Giving Voice: Community Read aims to accelerate housing action

A young doctor in Boston gave up his plans for a lucrative career in oncology, and instead built a health care program that serves the city’s residents experiencing chronic unsheltered homelessness.

His story, and those of his patients, are told in Tracy Kidder’s inspiring new book “Rough Sleepers: Dr. Jim O’Connell’s Urgent Mission to Bring Healing to Homeless People.” The book is the focus of a Community Read and slate of four weekly in-person presentations, every Thursday from Oct. 19 through Nov. 9. Anyone who wants to understand and solve our region’s exploding homelessness should read this book and come to the events.

For those of us who feel bewildered by scenes of homelessness, “Rough Sleepers” offers clarity. Through innumerable personal stories, and some Boston history, the book unflinchingly illuminates “a world hidden in plain sight” without resorting to simplistic prescriptions. Dr. O’Connell explains that his project was necessitated by the maddening stinginess and callousness of the medical, housing, education and justice systems of the world’s richest nation. Noting that severe childhood trauma is present in at least 75% of rough sleepers, he explains society’s culpability: “We’re making up for what wasn’t done for our patients. What you didn’t provide – schools, jobs, safety.”

Although Dr. O’Connell’s program avoids some of the red tape of insurance-funded health care, they face frustrations that are particular to their patient population, many of whom refuse or discontinue treatment only to resurface later in worse shape. Dr. O’Connell acknowledges an element of terror in a career where the underlying problem never improves, like “standing at the bottom of a cliff trying to catch people.” The label of Saint is frequently suggested by people who can’t believe the team’s commitment, but Dr. O’Connell rejects that. For him the incredulity is reversed — what alternative is there to caring for the sick?

Indeed, Kidder’s account is a celebration of the ennobling and enabling effect of choosing to prioritize compassion in daily life. Despite their predicament, Dr. O’Connell’s team has succeeded in reaching people who are hard to access, in many cases improving their health and housing outcomes. Dr. O’Connell’s success is grounded in his attitude of “pre-admiration” — presuming he will eventually discover reasons to like whatever complicated person he has just met. It’s a skill he says was cultivated before practicing medicine, during his years as a bartender.

Dr. O’Connell also stays sane by treating his job like, well, just a job: “This is what we do while we’re waiting for the world to change.” Although most of us aren’t healers, Times-Record readers can accelerate the changing of the world (or at least our region) by showing up at community gatherings focused on this issue.

“Rough Sleepers” is a great springboard for the upcoming Thursday evening events that include live panels, short films, and facilitated group discussions. You’ll meet people who’ve experienced homelessness locally, service providers who know the issue up close, and policymakers who are trying to address systemic causes. Check out the book in print, eBook, or Audio format from your library (the audio is especially good, delivered with gusto by Kidder himself). Learn more about the events at curtislibrary.libcal.com and contact the library to join a separate book discussion meetup.

Finally, please consider doing what you can to support local organizations like Tedford, MCHPP, The Gathering Place, Oasis, and TEAN who every day provide, without judgement, shelter, food, medical support and compassion for those experiencing housing, food or other insecurities.

This series was organized by parishioners at All Saints Parish in partnership with the Southern Midcoast Housing Collaborative, Housing Resources for Youth, and Curtis Library.

Andrew Lardie is interim executive director for Tedford Housing, the Brunswick area’s emergency housing shelter. Giving Voice is a weekly collaboration among local nonprofit service agencies to share information and stories about their work in the community.