The Haywood Street Congregation is setting up a respite for homeless people discharged from medical facilities. The concept of discharging to homelessness is old. I recall a guy from Connecticut telling me about the same experience when he was released from prison with no shoes, no home, no money, no food, no source of income, and a record to make sure it stayed that way. He asked the orderly what he was to do, and she replied, “Do what you do best.” He took that to mean he was to revert to a life of crime.

Well, homeless people are just about as bad off when they’re tossed out on their ears. That’s why other facilities in WNC used to bus them to Asheville upon discharge. We’ve got lots of nice facilities here. Again, fishing into the memory tank, I recall a lady in charge of a homeless shelter confirming stories about people being dropped off at the doorstep in slippers.

So, anyway, the good folks of West Asheville are going to try to keep ten beds for homeless people who have been hospitalized. It is not considerate to those who subsidize hospitals to let the stabilization, etc. go to pot. However, I should add that it is not only the homeless who are tossed out on their ear. Today, I have three pages of prescriptions I have to get in order for somebody who is going to be released from a facility on the holiday. We had to demand a sneak preview to give the pharmacy and assistive medical equipment suppliers a fighting chance.