We’re Serving Real People In All-Too-Real Situations

Almost four years ago, we opened First Step Services in the East Sprague neighborhood to be a 24-hour place for people going through Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. We really had no idea what we were getting into or that this was a drug and prostitute area. Boy, did we learn fast.

After a few months, we began getting more and more street people and decided to help as best we could with coffee, showers, food, conversation, a friendly place to go for the homeless. Some believe those who come to First Step are junkies, deadbeats and society’s garbage. They aren’t.

Some are people who got a bad deal or don’t have the education to find a way up themselves. Some are high school graduates who can’t read or write, but they were passed along through the system. Some can’t read or write, period. Some are homeless veterans. Doesn’t that give you a proud feeling in the pit of your stomach? Men and women prepared to give their lives for their country end up treated like pariah. Some never came back from Vietnam. We have guys who march up and down the street at night in full uniform. We’ve got shell-shocked vets.

Some of our regulars are even college graduates who not too long ago had well-paying jobs, but like most Americans, they, too, lived paycheck to paycheck. Some of the people are the so-called “Reagan babies.” They are mentally impaired and unable to function in society. Unfortunately, when all the institutions were closed due to lack of funding, there weren’t enough suitable alternatives for many of these people. They ended up on the streets.

The people who come to First Steps are your sons, daughters, moms and dads.

What can you do about it? We are a nonprofit organization always open to donations, of course. And we are also looking for dentists willing to work on the teeth of the clients here.

But if you can, simply come and meet some of the people at First Step. If you are not afraid to sit down and talk with someone who doesn’t have the proper clothing, who might have dirty hair and smell bad, then come and have a conversation.

You will find some very talented human beings here.

MEMO: Your Turn is a feature of the Wednesday and Saturday Opinion pages. To submit a Your Turn column for consideration, contact Rebecca Nappi at 459-5496 or Doug Floyd at 459-5466 or write Your Turn, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210-1615.