which
he began receiving. He now had sufficient funds.
There
is much more to his story as other very serious health issues appeared. While
going for a check up he had a cardiac arrest in a restaurant. He was attended
to immediately by EMT people who were in the restaurant at the time. The
outcome was an implanted fibulator.
At
present he is doing well, very regular in Church, even helping with some
outreach programs. He sees contact with people an important part of his life
and health and the church has a central place in his life beginning with
worship.
The
Navigator part was staying with his story as it took various unexpected turns,
finding and learning which social agencies and systems would be appropriate. The
life-threatening turns that appeared more than once required hospitalization
and follow up visits. Miraculously, more than once the right people were there
for him at the right time. The Lord was ever present.
Through
it all I learned how fragmented our safety networks are, plentiful as they are.
Working through the maze is stressful in itself. I find it extraordinary that
some can use the system for self-gain.
Today the
Good Samaritan Story takes many forms as the pattern and personnel in the story are metaphorically moved to new and different places. The constant: Who was neighbor remains the question. And the answer ….
Luke 10: 37And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.”
Then Jesus said to him, #Prov.
14:21; (Matt. 9:13; 12:7)
“Go and do likewise.”
Marlin Whitmer,
Retired Hospital Chaplain
Founder of the Befrienders and the Art of Story Metaphor Listening
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