I am not spooky, but sometimes I have to admit there is something that takes the madness of our lives and creates miracles. Both times meeting Paul is one of those miracle moments.
This week driving into Albuquerque in the early morning hours it really hit me. You see, if a normal, logical mind looks at how Paul and I first met that mind would say it was an accident. But was it?
I was honored to be asked by 100,000 Homes Campaign to join them on their Albuquerque Boot Camp and registry week. I love what 100,000 Homes is doing so I felt it very important that the @home documentary join us so the Kindling Group’s camera crew followed along. The morning we were going out on the streets the team me and the camera crew were on got off to a slow start. It was one of those mornings where anything that could go wrong did. It wasn’t that anyone did anything bad. In fact, I have always been blown away at how the 100,000 Homes team pretty much thinks of everything and is very organized and well prepared. Once we got a van and headed out we were sent to another part of the city far away from downtown. Things still started to go wrong and at one point we all were separated from each other. Because the camera crew could only afford the costs of going out that one morning it was important that they capture volunteers taking surveys. Otherwise all the other 100,000 Homes footage shot over the past year would not make sense.
When all seemed lost Becky Kanis suggested we come back to downtown and walk around by the missions, which we did. That is where we met Paul and I did his survey .
See, I was never to be in the downtown area that morning, and neither was the camera crew following me. The way the morning was planned, if everything worked out as planned, I would have never met Paul. But I did meet Paul and I helped him fill out his survey. Here is Paul’s InvisiblePeople.tv video:
I really didn’t plan on visiting Albuquerque this trip, either. But Doug Chaplin, who works for the city and helped champion Albuquerque Heading Home, tweet me that Paul was in housing so I had to make ABQ a stop on my way back to Los Angeles. Here is a video I taped with Paul this week in his apartment:
Why this is a miracle is first, Paul has a serious brain injury that makes him vulnerable on the streets. In simple terms, if Paul did not get into housing his chances of surviving homeless are not so good . That is why 100,000 Homes is so unique and awesome. They survey the community to find the people who need housing the most. This saves lives, and because those most vulnerable tax the social services and medical system, housing them frees up resources that can be used to help others, AND IT SAVES MONEY!
Second, not only did Paul record a story for InvisiblePeople.tv, but the @home camera crew caught the whole thing on tape making the 100,000 Homes section of the documentary that much more powerful.
Although I would love to take credit for Paul getting into housing my part was very small. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time to take Paul’s survey. The real thanks goes to the City of Albuquerque, Albuquerque Heading Home, 100,000 Homes Campaign and all the people that joined in to make it all happen.
Please support your local homeless services that are taking real actions to get people off the streets. You can find more information on how to bring 100,000 Homes to your community on their website 100khomes.org
Click here to watch an interview I did with Albuquerque’s Mayor Richard Berry 4am the morning we went out.
