Update on the homeless shelter where I work

Haven't updated y'all as of late on life at the shelter, so I thought I'd let you know what's going on these days:

- One of our newer guests is a 40something woman with a debilitating physical condition--either cerebral palsy or multiple sclerosis, judging by what I've observed. It is truly heartbreaking to watch this woman, who refuses all offers of help, attempt something as common as walking in a straight line or pouring a cup of coffee. That she also is homeless adds insult to injury

- Last night, a male guest who had recently spent several weeks in jail on a trumped-up shoplifting charge was arrested again--this time for getting drunk and physically assaulting another male guest unprovoked. (At least the incident occurred away from the shelter.)

- The other night, a co-worker observed three guests coming out of the bathroom. Their behavior strongly suggested they had shot up in there. One of the guests in question just spent two months in jail on a drug charge and now makes daily visits to the methadone clinic. She also has two young children, whom her parents are raising for her. And she's pregnant again, with the child of another shelter guest.

- A different co-worker recently caught a male and female guest having sex behind a clump of bushes outside the shelter. Later that night, the same co-worker caught them at it again, and again after that!

- I recently caught two guests passing a "40" between themselves after lights out. When I demanded the bottle, they became quite indignant but quieted down when I offered them the chance to sleep outside that night.

- On a more positive note, later this week the shelter is moving into a new space with a lot more room--which of course means accommodating a lot more guests. That's particularly good considering that on a bitterly cold night last week, we had to squeeze 21 guests into our current space. Since we only had 20 air mattresses on hand, I had to let one guy sleep in the armchair. He didn't mind, though, insisting that he was glad just to be out of the cold.

I swear, I could write a soap opera about that place! Of course, it would have to air on pay cable.