Breakthroughs and Broken Elevators

Last week was a busy one for the Cecil. There isn’t a lot to unpack, but there was a lot to process. Jamie, the wheelchair dependent resident who was featured in the LA Daily News cover-story on Ash Wednesday, plays a prominent part in both of today’s topics.

I’ll start with the breakthrough. Its big — really big. Ready?

Last week, Jaime, who speaks only a little bit of English, came to me to chat about a few things. One of those was that he cannot get to the supermarket some 9 blocks away. He had no food. I had to get this information from Liz, one of our security people who speaks fluent Spanish.

This is where Rose comes in. I’ve written about Rose before. Rose visits with me weekly, and if she hears that I am in the building on a non-scheduled day, she will seek me out.

Normally, as I’ve done before, I would take a trip to the grocery store when I was done visiting with residents. Last week, I had a meeting that I couldn’t miss at 12:30pm, so I wouldn’t be able to stop for groceries.

Rose was waiting to talk me. I had what I thought was not the brightest idea. It may have not been good stewardship of the church’s resources, either. But whether it was the Holy Spirit or momentary lapse of common sense, I made the near-instant decision to give Rose $30.00 and asked her to pick up a couple of bags of groceries for Jaime. I asked her to bring me the change and a receipt.

I went about the rest of the morning’s visit, trying to not be overly anxious about giving money to a person who is in active addiction (but who also seemed much more clearheaded that day).

About a half an hour later, Rose came back in the front door, Jaime right behind her holding a bag of tacos from Margaritas and a bag of groceries. And change. Rose brought the change.

Given Rose’s rocky start with her visits with me, I am beyond proud of the level of healing and growth that Rose has reached. I am proud of her in ways I can’t describe. This will go down as one of my best days at the Cecil.

Changing gears before I gush more about Rose…

The Hotel Cecil is 15 stories (well, 14, since they don’t have a 13th floor), and was built with two elevators. In the time that I have been there, elevator #1 has never worked. Since the first of the year, the second elevator has been out of order more than it has worked.

Jaime, completely wheelchair dependent because of a foot injury, lives on the 8th floor of the building. The. 8th. Floor. The Cecil houses a fair number of mobility impaired people. And there are no rooms on the first floor.

I asked Rose how Jaime gets to his room. She described the most disheartening and disturbing thing I have ever heard. Jaime, and a few others, leave their wheelchairs or walkers at the base of the stairs and they butt-scoot up to their room.

Please read that paragraph again.

The Cecil needs a lot of work, on the physical plane and on a more ephemeral level. It is unconscionable that there is no reasonable way for residents, able-bodied and otherwise, to get to their apartments. The residents of the Cecil are marginalized enough as it is.

I want to give kudos to one of our security staff, Matthew. He is a kind young man and I witnessed him practically carrying an older, mobility-impaired man up the stairs to his 6th floor room. I wish the Cecil had 100 Matthews.

The lack of working elevators is a slap-in-the-face for the tenants who call the Cecil home. It’s another reminder that “supportive housing” is simply a buzzword. I wonder how many residents saw hope and a chance for change when they moved in but now just feel despair.

Our work as the Cecil is community supported by readers like you. Your generous contributions helped us feed 50 people after our Palm Sunday Mass and bring tangible signs of hope each week, like prayer cards and rosaries to the residents. Please consider a monthly or one time contribution to support our work at the Cecil.

Stay tuned for the Not-So-Great Egress and clean feet!!