Diary of a Hostel Worker

The Big Society – Can We Afford It?

Reality check day. Seems we are to be facing big cuts soon……… staff redundancies are imminent. A difficult day all round.

Teatime comes and with it a snaking line of clients move inevitably towards the meal trolley, where cook is  efficiently serving an appetising and healthy meal. It is a patient line today and the gentle hum of conversation and clanking of cutlery lulls me for a moment. My mind wanders and I imagine a different scene – I see a faded and cloudy vision of homeless people queuing, not in a pleasant and warm dining room, but instead under a cold and lifeless grey winter sky, swept by the elements

frightened and hungry.

I visualise Church volunteers and selfless individuals distributing blankets and sandwiches in a united effort to tempt life to remain amongst old bones and shattered minds…………….

I feel uncomfortable and firmly bring my attention back to the here and now.

What shape will the future form for our most needy and defenceless members of ‘The Big Society’?

Human beings forged by social policies that have contributed to their current predicament ………greedy profits stacked up by manufacturers of health killing alcoholic beverages designed to subordinate and overpower ……….breakdown of relationships> families ripped apart by media (and government) promoted “grass is always greener” ideology………’no society’ support following bereavement, depression, stress, illness, trauma or financial ruin………………

 

One man turns round and looks directly at me. It’s almost as if he senses the pain of my thoughts. I see trust in his eyes, a belief there will always be one of us workers there to support him in time of need.

As he walks past me holding tightly to his plate, he slows for a moment and brings his mouth to my ear.

“I don’t think I would still be alive if I hadn’t been rescued from the streets and brought here” he mutters.

 

We are one society – not big,  not small.

And what may be said of a society that turns its back on the most vulnerable of its members?

Serial 999

Last year I wrote about “the wall”, a favourite local haunt of local hostel clients and rough sleepers. The wall is situated next to a very dodgy off licence which is well known for giving tick and selling out of hours. For the past few months this shop of horrors has been closed. Whether it was due to a prolonged attack of vandalism – all windows have been pelted with stones and are cracked and shattered – or attributable to some other reason, is unclear. A small notice stuck to the front door of the shop informs that the owner will be reopening soon and is applying for a license extension  to sell alcohol far into the early hours of the morning.

The phrase “over my dead body” comes to mind.

Near “the wall” is a bus stop and a telephone box, and this is where i find myself on a recovery mission. There has been word one of our clients is requesting an ambulance from this location and i hurry to find out what is going on.

J is a serial 999’er. In one month alone he cost the NHS £10,000 calling out London Ambulance Services. After a visit from the community matron and the threat of making him pay the bill, he has curbed his habit. There has been much discussion at the hostel about this behaviour and continued attempts to minimise false alarms. It seems alcohol is always involved. There are aspects of attention seeking, panic attacks, overly concerned members of the public trying to help. Whatever the cause, long suffering paramedics deal with these types of call more frequently than any other, on a daily basis.

I reach the telephone box and see J inside with the handset pressed to his ear. As I pull open the heavy door he turns to face me. He is speaking with the emergency dispatcher but the only words coming out of his mouth are “help me”. His voice is thready and slurred. He is really really intoxicated. It’s obvious he has been drinking superstrength lager – this never happens when he sticks to lighter beers. Cans of 9% strength seem to always result in an emergency call out.

As soon as J sees me he looks incredibly guilty. I take the receiver and introduce myself to the dispatcher. I explain the situation and she cancels the call. J tells me he had a funny turn. There are two empty cans on the ground and a half drunk can of Super Skol in his pocket but still J tries to convince me he is sober. His face is bright red and words tumble from his lips in a jumbled slurring confusion.

Apart from intoxication he is in ok shape, so we set off back to the hostel. Six steps later we are surrounded by emergency services. An ambulance, a car, both on full blue lights and sirens scream to a halt beside the pavement. The cancellation has come too late. We approach the EMT with J looking well ashamed.

An apology seems insufficient but it is all we have to offer.

Diary of a Hostel Worker

From Blue to Green

Unbelievably a fellow worker and myself find ourselves with a couple of hours free from shift tasks. There is no contest when it comes to deciding whether to spend this time catching up on washing or taking a trip out in the hostel car.

Some of our residents find it difficult to get out and we think about those affected by advancing years and limited mobility. Being stuck indoors looking at the same four walls has a potentially depressing effect and in some quarters the post Christmas low has started creeping in.

My colleague fires up the engine and positions our car ready to load up. There is a tangle of walking frames and crutches which will need to come with us. Stiff old joints creak and groan as ageing limbs fold to fit in the available space.

Seat belts secured we load the CD player, up the volume and set off for our spin.

Although traffic is heavy we are blissfully unaffected – music rocking – the mood is elevated and content. One particularly observant passenger gives a running commentary triggered by road signs and shop fronts lining the route. His train of thought is convoluted and hard to follow – dementia  clouding the possibility of conclusion. I feel glad he was given a place in the car. I can sense the life flowing back into his body, stimulation sparking his grey matter, he is hungry for the experience.

We turn from the main route and head towards a local beauty spot. The houses here are huge and eyes are popping with incredulity. For people who have been sleeping rough a large part of their life, equating their misfortune with the decadence of those more fortunate can be an uncomfortable experience.

We motor past a large and expensive private clinic which, on identification, triggers an aural flow of past detox and rehab memories. Although some tales are of failure, many are tinged with humour and personal achievement.

Suddenly the landscape opens up and we pass through a wrought iron edged gateway. Previously jaded eyes widen and take in the natural beauty. There is untempered excitement as we pass close to a herd of deer, a large stag proudly silhouetted against the winter sky.

One resident, Carl sighs gently,

“I wonder why I feel so peaceful when I look at deer? ” He questions.

There is no need for reply.

Later we stop for refreshements, hot coffee all round.

Sitting at our table I look at the faces surrounding me.  Smiles are everywhere,  tired worn wrinkles miraculously vanished, I realise depression is banished for now at least.

“It’s started to rain” someone says.

We don’t care, we have had our moment.

2010 in review

The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads This blog is doing awesome!.

Crunchy numbers

A helper monkey made this abstract painting, inspired by your stats.

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 1,600 times in 2010. That’s about 4 full 747s.

 

In 2010, there were 31 new posts, not bad for the first year! There were 49 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 13mb. That’s about 4 pictures per month.

The busiest day of the year was August 27th with 53 views. The most popular post that day was Pure Genius.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were twitter.com, healthfitnesstherapy.com, slashingtongue.com, digg.com, and users.livejournal.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for diary of a hostel worker, http://www.hosteldaily.wordpress.com, a day in the life of a hostel worker, hostel worker blog, and tuppence a bag jokes.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

1

Pure Genius August 2010

2

Stolen by the SuperStrength August 2010
4 comments

3

It Ain’t Half Hot Mum May 2010

4

About April 2010

5

Wiggly Wigglers July 2010
1 comment