Written by Hayley Ruffner
*UPDATE: On Monday, March 4, we helped move Mr. B and Karin into an efficiency apartment. We are grateful they have a place to stay for the next month or so, but this came to us as a temporary solution. They are still in need of a permanent place to call home. If you have a creative solution or idea, please reach out to us.
Extraordinary relationships are often built through ordinary moments. The trust that is built in a relationship comes slowly over the course of days, weeks, and months. Day in and day out life. I was reflecting on this thought last week as we sat in the UT Southwestern Oncology waiting room area as our friend Sharone Brown, affectionately known as Mr. B, began cancer treatment.
There was nothing extraordinary about the morning. It was a doctor's office, a lot of waiting, a car ride home, and help up the stairs to his second story apartment. But it struck me how extraordinary it is to be in relationship with people like Mr. B and walk alongside him through the ups and downs of life.
We have gotten to spend a lot of days with him over the years- days of befriending on the streets, chatting, sharing laughs, swapping life stories, birthday celebrations, leaving the streets and moving into an apartment, annual Valentine's brunches, visits in his living room to just say hi, and now cancer treatment. The time and consistency of the ordinary has grown into something we value as extraordinary.
Last month, we got the news that the apartment complex Mr. B and his girlfriend Karin have lived in for the last 2 years was bought by a new management company. They are enforcing new criteria and Mr. B and Karin will no longer be allowed to live there.
They have until March 1 to find a new home, and there are some challenges associated with finding the right solution: the rent amount that Mr. B and Karin can afford and a criminal charge from the past (over 15 years ago) are creating barriers to a quick fix.
We are fiercely committed to showing up and fighting hard for Mr. B and Karin so they don't return to the streets. But we know we don't fight alone. We have an extraordinary network of supporters like you behind and beside us day in and day out.
Many of you have even come to know and love Mr. Brown and Karin yourselves! You've invested time and resources into them. And so, if you are interested in helping us find a place for Mr. B and Karin or if you have a creative solution or idea, please reach out to info@thehumanimpact.org.
Thank you for partnering with us. Together, we are building extraordinary relationships!