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Camillus House News

Abandon isolation all who enter here; we offer you community.

April 2, 2009

by Dr. Paul R. Ahr

If, as Mother Teresa teaches us, “loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty,” then many of the persons who live on the streets of Miami are doubly poor. Until they come to Camillus House, that is.

There are many causes of isolation.

Many persons who live on the streets suffer serious mental illnesses that leave them helplessly trapped in a world of imaginary friends or unrelenting tormenters. Their isolation is truly tragic. For those with few psychiatric problems, many factors contribute to their isolation and resultant loneliness.

Some choose isolation to minimize their shame at being homeless. “You isolate yourself a lot, you feel ashamed,” William admits, “You go in your shell. You don’t want people to help you. You stay alone, covered up.” Others stay away even from other persons who are homeless to avoid being taken advantage of or to minimize the likelihood of arrest. “I never ask anybody for anything,” Harcourt says. “When you’re by yourself, you stay out of trouble. When police see a lot of homeless people, they want to hassle you.” William echoes these sentiments: “There are less problems when you are alone. And, the addiction takes you into a society of not being in society.”

Yet most crave even the slightest acknowledgement from the persons they encounter everyday – a nod, a smile, a kind word – but are ignored by pedestrians and motorists who act as if they do not exist.. “I feel rejected,” Angel shares, “I decided to spend time alone to not feel rejected. I start feeling lonely.” “You’re isolated, and fearful for your well-being,” Chechy adds, “You’re an outcast.”

Regardless of the cause (with the possible exception of those who are seriously mentally ill), the effect of isolation tends to be the same for all: an enveloping sense of loneliness. William says that he becomes lonely for affection and family…and attention.: “You want to be able to love somebody. When you find somebody to take time out and listen, that brings you up.” All are eager to engage the people they encounter on the street. “You try to find a way to relate, to communicate, says Angel. “They think you want something from them. Sometimes all you want is some human contact.” All agree. Like persons who are one paycheck away from homelessness, for many persons already homeless, they are one friend away from loneliness.

Availability, hospitality and respect for all.

Many people find that friend at Camillus House. “They treat you like a family at Camillus House,” says Harcourt, “It’s togetherness here. When you’re sleeping, you don’t have to look over your shoulder. You’re not lonely any more.” Chechy says that “You feel welcome, secure.” Staff adds to that sense of togetherness by their non-judgmental availability: “You can go to anyone and they answer. We can talk about things here that we wouldn’t share on the street,” William says. Angel agrees: “Everybody can relate here.”

More than friendship, Camillus House offers community. William says that, “There’s togetherness here. When we have to go someplace, we go as a group.” When asked why she felt that Camillus House offered her community, Chechy answered profoundly, “Because I am here.” In the end, it is the availability, hospitality and respect shown everyone by the Brothers of the Good Shepherd and our staff that demonstrates to all that Camillus House is a community. It is the guest or client – the stranger - once homeless, who completes for us the guest-host community that is Camillus House. In our March 10, 2005 letter we addressed the power of the guest-host relationship as described by Henri Nouwen:

In our world full of strangers, estranged from their own past, culture and country, from their neighbors, friends and family, from their deepest self and their God, we witness a painful search for a hospitable place where life can be lived without fear and where community can be found.

Chechy knows that Camillus House is a hospitable place where life can be lived without fear and where community can be found. And, in her words, she knows it, “Because I am here.”