The Blessing of Teamwork

One of the blessings of working at Water Street Ministries is seeing the wonderful connections we have in our community that compliment us as we compliment them. A great case in point is Joe(*see below) who just stumbled into our Recovery Program about a year and a half ago. Joe did as well as he could in our Recovery Program (he had a head injury years ago that has affected him) and as it neared the end it seemed more natural to finish up in our Supportive Services Program where he would be more closely assisted in finding semi - supported housing. To have helped Joe without the help from any other agencies would have been overwhelming and the results would have been meager at best.

First of all because of this head injury Joe was in need of a payee and they continue to be a great help in paying his bills and keeping him on track financially (Neighborhood Services). As it became time for Joe to look for housing – I directed him to an apartment building that is closely managed and especially designed for the elderly and disabled – I thought this would be a perfect match for Joe.

As we did the paperwork though, we soon discovered a problem with Joe’s credit. This led us to another wonderful agency in Lancaster City – MidPenn Legal Services. There Attorney Linda helped us not only figure out what the bill was (it was a mystery to us) but that actually Joe was being overcharged and it ended up in reducing his wage attachments and thus increasing the net monthly check Joe has to live on.

But maybe the greatest blessing was Joe’s long overdue meeting with his now 17 yr old son who he had not seen in years – this meeting took place because of the kindness of McCaskey High School in facilitating this supervised meeting. Because of this meeting Joe got the clear go ahead to call or visit with his son whenever he wants.

I think that in the process of Joe’s moving out – something we thought would be an easy endeavor, we discovered the huge benefit agencies could help us attain; what we wouldn’t have been able to do by ourselves. At least five agencies and many individuals helped Joe get to this stable place in his life, housing where he is thriving and has many meaningful things in his life which will help him continue to succeed in life. Besides a comfortable, safe and friendly living environment, Joe has stayed in regular contact with WSM: volunteering in food service, eating meals here and continuing to fellowship with the clients and staff. Joe also continues to fellowship at the church he discovered while he was in the Program. He stays in touch with the mentor that walked with him during the program.

Joe’s story shows that recovery, getting established and remaining steadfast on the community is no easy accomplishment and it requires a lot of help from a lot of people and places. I praise God for the help available in Lancaster County to end homelessness for anyone truly desiring life change.

*name has been changed

Chuck Albrecht • Shelter Manager