​                                                                                                         (Continued)

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  Jason continued on about his “manic-depressive condition” and said he took medication for it. While on the phone, I realized his eye caught the sight of the Hari Krishna man that would bring meals of rice and veggies to the homeless, and Jason ran to him. While eating his rice meal, we discussed his desire to immediately return to Astoria, Oregon.  He had family there and most importantly, had benefited from homeless resources there with a "wonderful Veterans Administration case manager.  She’s still there and I need to get back. This place isn’t working for me” he said.  I understood the importance of an individual feeling connected with a caseworker, so I agreed this decision was best for him.  I readily jotted down his info, confirmed the plan with a family member, and I asked Jason if he could fly out of Kona, since then I could give him a food card and some new clothing in preparation to return home to Astoria. He said he preferred to fly out of Hilo asap, and that he still had his EBT card for food and clean articles of clothing.

 

    I called him every day, twice a day to keep him on track for the goal of getting to Astoria. We booked his ticket and arranged for an early morning Uber ride to Hilo airport. Even though he didn’t have an original valid ID, Hilo TSA let him board the plane, however the plans were interrupted when he failed to make the connecting flight to Oregon from Honolulu. “What happened?” I asked in disappointment after
hearing his frantic voice. He wasn’t quite sure he said, but Honolulu TSA would not let him on the plane at the scheduled time and decided to reconnect him the next day. I reminded Jason to take his medication, and assured him that the setback was alright, and we were going to “reset” the goal for the bus ride to Astoria, the final part of the trek.  He slept at the airport overnight and the following day he boarded the flight to Portland.

 

    When Jason arrived, there were more setbacks: he was hungry and realized there were no funds available on his EBT card.  Only wearing a sweater, Hawaiian shorts and flip flops, the 39 degree weather was becoming unbearable.  I felt it was my error, the result of letting him go from Hilo airport, instead of leaving from Kona where we could make sure his clothing was adequate and also give him a meal card. Lessons learned. I sent funds to him through PayPal for food, but it was of no use, since he had no proper ID to claim it. “I’ve done this before” Jason said, “drink a lot of water to get full, and then pretend my stomach is full of food.” We spoke on the phone 11 times to keep him focused. 

 

    Jason bravely walked the trek an hour away to the Union station in the cold. “I made it!” he exclaimed in his text. I then purchased an online bus ticket to his brother in Astoria. It was fortuitous that a kind Union Station official let him board with limited ID, recalling that he knew him from some years back. His brother was elated that Jason was on the bus ride home and said he was prepared to pick him up at the terminal. This was Jason’s last text to me: “I would like to thank you for your help. I don’t have an ID yet and I can’t get the PayPal, but I’m thankful to have had you for an advocate.   Best Wishes.”

 

Regina Weller
Executive Director
808 Homeless Task Force
March 2024