Rotating Emergency Shelter
Tuesday Night
Cecil County, MD
January 2016
930 PM
It’s snowing, just a little bit, the first snow of the
season, as I make my way to the Rotating Emergency Shelter. It’s 10PM, dark and windy. The wind howls and
rips right through me. As I make my way
to the basement of the church, I think how lucky these people are to have
somewhere to sleep indoors tonight.
But tonight, this cold, cold night, they have a warm place
to stay.
The basement of this church has 12 bunk beds that line the
perimeter of the room. Then there are 10
more cots on the floor. The women sleep on one side and the men on the other
side. Cafeteria tables separate the two domains. The room is drab and
institutional-looking. But it is warm so that is all that matters.
Some of the guests are already in bed when I arrive. They have been here since 5PM and have been
fed. There is a small room where people
watch television. A few play cards, at the cafeteria tables, but most people linger
on and around their small space.
A few people sit at a table and talk amongst themselves. They
talk mostly about ways to find something more permanent to live.
“We’re going to get
an efficiency. We been thinking of getting a one bedroom but then I’ll get the
kids back and I thought, ‘The hell with that shit. Let them keep the damn
kids.’ Hell, they cost me so much damn money. I don’t want them back. They cost
me $4000 once. We ain’t taking them back”
one woman blurts out to anyone who is listening.
10PM
“Miss, Madame, hey, can you turn out the lights. They’re
right in my eyes”, she complains to me.
This woman is a loner. No one talks to her and her cot is placed
directly below a large, florescent light. In order to turn out her light, I’d
have to turn out everyone’s lights and it’s too early to do that. But this
light aggravates her and she is beginning to express too much irritation.
“Oh shut up,” says the woman in the next cot. “The lights
will go off at 10:30. It’s no big deal.”
But it is a big deal to this woman and she struggles to cope
with this offensive situation. I offer
her another place to sleep but she doesn’t want to move. And then, quickly she is asleep and the
problem is resolved for the moment.
11PM: Lights Out
“Can we have one more cigarette break”, he asks ever so
quietly. Only a handful is still up at
this hour.
“Yea, of course, come on, “ I respond and lead him out to
the designated smoking area. I look back
and notice seven other guys following us up the stairs. I laugh, “Did you really just get out of bed
and put your clothes on just to have a cigarette?”
“Yup,” one of them responded. “There isn’t much more in our
lives to look forward to.” He lights up and sucks in a long drag of smoke.
They stand in the bitter cold and enjoy a final cigarette
before it is lights out for everyone.
Midnight
A man approaches me and asks for cough syrup.
“That kid, the young kid, he’s really sick. He needs some
medicine and I know they got something here for him to take.” He rummages through our medicine box and
finds cold medicine. The kid comes over
and he is sick. He really should see a doctor but he probably has no options
available to him. He goes back to his cot and dozes off.
1:00AM
The room is dark. Thirty people are sleeping. But it is not
quiet. There is snoring and wheezing and
the grinning of teeth. I can hear restlessness amongst some of the sleepers.
There is an occasional cough or sneeze.
Someone talks in his sleep. Other than that, all is quiet.
3:00 AM
I am sitting in a chair with my eyes closed. I have my alarm set for every hour so that I
can check up on things. But I feel a
presence before me. As I open my eyes, I
see a woman standing right in front of me.
Her face is almost touching mine. Her hands are braced on the two arms
of my chair.
“I need my inhaler, my inhaler,” she wheezes to me. Her warm
breath hits my face.
I jump up and get it for her and she is so grateful for the
immediate relief. She goes back to bed and sleeps through the night.
4:00AM
The last guest of the evening arrives. He works until 3:30 AM and is allowed to come
in for a few hours to catch some warmth.
He just backs his way to his cot and sleeps in him clothing, jacket and
shoes included.
5:00AM
A few people are up and sitting, in the dark, at the tables,
waiting for the first cup of coffee for the day.
5:30 AM
I make coffee, which will be ready for the 6AM wake up call
for everyone. The early birds sit and
wait for this moment.
6:00 AM: Lights On
The lights are turned on and people begin to rally. The smokers put on their pants and then they
reach for their cigarettes. Off they go for their first cigarette so the day.
The others use the washroom and begin to bundle up for the cold day ahead of them.
6:45 AM
Several people are in line already for the bus, which will be
here at 7 to take them to the homeless center, a site that will feed them a
cold breakfast. It’s also a place where they can receive mail. I can’t quite understand why they are in a
hurry to get out of here. They really
have nowhere else to go.
7:00 AM
The bus takes the first group and those who remain jump back
in their cots as they have just been awarded another 15 minutes to lie down,
under warm blankets.
7:30 AM
The shelter is now empty.
All that remains is the lingering odor of dirty clothes and stale cigarette
smoke.
