The following is a guest blog contribution from Pathways to Housing DC. We thank Pathways for its contribution and hope Dean is doing well.
The Pathways to Housing DC Homeless Street Outreach Team met Dean earlier this year sleeping on the downtown streets. Dean was wary of the team at first and insisted he was not in need of any of their services. However, on one cold day after months of the team reaching out to him, Dean finally accepted a pair of dry socks that had been donated from partner organization, Gifts for the Homeless. Soon Dean was meeting with the team weekly for showers and accepting other donated warm, dry clothing as he needed it. Dean’s trust in the team has grown and he has started to open up to the idea of receiving additional supports and benefits. Of all the things that the outreach team does from food stamp benefits to housing, sometimes the most meaningful thing they can offer is the kindness, comfort and dignity of clean clothing.
