Tender Loving Mercy - Prevent Homelessness

Today is World Mental Health Day! What better day to kick off my annual fundraiser for Tender Loving Mercy. Below is the long story if youre interested. If not, here is the nutshell.

Monetary Donations will be going here: http://www.tenderlovingmercy.com

We will be collecting blankets, socks and underwear between now and Christmas. Please leave a message below if you would like to donate, and we will let you know when we will have drop-off locations set up.

To all those who ask how you can help the homeless and addiction problem, well, here's your answer. I am Dana, the sister of one brother who overdosed on opioids and conservator of another brother who has cycled between the streets, jail and hospitalization due to mental health-related issues. I learned through my advocacy with NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness), how to break the cycle of this "revolving door through the broken system”. Over the years, I have been to many Behavioral Health Facilities and worked with many doctors, nurses and social workers, and the breakdown was always after hospitalization...there was never anywhere good for my brother to go to after for continued care. There was never a great psychiatrist to work with that didn't overmedicate my brother. It is so sad to see some of the places he has been sent to live. In my opinion, there is so little disabled housing in our community that has decent living conditions. I have seen board and care housings in Vista and Escondido. I refer to them as "glorified crack houses." Elderly, disabled and mentally ill are all shoved in one housing complex. Some people using and dealing drugs, convicted felons making threats, people have beat up my brother, you name it. God, I can't even begin to tell you the stories. It's unacceptable to take someone in recovery that just had good treatment and put them in place like this. Success stories...I think not. That was where we always went back to square one, that is until I found Lewis at Tender Loving Mercy.

I was looking for somewhere for my brother to live that could help manage everything with his budget with SSI, MediCal, etc. I was working with Telecare, a great resource I found about a year and a half ago when my brother was released from Crestwood, a Behavioral Health Facility. Telecare sends doctors and nurses to check in with my brother weekly to ensure he is doing okay. I stay out of this part because the ultimate goal is for my brother to be able to manage his life on his own. I was so hesitant to call Tender Loving Mercy. I’ve been so let down over the past 20 years by this type of housing. The two good ones I had found were full, and the women who ran them were getting ready to retire. All I could think is, what will our community do if they close their houses down? There already aren’t enough beds for treatment facilities that have people in a crisis on waitlists. Less housing would lead to more people in crisis living on the streets. I called Lewis and spoke with him and was blown away by his willingness to accept my brother into his housing when so many had said no and given up on him. I was hopeless, and Tender Loving Mercy gave me a glimmer of hope. I could tell this man knew what he was doing and had good intentions.

It's been a bumpy road this past year since my brother moved in. We’ve had a re-lapse with drugs, a few runaways with some nights on the street and a Fentanyl overdose. By the grace of God, thanks to well-trained staff and Narcan. My brother's life was saved. After that scare, we had our first Christmas with my brother since I can remember. When these good things happen, my family and I just think, " OK, now what…it’s too good to be true,” but guess what? Fast forward to Easter, and we all spent the day together. It was perfect. I must give credit to my brother who is putting in the work and is the most resilient human being I know. But man, Lewis and his very small, understaffed, underpaid team are changing this man’s life. They treat him like a fellow human, with dignity and respect. They are teaching him good habits to become independent and self-sufficient. They are doing the work that is keeping people off our streets. Today my brother is taking care of himself, managing his medication, visiting with his doctor, eating well, has been sober for a few months and has a girlfriend he sees on the weekends. He is looking better than ever, and I couldn’t be more grateful. THIS IS THE ANSWER TO HOMELESSNESS. Trust me, after years and years of suffering and trauma; I feel like we have found a light at the end of the tunnel. The thing is, situations like my brothers are so fragile. Tomorrow we could go back to square one. Addiction is real, and it never really goes away, but with good support systems, proper continued care, a good environment, good housing and love, I truly believe we can re-write the way it has to be when one is suffering from a brain health crisis. YOU ARE NOT ALONE!

Join me in helping keep men and women off the streets and ending the cycle of addiction. It takes a village, and your donations will help pay rent, buy house supplies, provide counseling and classes, and provide groceries to make breakfast, lunch and dinner for the 60+ residents in Oceanside, CA. Right now, they get food donations from the Food Bank, but it’s not enough. Lewis wakes up at 3 am every day to start making breakfast for everyone. He and his team give rides to doctors' appointments, counseling, the store, you name it. Their van is about to break down. If you know anyone who wants to donate one, reach out. My dream is to be able to buy these properties for Tender Loving Mercy. I think we could build better housing than this for them to facilitate and staff. They have the method in place; all we need to do is replicate it, and we can help more people and clean up our streets humanely. I would love to be able to raise enough to hire them extra help in the kitchen and for housekeeping. There needs to be housing like this in every town that is facing homelessness. Community coming together can do wonders. Come on San Diego! I was born and raised here, and it doesn’t have to be like this. Together we can bring positive change to those suffering. We can clean up our streets together. Let’s set an example for the rest of the state, the nation and even the world. This is the way. I promise. Thanks in advance for your contribution to this cause; that means so much to me. You only get one brain. Take care of it. Mental Health Matters.

More information about Tender Loving Mercy Inc: http://www.tenderlovingmercy.com

As I said, they are understaffed, so their website doesn’t even reflect a bit of all the work they are doing.