It was a shot in the dark, but things were looking bad.
John got a call from two Aurora social workers asking, “Does Patchwork’s health ministry, by some miracle, have colostomy supplies or know where some could be found immediately?”
In fact, he did. He’d had some in storage for several years, and now, finally, they were desperately needed. The social workers had a client who was living outdoors and had just run out.
John put together a bag of equipment and went out to meet them. He assessed the situation. He talked to the man who really wanted to get an appointment to be seen by a doctor.
John made some calls and discovered the man’s long-forgotten primary care doctor just happened to have an appointment available the next day. John made arrangements to return the following day and give the man a ride to the doctor’s office.
As they wrapped up and John prepared to leave, another man sitting nearby asked, “Hey. Did you just get him a doctor’s appointment? I need to see a doctor. Can you get me one, too?”
The next day, John returned to take the man to his appointment, but the man decided he couldn’t go. Living outdoors, the man had many immediate needs to meet. He’d just found someone who would bring him a tent, and that person was coming with it soon. He needed that tent, and because he knew that tents can be hard to come by, it got the priority. John called the doctor’s office to reschedule. Because he did, the missed visit wouldn’t count against the man.
Once John got off the phone, he was approached by a third man who said, “I heard you can get people doctor’s appointments. I really need one.”
Again, John made a call.
This story illustrates what all of us around Patchwork experience on a regular basis. It illustrates why Patchwork and Aurora and organizations like us are needed in our community.
John didn’t race in to save the day. Things got complicated. There were no dramatic epiphanies. There was no great healing. In fact, the man didn’t even make it to the doctor this time.
But, John was there to listen and to lend support. He had flexibility and could address this quirky, one-of-a-kind situation as it arose. In our experience, that kind of flexible, supportive presence is something that many people really need.
Patchwork has an important role to play in the community-wide effort to help people with limited resources who find themselves in need of extra support. We are the “random helpers,” as someone once called us. We’re small, flexible, and potential sources of even the most random assistance.