Rough Sleepers: Dr. Jim O'Connell’s Urgent Mission to Bring Healing to Homeless People

Tony struggles to obtain housing because of his classification as a level-three sex offender. Though Tony faces a great deal of challenges, he values his relationship with Jim, which gives him a sense of great purpose. Kidder writes that one way Tony demonstrates this is by telling people that Jim is his great-uncle—despite this being false.

As Tony and Jim work more closely together, Tony becomes a fixture in the Health Care for the Homeless Program. Tony becomes Jim’s eyes and ears at the McInnis House, keeping Jim informed about patients and helping the community grow and heal—at least as much as both Tony and Jim can.

Tony begins to regulate the McInnis House—both to protect Jim, in his eyes, and help the patients. Tony sometimes deals drugs and sometimes counsels patients about not taking them. Kidder writes about the chaos of rough sleeping through Tony. Tony becomes a reliable fixture for a time but then disappears. This inconsistency is common and wears on Jim.

Kidder writes about another rough sleeper named John Cotrone, a man who has struggled with addiction for many years. The team helps John find housing. Though John is still adjusting to life indoors, he remains living in his apartment with help from Jim, who, Kidder writes, sometimes struggles to maintain boundaries with clients. John and Jim meet at a coffee shop called Finagle a Bagel on Friday mornings, and, like Tony, John helps Jim glean information about patients on the street.

One Friday morning, Jim begins street rounds at Mousey Park. Both Tony and BJ—a gentleman in a wheelchair who had one leg amputated—are missing. BJ is at Mass General, having just had his other leg amputated due to an incurable infection. Kidder joins Jim and Eileen, a psychiatrist, for Friday street rounds. He details the patients they see, including a woman with schizophrenia sleeping under a blanket and patients with handwritten signs asking for funds.

Kidder reflects on the saintly nature of Jim’s work once again, though Jim denies this and instead feels he is a “fortunate man” (152). They end street rounds with visiting BJ, who is recovering in the hospital. He acknowledges that, as he’s felt for many years, he needs to quit using alcohol.

Kidder writes that, though the work the Street Team does is sometimes defeating, recovery is possible. He records stories of the patients who have successfully been housed and the many board members who’d been unhoused, like Larry Adams and Sara Reid. Kidder tells the story of one such board member named Joanne Guarino. Joanne often speaks at public events, including an annual speech at Harvard Medical School for incoming students. She tells her life story and the impact the Health Care for the Homeless Program has had on her life. She advises the new medical students that “you gotta listen, that’s the key. You have to have compassion” (161). The students cheer for Joanne.