Like a Beach

The Homeless Service Center is like a beach. Sometimes it’s like the tide coming in, and people are everywhere, swirling, bumping into each other, bringing up the stuff of life, often other people’s leftovers. Sometimes it's low tide, as the people drain away onto the streets, leaving a quieter place. Also, like the beach we can often predict the tides around here. There’s a high tide at 8 AM, when people are eager to come in out of the cold, grab a coffee, take a shower or look for one of the providers who work here. The tide recedes an hour later, but we get another high water mark just before lunch. Around 1 PM the tide slowly recedes, until the end of the day, 4 PM, we see our lowest tide.
There is a rhythm here, but sometimes (when the moon is full?), we get surprised by a large number of people with problems, difficulties, questions and concerns. On such days I can be approached or interrupted 15-20 times an hour. But of course that’s why I’m here, to be accessible and approachable by the homeless and nearly homeless who have questions and requests. 

As I write more of these blog entries, I’ll give you a casual look inside life at the Center, what we do, what we face, our challenges and successes. It’s a great place to be, and I’d like you to know why.


Written By: Christopher Emerson, Manager, Manchester Homeless Services Center