Will it ever end?

Will it ever end?

I had been given a guarantee by the social worker at the hospital that Elizabeth’s father would not be sent to a homeless shelter. Last night during Elizabeth’s weekly phone call with her dad, he mentioned that they were talking about sending him to the Market Street Mission. Today I called the social worker who promised me he would not be homeless. She said he is currently in the acute ward. In other words, he can only stay there a short time. She also said that he had been accepted into her first choice half-way house. However, he needs some income to go there. Because he never bothered to apply for social security disability benefits, he has no income. According to the social workers it can take six months for SSDI to start paying out. He can’t stay on the acute ward six months and he can’t go to the half-way house until the SSDI starts. They are going to start the process to have him committed in an involuntary ward. It’s a drastic measure, but the only way they can keep a roof over his head until the SSDI starts. However, there is a chance he won’t get admitted to the involuntary ward because he presents as very high functioning. So, in the end, there is still a chance he will be on the street.

I wish I didn’t care. I wish I could just wash my hands of this and turn my back. But he is still a human being in need and Elizabeth is the only person he has left in the world… At least she will know that someone tried. I did the best I could while still protecting her.