slipped through the cracks in the system

Went to downtown Ballard and met an old guy hanging out by the library in his wheelchair. I asked if he needed something and he requested I turn him around and point him towards the City office so he could pay a bill. I did turn him towards it but I told him the City office was closed because it was Sunday. He asked me to bring him back to the wall he'd been facing and plug his worn out electric wheelchair because it needed to charge for 2 hours.

He then asked me to go pick up his prescription for his inhaler at Bartels across the street. He pulled out his cards from his wallet and handed me his medicare card. I gently scolded him, telling him he should never hand his ID to a stranger......but that he could trust me because I'm a Christian and I would help him. He told me he was a Christian, too, and he knew he could trust me. When I returned with his prescription, a woman handed him a water bottle, saying nothing and went away. He asked me to open all the boxes because he couldn't get his hands to work properly. He had me get it all set up so he could use his inhaler and then had me pack it all away in the bag on the back of his chair. He told me that he needed a new chair, but he was very grateful for this chair that was given to him several years ago by a church in Lake City. He is homeless and I asked how he spends his nights. He said he rides the bus to and from the airport. He wasn't particularly dirty and I didn't smell anything, but I did noticed he'd wet himself. He told me a little about his life. I prayed with him for a solution and a place to live.

This was truly one of the saddest situations I've seen. From what I saw, this man should be in a nursing home. He can barely use his arms, let alone his legs. He can't breath without an inhaler, he's homeless and elderly and wheelchair bound. I'm praying his caseworker will see that he needs to be placed in a home.