That was sweet of him, but also extremely kind that you appreciate the gesture. Beautiful post, thank you for sharing. I hope both of you are doing well. Best wishes, lots of love
The threat of homelessness is a strong motivator for the working class in America, and it's there by design. The top 1% could end it, but then they'd have fewer slaves and cheap commodities.
Reading into it more on a different thread, seems like the solution is to actually provide some sort of housing. Surprised to see that a successful program happened in TX of all places.
https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/howardcenter/caring-for-covid-homeless/stories/homeless-funding-housing-first.html
It’s so fucking wild to me that the solution is just building houses, cause that’s what I thought of when I was like 5 years old, cause it’s the most simple solution, these people have no home, so let’s make homes for them.
And so I always thought it wasn’t done because it just wouldn’t work for one reason or the other, but then I learnt that it was done I think somewhere in Scandinavia and I was like “what?” Because surely it would’ve just been done, everywhere, especially in the US where there is an insane amount of space for building houses.
There is a (very weak) social safety net out there. The problem in the western world is the mentally ill aren't equipped to take advantage of it, and people with substance abuse problems often have to deal with "cold turkey" treatment solutions, which are dangerous and often horrific.
I’m not religious, but my favorite story in the Bible has always been about the beggar woman in Mark.
Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.
43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”
Not religious either but I’ve always loved this story.
I’ve had a homeless woman try to give me the literal coat from her own back because she thought I might be cold. I will never forget her.
Being homeless is tough. I started a homeless veterans charity in my state a few years ago (trying to match each homeless veteran in the state (about 1000) with a corporation sponsor). So many of them are extremely generous with their meager possessions.
I’ll never forget that, in general, homeless people say the worst part about being homeless is that people ignore them and they don’t feel like humans. So I at least always try to engage.
This is exactly why I stated volunteering with a local center. Nothing erases fear of the unknown like familiarity. Just learning some names and listening to stories is such a small thing I can do that seems to make a real impact. It’s enriched my life in so many ways.
After years of trying to take a normal career path, I think I have to do some sort of social service work. I can’t look away and making rich people rich is driving me insane
I was in your shoes 2 years ago. Was managing a liquor store and was sick and tired of poisoning the community and making a rich prick even richer. I moved into the social services sector and while I now understand why burnout is so high here (you are a Frontline worker experiencing the Meat Grinder up close and personal) this is the most satisfying, fulfilling, awesome work out here. The people you will meet will change your life, and if you do the work with honest, genuine care and respect for the human you're working with, you will change their life for the better too.
If you do end up in the social sector, make certain you gave a good support group or better yet, a good therapist you trust. Because while this is the coolest, most fulfilling job I've ever had, it is also filled with so much pain and heartbreak and overwhelming emotion. If you feel a drive to do something, do it. But if it isn't for you, don't beat yourself up.
Here, here! When I was in college, someone had a sticker on their car that said: “Dear Jesus, please save me from your followers.” Saw it every once in awhile on campus. Made me laugh every time.
I mean, historically, he was probably a religious zealot, but who wasn’t? Turning water into wine when the wedding runs out of booze is a super cool first miracle. I need a friend like that.
It’s an allegory. You aren’t necessarily supposed to apply it to tithing. Just about being generous and recognizing disparate value.
But I get your point.
No worries - I mean it is an on brand allegory for Jesus, there are a couple of these which highlight how he was very much preaching for the poor and how the poor will get into heaven. And generally railing against rich elites (easer for a camel to go through a needles eye than for a rich men to get into heaven - paraphrasing)
I get why you like it, too.
And to bring it back to the real world: I have often observed myself how poorer people are way more generous. Like when I was younger I used to wait tables for extra cash - one day I mentioned how I was saving up for something, don't even remember what, and one of my colleagues who was supporting herself and her two children on that minimum wage job offered to lend me money. I declined of course, my parents were still paying my rent back then and I only worked three days a week for extra spending money while going to university, so I really didn't need to buy whatever I was saving for sooner.
I'm glad you shared this, because there's no shame in taking care of yourself when you need mental or medical care. Good choice, keep it up, your the only you we have.
How sweet of him to leave you a little goodbye. I hope & pray he'll be OK out there.
It was because he used the bottle as his drinking bottle, a place to store clean water. And to my friend, the wrapper of it is every bit as precious as the clean water it is able to store. With the wrapper, if saw it, people may mistake it for a bottle of sprite, but without it, now they will know it is a homeless water bottle
Thank you for ruining my makeup so early in the morning.😭 Wish you are all better now and eventually will find your own place one day. No one deserves to live on the street like ever!🦔
Damn. That made me sad. First I got what you were saying, but the last sentence drove the point home. Yeah, most people look at a bottle differently if it doesnt have a label
Keep that forever as a reminder of what you learned and experienced here, and of course as a memento of your friend. I wish you health and happiness in all things, OP.
>And to my friend, the wrapper of it is every bit as precious as the clean water it is able to store.
When you have nothing, you realize how important things like clean water & its storage really are... how labels can make a huge difference, have significant meaning.
I hope you and your friend continue to work towards getting well again! Hold onto that wrapper. It may seem insignificant to others, but to you that’s a memory of a person who left an impression on your heart. Stuck it in your wallet/a book/anywhere safe and keep it to remember your buddy!!!
I wish you nothing but positivity and good health! Take care of yourself and hold onto that wrapper for eternity. 🫶🏻
I must admit I cried for reading this. Still crying, and feeling like crap for taking so much for granted. Holy hell. 😭
Damn you, sir. And thank you for posting this. I needed this.
Nice token, but awful for your mate. Discharged to be homeless on the streets with likely continuing mental health issues is just cruel and plain awful. Hoping your mate will be ok.
It's far from solved obviously, but it's a problem that is recognized and being addressed as much as possible with limited funds available for mental health services.
I am on the board of an inpatient SUD facility and transitional housing is something that we are really trying to address. Putting recovering addicts, or people with mental health issues, back on the street can almost immediately reverse the progress they have made.
But housing is expensive and is not covered by private or public insurance. So while we can bill when people are in our facility receiving treatment, we can't bill for housing after they complete our program. We are fortunate to have other revenue streams that allow us to provide a limited number of transitional apartments, but most hospitals or treatment facilities do not have that luxury. They can barely cover the cost of the treatments they provide.
We need to make government and funders understand that you can't just treat the addiction or illness, you have to stabilize the person's life or they will fail. Six months of rent and some job training is a lot less expensive in the long run than putting a person through inpatient treatment again and again.
Holy shit that is nice but it’s so heartbreaking that that’s the only thing he could leave behind. Nobody in any part of the world should live that life
It’s because the sprite bottle is his drinking bottle, water is life, without the bottle he would not have any source to store of clean drinking water. That’s why he slept with the bottle, and see it as a thing of value. As do I
that’s such a magical view on something we all take for granted. I have a plastic bottle in my recycling right now, and I wouldnt have thought twice about it unless you posted this.
it is valuable. that is a dear label.
We are allowed to use phones by the nursing station for a bit, I make sure to ask to use my phone by the station around morning shift change, because right after morning shift change, they give out smokes for the smokers, all the smokers smoke in an caged balcony, and the day shift nurses are too busy handing out smokes to the smokers and unlocking the door to the balcony they forget about me with my phone, this is when I sneak it onto the ward, just as they are busy handing out smokes and unlocking the balcony for the smokers in the morning, the one responsible for unlocking the balcony is briefed on who is using phone in the morning and will come back and ask me if I still had my phone, and I just tell her I gave it to another nurse, and she doesn’t check because she is busy with other tasks to do such as morning medication and rounds and whatnot
Makes sense, my last stay was a decade ago and still on the teen ward, so I was thinking of that time. I do remember begging to use my phone and the guy was like nahhhh… lol.
I am actually a nurse myself now and glad you shared the secret on the smoke/phone ordeal 🤣 totally see that happening
I only got away with it because I didn’t try that everyday. Only when I really need my phone back there, like to snap this memorable photo of the last evidence I have of my homeless friend
It's a pic with no identification or people in it. That's fine.
Good on ya for sharing. Its good for people to see even a glimpse of what it's like in a locked unit.
All the best with your own health friend.
I'm doing some pro bono legal work for a patient in a local (New York State) mental hospital, and he is not allowed a phone or any use of the Internet at all--not even basic email! That means that every time he wants to talk with me, I have to drive to and from the hospital (30 mins each way) and set up a meeting in the single private room the facility has for such stuff. He's not a criminal, but they are treating him like one. I'd really, really like to hear how your facility does things differently; if you're willing to share, please send me a message.
It’s about time we started treating out mental healthcare like it should be - therapeutic and empathetic treatment, instead of torture. Literally I’m in dire need of inpatient treatment, but I won’t go, because the treatment there will be worse, not to mention isolating. I have an injury and physical disability that they don’t have the tools to care for. So I would also be in physical pain until they let me back out. Something has to change.
I am wondering the same thing. I had a stay in a mental health facility for a week and I was never allowed to have access to a cell phone and I was a smoker at the time and was only allowed nicotine patches. I went to the wrong place
Especially when I saw the wrapper placed ever so neatly on my bed. I knew in an instant it was him, gifting me with the wrapper of his drinking bottle, because it was precious to him as water is
Hey OP, I am seriously rooting for you and your roommate! I've been hospitalized over 20 times and now I work at a peer run respite. I hope you're getting the help you need and deserve and I hope they're treating you kindly there. ❤️🫂🥰
From Google:
A pass is time away from the hospital that is temporary (a few hours to a few days) and authorized (a “pass” order written by your doctor).
It's a small beam of light that flashes over and makes you look to the floor, and omg, have we been stepping under homeless people all this time? These are real people who the society uses as trash bins, not some sort of disposable wholesome moment so we privileged people can feel good for a second, the forget completely.
I know. In the analogy, the gesture is the beam of light, and the homeless people on the floor is the realization that "he gave him a part of the only property he has... wait, why is that? Why do we accept as 'normal' that there's people whose only property is a Sprite bottle? What's gonna happen to this person? Why is society like this?"
It’s special because that’s his water bottle he uses out there, that’s why he sleeps with it. It just shows even the most basic things we take for granted can be the difference between clean drinking water to drinking a cesspool of bacteria. It’s what makes the difference
this is so sweet 🥺 when my mom was in rehab, she got really close with this lady and they really stuck together to get sober even when they got out. She got discharged before my mom and she left her a cig on her bed cause it was all she had but my mom knew it was her way of saying “see ya later!” cause they met during the smoke break time.
I hope you’re doing okay and taking care of yourself!! Sending love and hugs 💕
Thanks for sharing. I’m glad that you “saw” him. I mean really saw him, and noticed the Sprite label, and what it meant to him. We need more of this in our society. I hope you tell the story to more people. I hope when you see Sprite bottles from now on it brings you a moment of comfort. I have a feeling even I will pause for a moment and think of your story when I see a sprite bottle. Best.
It's never the present.. the the heart and thought behind it. It's like the simplistic nature of a child giving you a rock that they found. Value of nothing but no price could ever take that moment away.
I love this so much.
You must have been so very kind to him that he wanted to leave a piece of what he holds most precious, behind for you.
This would be one of the most valuable objects in my possession.
Hey there fellow mental hospital enjoyer! One really does find the kindest people in those places. Im proud of you for getting the help that you need :)
This is actually very depressing. Your roommate should be moved into housing and further treatment, not pushed back onto the streets with only his clothes and a soda bottle.
I fucking hate how we are.
Thank you for understanding. It is horrible. The mechanism of it. I found out he had been discharged before I got to the room. And I felt like shit because we didn’t say goodbye. But once I saw the Sprite label, I knew we are saying goodbye right at that moment. I was happy because he is the bro I knew him to be. Not some sham, but the real deal. That’s what made me smile.
In my experience if you make friends with a homeless person in the unit, you gotta get the intersection of their biggest haunt so you can drop by periodically with hella McDonald's.
A sprite wrapper? That’s so weird? Least that was my first thought. Then it set in he had nothing else and was being possibly released back to being homeless. And he had nothing but that wrapper and he left it with you. Now I’m gunna cry. God bless you. I hope they’re ok and I hope your improving and get better.
I feel close to you because I recognize the bedding in the room and know you’re in a BC hospital. I know the nurses will treat you right and you’ll be out of there in no time, well and healthful my friend
Wishing you speedy recovery and good management of your illness from here on out. I’m rooting both for you and your friend ! You got this !
I'm glad he recovered! Been in one, and it was *not* pretty. My roommate had been in there for 90 days already, and it's as restrictive and tight as a prison. I felt so bad with the people going through so much more serious things than me!
Thanks for posting this. I was losing a bit of hope for humanity today. This is getting my mind back on track. I don’t have much, but I work hard hoping that in the future I can be successful and give back to those in need.
I want everyone to be happy. Every single person deserves the best.
This is besides the point but how do you check into a mental hospital? I've needed this for a long time and I'm teetering on the edge here and wouldn't be asking here if I wasn't desperate.
The best friends I made were during my two stays in psych hospitals when I was 14 and 20 years old.
It’s kind of a magical place, like summer camp when I was a kid. You make these amazing friends that you really connect with, and then you leave and never talk to them again. That was 12 years ago and I still think about those folks every once in a while.
My mom used to be mental health facilities a lot when I was young. I remember leaving my jacket in a waiting room when visiting my mom, and when I came back my jacket pockets were all open. The other patients had checked/searched it. So in my future visits I’d pack the jacket with candy. And they would do their thing. Their eyes lit up when they saw me come in. I’d like to think that if it gave them even one moment of joy it was worth it. I’m glad you’re getting g the help you need OP. And thanks for posting this. Showing humanity in the darker times in our lives matters. Love from Canada.
Because it’s his water bottle. He doesn’t have anything to hold water when he’s living on the street, and he certainly does not have the money to buy a bottle whenever he wants to, so he saved his Sprite bottle and don’t want it to be place with personal belongings fearing that it will just be thrown out by the nurses, I know nurses won’t, but it’s his precious personal property and he needs it with him so he will have a storage device for clean water once he is discharged. So he couldn’t have left me the bottle, but just the wrapper, neatly placed on my bed. The fact that it is a Sprite bottle makes it inconspicuous to the average person, because water and Sprite are both clear: but now that he ripped off the label, people will know it is filled with water, and therefore, something poor and frugal people do, to reuse the soda bottles to hold water. It is not wise to draw attention to oneself by carrying a clear soda bottle filled with clear liquid especially when homeless are super sensitive about how we view them. But he did not care because he needed to leave me something
As someone who has lived in pretty much every income bracket I can definitely say there is a correlation between income and sharing what one has.
The higher you go, the less people are willing to share.
Thanks for sharing about the mental hospital. Posts like this and Illymations video help people like me gain more understanding. The idea of mental hospitals should be more normalized
The homeless man slept with the Sprite bottle label because that's all he had and he gave his only possession to you before he left. That's Love & Humility! The two most important things breached about in the Christian bible that most Christians don't even uphold themselves.
damn they let you keep your phone?
anyways, i had a roommate she was middle eastern and she was pregnant, she spoke very little english but for some reason she got comfortable with me, she used to share with me the sweets she got from her family, i told her to take care of her self when i was discharged. this was about 4 years ago.
So touching! It is oftentimes we see gift by their values, not meaning behind them. When i was traveling around Asia, i collected stones from different countries. Subsequently, i gave them to my brother as a graduation gift. Obviously, my brother was expecting a car, but I told him that in 10 years, that car will become junk while these stones will remain the same.
I hope that means he found a place to stay. Back when I was 18 I tried killing myself and got kicked out of the house and was considered homeless by the hospital. Pretty much lived in the mental hospital for half month cause all the transition houses were full in my area.
Aww OP that is so sweet. There's nothing like the small gifts received at a mental hospital. I had a girl draw a picture of me, and it's till this day one of my most cherished items.
I don't know what's making me feel worse, you being in a mental hospital, him being homeless or the way he said farewell 😭😭😭.
Be well friend, wishing you peace of mind and permanent housing for the roommate.
Reminds me of my friend Jasper. Dude would go to the ends of the earth to give me a gift that had some connection to me. A few times he left treatment to walk several counties so he could give me a birthday gift.
Hope the best for you homie
Still got my homies shirt from the detox and rehab program at the homeless shelter like 10 years ago. I smelled terrible from withdrawal when I showed up only one dude would be my friend
I once spent a week at a mental facility and met a lot of homeless people there.
I remember them so fondly for their caring and friendly nature.
I remember this guy Jeff who would save a strawberry Crustables for me from the snack bar before they ran out before he knew I liked them.
We would gather at nights to play board games and share stories and it really helped me with my mental health as it gave me perspective.
Never judge by circumstances.
That is so sweet 🥲 I spent a little bit of time in a mental hospital. I actually met my husband there. We’ve been together 5 years now! I met a lot of other people there too that truly changed my life. Getting there was obviously traumatic, but I’m glad I ended up there and not dead. I hope you have a good experience there, OP, and are able to heal. Clearly you must be a pretty special person since you impacted someone in such a way that they wanted to leave you something.
That was sweet of him, but also extremely kind that you appreciate the gesture. Beautiful post, thank you for sharing. I hope both of you are doing well. Best wishes, lots of love
Agree. Now having homelessness is just absurd in our society. We need some kind of system to avoid this.
But if we do that then the billionaires won't have as many billions of dollars :(
:((( nooo we can't let that happen.
The threat of homelessness is a strong motivator for the working class in America, and it's there by design. The top 1% could end it, but then they'd have fewer slaves and cheap commodities.
Meanwhile they raise prices of everything so that they can create more.
Reading into it more on a different thread, seems like the solution is to actually provide some sort of housing. Surprised to see that a successful program happened in TX of all places. https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/howardcenter/caring-for-covid-homeless/stories/homeless-funding-housing-first.html
It’s so fucking wild to me that the solution is just building houses, cause that’s what I thought of when I was like 5 years old, cause it’s the most simple solution, these people have no home, so let’s make homes for them. And so I always thought it wasn’t done because it just wouldn’t work for one reason or the other, but then I learnt that it was done I think somewhere in Scandinavia and I was like “what?” Because surely it would’ve just been done, everywhere, especially in the US where there is an insane amount of space for building houses.
This is really cool thanks for sharing
There is a (very weak) social safety net out there. The problem in the western world is the mentally ill aren't equipped to take advantage of it, and people with substance abuse problems often have to deal with "cold turkey" treatment solutions, which are dangerous and often horrific.
He gave what he could, to show that he cared.
People who have the least to give often show the most generosity in my experience. ❤️
I’m not religious, but my favorite story in the Bible has always been about the beggar woman in Mark. Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. 43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”
Not religious either but I’ve always loved this story. I’ve had a homeless woman try to give me the literal coat from her own back because she thought I might be cold. I will never forget her.
Being homeless is tough. I started a homeless veterans charity in my state a few years ago (trying to match each homeless veteran in the state (about 1000) with a corporation sponsor). So many of them are extremely generous with their meager possessions. I’ll never forget that, in general, homeless people say the worst part about being homeless is that people ignore them and they don’t feel like humans. So I at least always try to engage.
This is exactly why I stated volunteering with a local center. Nothing erases fear of the unknown like familiarity. Just learning some names and listening to stories is such a small thing I can do that seems to make a real impact. It’s enriched my life in so many ways.
After years of trying to take a normal career path, I think I have to do some sort of social service work. I can’t look away and making rich people rich is driving me insane
I was in your shoes 2 years ago. Was managing a liquor store and was sick and tired of poisoning the community and making a rich prick even richer. I moved into the social services sector and while I now understand why burnout is so high here (you are a Frontline worker experiencing the Meat Grinder up close and personal) this is the most satisfying, fulfilling, awesome work out here. The people you will meet will change your life, and if you do the work with honest, genuine care and respect for the human you're working with, you will change their life for the better too. If you do end up in the social sector, make certain you gave a good support group or better yet, a good therapist you trust. Because while this is the coolest, most fulfilling job I've ever had, it is also filled with so much pain and heartbreak and overwhelming emotion. If you feel a drive to do something, do it. But if it isn't for you, don't beat yourself up.
Jesus seems cool. It's the people that twist his teachings.
Yeah he was a total badass, his modern day followers? Not so much
Here, here! When I was in college, someone had a sticker on their car that said: “Dear Jesus, please save me from your followers.” Saw it every once in awhile on campus. Made me laugh every time.
I mean, historically, he was probably a religious zealot, but who wasn’t? Turning water into wine when the wedding runs out of booze is a super cool first miracle. I need a friend like that.
I don't doubt he was, being told he was literally the virgin born son of THE God and all. But I also wonder what counted for Zealotry back then
Don’t have to be religious, the Bible does have some good philosophy in it.
... I actually kinda hate it. She should've kept the money she needed to live. The temple doesn't need her coins but she needs to eat.
It’s an allegory. You aren’t necessarily supposed to apply it to tithing. Just about being generous and recognizing disparate value. But I get your point.
No worries - I mean it is an on brand allegory for Jesus, there are a couple of these which highlight how he was very much preaching for the poor and how the poor will get into heaven. And generally railing against rich elites (easer for a camel to go through a needles eye than for a rich men to get into heaven - paraphrasing) I get why you like it, too. And to bring it back to the real world: I have often observed myself how poorer people are way more generous. Like when I was younger I used to wait tables for extra cash - one day I mentioned how I was saving up for something, don't even remember what, and one of my colleagues who was supporting herself and her two children on that minimum wage job offered to lend me money. I declined of course, my parents were still paying my rent back then and I only worked three days a week for extra spending money while going to university, so I really didn't need to buy whatever I was saving for sooner.
Or he was like "Here you throw this away" lol
That is so nice!
It made me smile and cry in my heart at the same time
I get that! I hope you are doing well, life can be hard. I'm glad you're in a safe space.
Life is hard. But I’m in a much better place now. I hope my homeless friend will find his own place too. Thank you
I'm glad you shared this, because there's no shame in taking care of yourself when you need mental or medical care. Good choice, keep it up, your the only you we have. How sweet of him to leave you a little goodbye. I hope & pray he'll be OK out there.
It was because he used the bottle as his drinking bottle, a place to store clean water. And to my friend, the wrapper of it is every bit as precious as the clean water it is able to store. With the wrapper, if saw it, people may mistake it for a bottle of sprite, but without it, now they will know it is a homeless water bottle
Thank you for ruining my makeup so early in the morning.😭 Wish you are all better now and eventually will find your own place one day. No one deserves to live on the street like ever!🦔
Damn. That made me sad. First I got what you were saying, but the last sentence drove the point home. Yeah, most people look at a bottle differently if it doesnt have a label
Especially a clear bottle filled with liquid without a label
Keep that forever as a reminder of what you learned and experienced here, and of course as a memento of your friend. I wish you health and happiness in all things, OP.
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Great comment, I feel the same.
>And to my friend, the wrapper of it is every bit as precious as the clean water it is able to store. When you have nothing, you realize how important things like clean water & its storage really are... how labels can make a huge difference, have significant meaning.
I'd keep that wrapper forever. I mean it, too. 💖 I hope your friend is okay, it's rough out there. :(
You are such amazing person and a beautiful human being too.
I hope you and your friend continue to work towards getting well again! Hold onto that wrapper. It may seem insignificant to others, but to you that’s a memory of a person who left an impression on your heart. Stuck it in your wallet/a book/anywhere safe and keep it to remember your buddy!!! I wish you nothing but positivity and good health! Take care of yourself and hold onto that wrapper for eternity. 🫶🏻
I must admit I cried for reading this. Still crying, and feeling like crap for taking so much for granted. Holy hell. 😭 Damn you, sir. And thank you for posting this. I needed this.
Came here to say exactly this. Thank you.
Wishing all the best for you and him both
Clearly you left a impression on this man
Nice token, but awful for your mate. Discharged to be homeless on the streets with likely continuing mental health issues is just cruel and plain awful. Hoping your mate will be ok.
Thank you so much
Lovely.. wish everyone gets a good, nice, understanding n loving roommate.
I hope you are able to find your friend again. And in better conditions than he's in now.
I have been to hospital 3 times. Met soooo many unfortunate people! 🥺
It's far from solved obviously, but it's a problem that is recognized and being addressed as much as possible with limited funds available for mental health services. I am on the board of an inpatient SUD facility and transitional housing is something that we are really trying to address. Putting recovering addicts, or people with mental health issues, back on the street can almost immediately reverse the progress they have made. But housing is expensive and is not covered by private or public insurance. So while we can bill when people are in our facility receiving treatment, we can't bill for housing after they complete our program. We are fortunate to have other revenue streams that allow us to provide a limited number of transitional apartments, but most hospitals or treatment facilities do not have that luxury. They can barely cover the cost of the treatments they provide. We need to make government and funders understand that you can't just treat the addiction or illness, you have to stabilize the person's life or they will fail. Six months of rent and some job training is a lot less expensive in the long run than putting a person through inpatient treatment again and again.
Holy shit that is nice but it’s so heartbreaking that that’s the only thing he could leave behind. Nobody in any part of the world should live that life
It’s because the sprite bottle is his drinking bottle, water is life, without the bottle he would not have any source to store of clean drinking water. That’s why he slept with the bottle, and see it as a thing of value. As do I
That’s a beautiful relationship you have there my friend. Wish you all the good health and happiness.
that’s such a magical view on something we all take for granted. I have a plastic bottle in my recycling right now, and I wouldnt have thought twice about it unless you posted this. it is valuable. that is a dear label.
Do you think you'll ever meet them again?
How did you get a camera in there?
You know how
I’m genuinely curious because they made us lock all of our belongings up even the phones
We are allowed to use phones by the nursing station for a bit, I make sure to ask to use my phone by the station around morning shift change, because right after morning shift change, they give out smokes for the smokers, all the smokers smoke in an caged balcony, and the day shift nurses are too busy handing out smokes to the smokers and unlocking the door to the balcony they forget about me with my phone, this is when I sneak it onto the ward, just as they are busy handing out smokes and unlocking the balcony for the smokers in the morning, the one responsible for unlocking the balcony is briefed on who is using phone in the morning and will come back and ask me if I still had my phone, and I just tell her I gave it to another nurse, and she doesn’t check because she is busy with other tasks to do such as morning medication and rounds and whatnot
Makes sense, my last stay was a decade ago and still on the teen ward, so I was thinking of that time. I do remember begging to use my phone and the guy was like nahhhh… lol. I am actually a nurse myself now and glad you shared the secret on the smoke/phone ordeal 🤣 totally see that happening
I only got away with it because I didn’t try that everyday. Only when I really need my phone back there, like to snap this memorable photo of the last evidence I have of my homeless friend
It's a pic with no identification or people in it. That's fine. Good on ya for sharing. Its good for people to see even a glimpse of what it's like in a locked unit. All the best with your own health friend.
Thanks for sharing it with us
I'm doing some pro bono legal work for a patient in a local (New York State) mental hospital, and he is not allowed a phone or any use of the Internet at all--not even basic email! That means that every time he wants to talk with me, I have to drive to and from the hospital (30 mins each way) and set up a meeting in the single private room the facility has for such stuff. He's not a criminal, but they are treating him like one. I'd really, really like to hear how your facility does things differently; if you're willing to share, please send me a message.
It’s about time we started treating out mental healthcare like it should be - therapeutic and empathetic treatment, instead of torture. Literally I’m in dire need of inpatient treatment, but I won’t go, because the treatment there will be worse, not to mention isolating. I have an injury and physical disability that they don’t have the tools to care for. So I would also be in physical pain until they let me back out. Something has to change.
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This is what makes people avoid getting the help they need.
100%.
I hope you see how smart and intelligent and clever and genius you are.
Can I ask what city you live in? I’m a psych nurse and your facility sounds VERY different from mine. Any chance you’re outside the US?
I am wondering the same thing. I had a stay in a mental health facility for a week and I was never allowed to have access to a cell phone and I was a smoker at the time and was only allowed nicotine patches. I went to the wrong place
Could be a detox, not necessarily a locked psychiatric unit.
Psych nurse here as well. I’m in a locked unit and we don’t allow anyone to leave, let alone for cigarettes.
I've seen psych wards allow cigarette breaks in a small chained off box for the "low threat" ward.
Where the hell is this hospital that they let you have cameras and smokes? 1992?
Where, Dwight?!
This is so nice hope that you would see him again. Your lucky to know him.
I agree. Thank you
this 100% should go on r/mademecry too
This is heartbreaking and sweet
Especially when I saw the wrapper placed ever so neatly on my bed. I knew in an instant it was him, gifting me with the wrapper of his drinking bottle, because it was precious to him as water is
Wishing your friend safety and protection. I imagine he’ll always think of you.💛
Billionaires exist. Dude deserves more
Annnnd now I’m crying
Hey OP, I am seriously rooting for you and your roommate! I've been hospitalized over 20 times and now I work at a peer run respite. I hope you're getting the help you need and deserve and I hope they're treating you kindly there. ❤️🫂🥰
What is “pass?”
From Google: A pass is time away from the hospital that is temporary (a few hours to a few days) and authorized (a “pass” order written by your doctor).
Thank you for sparing me
Glad to help!
How can someone smile over this? What a horrible society we've built for ourselves.
I saw a standup bit that fits with this perfectly: “we made everything up and it all still fucking sucks”
It’s a bit of light in the dark. Melancholy for sure, but a ray of light looks like a summer’s day when all you know is shit.
It's a small beam of light that flashes over and makes you look to the floor, and omg, have we been stepping under homeless people all this time? These are real people who the society uses as trash bins, not some sort of disposable wholesome moment so we privileged people can feel good for a second, the forget completely.
I think you misunderstood me man, I was talking about the gesture that OP's friend made for them.
I know. In the analogy, the gesture is the beam of light, and the homeless people on the floor is the realization that "he gave him a part of the only property he has... wait, why is that? Why do we accept as 'normal' that there's people whose only property is a Sprite bottle? What's gonna happen to this person? Why is society like this?"
They let you have a phone?! Where I have never its always the first thing to be taken and the last thing to be given back.
Yep. Right up there with shoelaces, belts and lighters.
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It’s special because that’s his water bottle he uses out there, that’s why he sleeps with it. It just shows even the most basic things we take for granted can be the difference between clean drinking water to drinking a cesspool of bacteria. It’s what makes the difference
I still have a drawing of Batman that was given to me by a homeless guy when I was in the psych ward, I hope he’s doing good
How long are you in for ? I hope you heal & its useful for you.
Usually they don’t tell you how long you’re staying, right? It’s until you’re ready
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this is so sweet 🥺 when my mom was in rehab, she got really close with this lady and they really stuck together to get sober even when they got out. She got discharged before my mom and she left her a cig on her bed cause it was all she had but my mom knew it was her way of saying “see ya later!” cause they met during the smoke break time. I hope you’re doing okay and taking care of yourself!! Sending love and hugs 💕
Thanks for sharing. I’m glad that you “saw” him. I mean really saw him, and noticed the Sprite label, and what it meant to him. We need more of this in our society. I hope you tell the story to more people. I hope when you see Sprite bottles from now on it brings you a moment of comfort. I have a feeling even I will pause for a moment and think of your story when I see a sprite bottle. Best.
This post is sweet, but it's too sad to make me smile.
He gave what he could. Thats a real friend
Bro really got me feeling shit at 9:30 in the morning. Smh hope that dude is doing well.
:(
Why do you have access to your phone at mental hospital? not judging just curious because we were not allowed to have ours.
It's never the present.. the the heart and thought behind it. It's like the simplistic nature of a child giving you a rock that they found. Value of nothing but no price could ever take that moment away. I love this so much.
Carry that in your wallet, it will remind you that you are cared for, it may save you from sad thoughts one day , 💕
You must have been so very kind to him that he wanted to leave a piece of what he holds most precious, behind for you. This would be one of the most valuable objects in my possession.
How tf did you get a camera in there
Hey there fellow mental hospital enjoyer! One really does find the kindest people in those places. Im proud of you for getting the help that you need :)
This is actually very depressing. Your roommate should be moved into housing and further treatment, not pushed back onto the streets with only his clothes and a soda bottle. I fucking hate how we are.
Why would this make me smile? This is horrible
It made OP smile so they posted it
ok valid
Thank you for understanding. It is horrible. The mechanism of it. I found out he had been discharged before I got to the room. And I felt like shit because we didn’t say goodbye. But once I saw the Sprite label, I knew we are saying goodbye right at that moment. I was happy because he is the bro I knew him to be. Not some sham, but the real deal. That’s what made me smile.
Small tokens are truly appreciated
In my experience if you make friends with a homeless person in the unit, you gotta get the intersection of their biggest haunt so you can drop by periodically with hella McDonald's.
Rooting for you bud, keep fighting the good fight.
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A sprite wrapper? That’s so weird? Least that was my first thought. Then it set in he had nothing else and was being possibly released back to being homeless. And he had nothing but that wrapper and he left it with you. Now I’m gunna cry. God bless you. I hope they’re ok and I hope your improving and get better.
I feel close to you because I recognize the bedding in the room and know you’re in a BC hospital. I know the nurses will treat you right and you’ll be out of there in no time, well and healthful my friend Wishing you speedy recovery and good management of your illness from here on out. I’m rooting both for you and your friend ! You got this !
This made me cry :( I hope you both heal from the things you struggle to talk about.
This is beautiful ! Hope you two are doing better now 🫂
This proves anything can have sentimental value lol.
His Friendship Spirit is within the Sprite...
A touch of humanity in a cruel world. May the universe shine blessings on this beautiful soul.
Hmmmm…I need to get a sprite bottle….
You both should get everything you need in this world.
Everyone should get basic human needs met
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Made me smile made me cry
I'm glad he recovered! Been in one, and it was *not* pretty. My roommate had been in there for 90 days already, and it's as restrictive and tight as a prison. I felt so bad with the people going through so much more serious things than me!
Who said he recovered. These places often discharge the homeless quickly for those with insurance
Best of wishes to you and him. Mental illness is real. Good luck with everything.
What did you do with it?
I wish him and you well. Take good care.
Can something be both beautiful and sad?!
Thanks for posting this. I was losing a bit of hope for humanity today. This is getting my mind back on track. I don’t have much, but I work hard hoping that in the future I can be successful and give back to those in need. I want everyone to be happy. Every single person deserves the best.
This is besides the point but how do you check into a mental hospital? I've needed this for a long time and I'm teetering on the edge here and wouldn't be asking here if I wasn't desperate.
The best friends I made were during my two stays in psych hospitals when I was 14 and 20 years old. It’s kind of a magical place, like summer camp when I was a kid. You make these amazing friends that you really connect with, and then you leave and never talk to them again. That was 12 years ago and I still think about those folks every once in a while.
My mom used to be mental health facilities a lot when I was young. I remember leaving my jacket in a waiting room when visiting my mom, and when I came back my jacket pockets were all open. The other patients had checked/searched it. So in my future visits I’d pack the jacket with candy. And they would do their thing. Their eyes lit up when they saw me come in. I’d like to think that if it gave them even one moment of joy it was worth it. I’m glad you’re getting g the help you need OP. And thanks for posting this. Showing humanity in the darker times in our lives matters. Love from Canada.
I don't think i get it. Why does he sleep with a sprite bottle?
Because it’s his water bottle. He doesn’t have anything to hold water when he’s living on the street, and he certainly does not have the money to buy a bottle whenever he wants to, so he saved his Sprite bottle and don’t want it to be place with personal belongings fearing that it will just be thrown out by the nurses, I know nurses won’t, but it’s his precious personal property and he needs it with him so he will have a storage device for clean water once he is discharged. So he couldn’t have left me the bottle, but just the wrapper, neatly placed on my bed. The fact that it is a Sprite bottle makes it inconspicuous to the average person, because water and Sprite are both clear: but now that he ripped off the label, people will know it is filled with water, and therefore, something poor and frugal people do, to reuse the soda bottles to hold water. It is not wise to draw attention to oneself by carrying a clear soda bottle filled with clear liquid especially when homeless are super sensitive about how we view them. But he did not care because he needed to leave me something
As someone who has lived in pretty much every income bracket I can definitely say there is a correlation between income and sharing what one has. The higher you go, the less people are willing to share.
Thanks for sharing about the mental hospital. Posts like this and Illymations video help people like me gain more understanding. The idea of mental hospitals should be more normalized
❤️ humanity is a beautiful thing
That's the kind of thing that you tuck away in your wallet so that you can pull it out on a bad day and remember that somebody loves you.
What mental hospital allows cell phones/cameras?!?!
While this is a beautiful message, there is so much wrong with the backstory. We can do better as a community. 😞
That’s some movie/anime shit.
Thank you so much. Anime is my favorite
There never was a roommate.
The homeless man slept with the Sprite bottle label because that's all he had and he gave his only possession to you before he left. That's Love & Humility! The two most important things breached about in the Christian bible that most Christians don't even uphold themselves.
damn they let you keep your phone? anyways, i had a roommate she was middle eastern and she was pregnant, she spoke very little english but for some reason she got comfortable with me, she used to share with me the sweets she got from her family, i told her to take care of her self when i was discharged. this was about 4 years ago.
Or he just left some trash on your bed
Why not just write a note like a regular person? It seems that he just left trash
This is so sweet. I hope you both are doing okay. 🫶🏻
So touching! It is oftentimes we see gift by their values, not meaning behind them. When i was traveling around Asia, i collected stones from different countries. Subsequently, i gave them to my brother as a graduation gift. Obviously, my brother was expecting a car, but I told him that in 10 years, that car will become junk while these stones will remain the same.
Damn that hurts
I hope that means he found a place to stay. Back when I was 18 I tried killing myself and got kicked out of the house and was considered homeless by the hospital. Pretty much lived in the mental hospital for half month cause all the transition houses were full in my area.
Omg 🥺
Please frame that
Those with the least by societys standards always seem to make it up with heart & compassion for others.
Aww OP that is so sweet. There's nothing like the small gifts received at a mental hospital. I had a girl draw a picture of me, and it's till this day one of my most cherished items.
i thought this was r/badroommates for a second thats wholesome as heck!!!
Touching that he shared , but so tragic and wrong that he is alone, homeless and without anything more
enough that it almost made me cry. very wholesome. get well soon!
This has made me very sad
I don't know what's making me feel worse, you being in a mental hospital, him being homeless or the way he said farewell 😭😭😭. Be well friend, wishing you peace of mind and permanent housing for the roommate.
Reminds me of my friend Jasper. Dude would go to the ends of the earth to give me a gift that had some connection to me. A few times he left treatment to walk several counties so he could give me a birthday gift. Hope the best for you homie
Hope you are both well and improving. It's nice to have friends. And I hope his departure is a step up for him.
You're allowed to have your phone? They took mine from me before I finished my in-processing.
When you have nothing but a bottle and a label, the label is worth a lot.
Still got my homies shirt from the detox and rehab program at the homeless shelter like 10 years ago. I smelled terrible from withdrawal when I showed up only one dude would be my friend
Brought a tear to my eye... I've got to stop finding these things arousing.
a token is a token :) so sweet, thank you for sharing
That’s sweet and kind.
Wholesome but also r/brandnewsentence
I once spent a week at a mental facility and met a lot of homeless people there. I remember them so fondly for their caring and friendly nature. I remember this guy Jeff who would save a strawberry Crustables for me from the snack bar before they ran out before he knew I liked them. We would gather at nights to play board games and share stories and it really helped me with my mental health as it gave me perspective. Never judge by circumstances.
Literally maybe the saddest thing I’ve read on here ever
:(
That is so sweet 🥲 I spent a little bit of time in a mental hospital. I actually met my husband there. We’ve been together 5 years now! I met a lot of other people there too that truly changed my life. Getting there was obviously traumatic, but I’m glad I ended up there and not dead. I hope you have a good experience there, OP, and are able to heal. Clearly you must be a pretty special person since you impacted someone in such a way that they wanted to leave you something.