Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Jeffrey Williams and the Good Samaritan
Aaron Couch is a friend, former XConnect editor & advocate for the homeless. Hes wrote an incredible & informative Op-Ed in today's Philadelphia Daily News. excerpt:
IT'S HARD not to be moved by the tragedy of Joseph Kelly Sr., who died early last week while rescuing Jeffrey Williams on the Vine Street Expressway.
Joseph Kelly Sr. sacrificed his life for a stranger. It's clear he's a hero. It's also clear that his death was avoidable. It was the result of a system that failed Jeffrey Williams and that fails a growing number of homeless Philadelphians everyday.
Williams, a disabled and mentally ill man, was seeking shelter as he crossed the Vine Street Expressway a week ago on Monday morning. This was after he was temporarily blacklisted from the city shelter system and was denied entry at one of the overcrowded church cafes that serve as a last refuge for the homeless. How did we get here?
Read the entire Op-Ed piece here.
- Frank Sherlock
