I received a text about an hour ago that a longtime guest and one of my favorites passed away in the heat this afternoon. Her body was found in broad daylight under the screaming sun.

I’m blood boiling pissed. Our neighbors experiencing homelessness deserve better deaths.

She was hilarious (but a mean drunk), beautiful, so damn smart and she took no shit (but served up lots of it). She was a veteran and indigenous. She had family who loved her, a son who called to check on her often.

The housing we connected her to never worked out, she desperately needed compassionate supportive services.

She’d spend holidays with her son and grand children, upon her return to our program she’d tell us all about the meals made with real butter.

She loved coffee with cream and sugar, grits and pancakes. Fresh soft fruit made her gitty.

Her life deserves to be remembered publicly and in the time of COVID, Twitter is what’s available.

Thanks for reading.