D.C. DUers, I need your assistance - longish , but please read all of it

[ashling]

I just got a call from my daughter in Hampton, Va.. She used to work for ACORNin New Orleans and has moved around quite a bit, was in JobCorp in Michigan and is now married and planning to start school next semester at East Tennessee State. She wants to go into social work.

She saw a post of flickr and posted it of Facebook about somebody she worked with at ACORN who is now homeless in DC. Apparently this is a really intellegent guy who has memory issues, et al. She saw this story and is determined to go to DC and find him. I talked to her about it a while, and told her that at least she needed to check news resources, etc. to get as much info. as possible. I know enough to realize that if she is going to do this there is nothing I can do to stop her. She says she will sit in front of Union Station and wait for him if necessary. (frankly, I'm proud of her - its just that she has a propensity to use herself up for a cause, and I'm not sure this is one that will end well) She is finally getting her life on the right track and I respect her desire to help, but am extremely concerned.

Anyway, here is a picture and post from flickr. I don't know how old this is. I am not really sure what I am seeking , but if anybody knows anything about this guy, PLEASE pm me and let me know ASAP. THANKS


this is rod amis. he shouldn't be on the street. this guy has seven books to his name, and he is an intelligent and well-spoken guy. until his website went dark some months ago, he had the longest running blog on the internet. he knows he shouldn't be panhandling at union station, but now it's like his job.

the problem is that he has a brain disorder which causes him to forget things- a lot of things. in fact, after talking with him for 45 minutes, he seemingly didn't remember me or lauren 15 minutes later.

rod said he can't keep living this way. he has the potential to get an apartment in the coming weeks, but i wonder if that will matter. he says he's asked his friend to remember guy fawkes day- november 5th. rod says this day he will commit suicide off of one of the many buildings or bridges in the dc area.

but he also said he has another story to tell. the story of the hundreds, thousands of homeless people on the streets, his interactions, and their stories. he said that he doesn't have a computer anymore, but i told him to use gmail in the library to write it. hopefully, the next time i see him he will be doing that.

[kimi]

1. I don't know how much help this would be

but it seems to be a listing of homeless shelters and kitchens in the DC area. It appears to be fairly comprehensive, and a lot of the places - I clicked through to some of them - have ways to contact the specific service directly. It might be helpful for your daughter to perhaps contact some of these places and pass along the gentleman's picture and story. Someone at one of these community centers may recognize him. I know, it's a long shot, but he seems to be a distinctive man with the ability to touch many people, and someone may be familiar with him. I wish your daughter luck, you must be very proud to have such a compassionate and empathetic daughter. Best wishes.
http://dcpages.com/Community/Shelters_and_Soup_Kitchens/

[ashling]

4. thanks

[arcadian]

2. Post it the DC Photo Rights group on flcikr

They are alot DC street photographers in that group, maybe somebody in this group has seen him. Or check with the flickr user that took that.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/dcphotorights/

[rug]

3. I hope she finds him.

This guy is a solid writer.

http://www.g21.net/mars353.htm

[ashling]

5. Thanks for posting that link

I hadn't read it ...

[lorylin]

11. wow

Wow, I have read a lot of his stuff but hadn't read this particular article. It's not surprising this happened though. I had a friend get sent to Orleans Parish Prison for "loitering and littering". He was literally sitting on a street corner, eating a sandwich. What a horrible offense.

He is a solid writer. I hope one day he'll have a place to write again. I can hope.

[ashling]

6. My daughter , Lori, called from DC

she found him out in a tent in front of Union Station and says he seems happy. She is checking on getting him help. I told her she was a good little social worker - her grandmother (my mom) was a social worker.

Thank you everyone for the assistance

[Captain Hilts]

7. A tent in front of Union Station??? Weird. I haven't seen Catwoman in a while.

She would sit on the stairs there.

[rug]

8. Outstanding. Please post or pm if he or she needs any help.

[lorylin]

9. clarification and thanks

Actually, it's not a tent. They sleep under tarps, but not in a tent. They have makeshift beds they've made out of crates with soft things bundled on top, covered with blankets and a tarp. I can see how it would be confusing though, since tarps can be used to make a tent. Just clarifying. I appreciate your help, daddy.

Also, I appreciate everyone else who has been so helpful in my finding him. Sometimes you don't know exactly what you're doing, just that it needs to be done. I would hope that if one of my friends was worried for my safety they would look for me as well. It shouldn't be so extraordinary when someone decides to exercise compassion. That's what we should all be doing, to the best of our ability as much as humanly possible.

Just remember this holiday season, and all through the year that as we spend so much time worrying about trivial things there are people who have actual needs that aren't being met. They may be nameless, faceless people much of the time. It shouldn't take them being someone we know to stop and take an extra glance. The world would be a much better place if we stepped outside our comfort zones just a little more often.

I've learned a lot from this experience- some beautiful things and some horrible things but I won't forget how many people were willing to stretch out their arms to help me while I was trying to reach out my arms and help someone else.

Happy Hanukkah (a little late), Merry Christmas, and Happy Solstice everyone. The thing all of our holidays have in common is light. Let us be that light for others.

[kayakjohnny]

10. You are amazing.

Don't know what else to say.

What would people do without people like you?

All the best to you.

Cheers!

[lorylin]

12. thanks!

I really appreciate it! I really don't think I'm that special. Honestly, I hope I'm not. When push comes to shove I would hope that there are lots of people who would do what I did and continue to strive to do with my life.

I would like to take this opportunity (since apparently I currently have a platform) to say that whenever the economy is in rough shape we let that effect social service funding. When the economy is bad *more* people not less need help and I can't be everywhere <grin>. Keep that in mind when you lovely people vote!

[Kali]

13. I didn't see this the other day, but I just want to say

thanks to Lorylin for doing this work. I know how it is. Sometimes you just don't have a choice. Thumbs up.

Good on you Ashling. You raised her up right, as they say.