No one ever told me life was fair

So this guy comes into the building where I work because he's sick -- but not sick enough yet to be kept in the hospital, as he has no insurance. He knows he'll be mortally ill within 48 hours, because of the pattern of his disease. He can't go home to wait it out, because he doesn't have one. We don't have a program for him at present.

We are in a big city with more resources than many other places in the U.S. I am familiar with many of these resources, so we start calling around to different places. There are alot of organizations receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal funding -- but no one would help him because he didn't have an address and couldn't be entered into their systems! IN 2006! I thought we worked some of this bureaucratic shit out in the Nineties, but apparently not.

How can an ill person with multiple hospitalizations to save their life be allowed to just fall through the pavement, like they're already a ghost? How dare we call ourselves a civilization -- let alone spend gajillions of dollars telling other people how to run their countries -- when we treat our own so poorly???

I know I sound like a childish idealist, but why is it so unreasonable to think that we should be able to provide for the most basic needs of all of our residents? The fact that one of the wealthiest nations in the world still can't house and heal it's sick citizens is too fucked up to fathom.

(On a positive note -- the guy has food and shelter for tonight, and a pretty reliable provider appointment for tomorrow. I guess it's something. It just isn't enough.)


(And on another aggravating note -- while I was google searching an image to go with this posting, I found a variety of organizations that provide Bibles and Bible study for the homeless. Hey, every little bit helps, but wouldn't it be a wiser investment of time and materials to provide the homeless with homes? Please see Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.)