UMCR received a call about an individual loitering in a residential neighborhood, acting erratically, and refusing to leave. Upon arrival, UMCR met with the individual to build rapport and address any needs they might have.
During the engagement, it was discovered that the individual had been recently homeless and had nowhere to go. They expressed concerns about their safety and requested they be taken to the hospital. UMCR used open-ended questions to assess the individual’s situation.
While conversing, UMCR observed that the individual was displaying psychotic symptoms. With compassion and sensitivity, UMCR validated the individual’s feelings while exploring their mental health needs and providing various options. The individual shared their experience of being homeless for four days, discussed family dynamics, and explained the reasons for being kicked out of their family home.
UMCR offered relaxation techniques and asked the individual if they would like to consider voluntary hospitalization. The individual agreed, and UMCR transported them to the Pacifica Hospital of the Valley Mental Health Urgent Care Center.
When the city sleeps
and the world forgets to look,
I listen.
In the hush of midnight,
I become the drum
through which the spirit
sings its way back to the sacred.
My body remembers.
My breath slows.
And I whisper to the silence:
I am compassion.
I am love.
I am wisdom.
I am safe.
And something shifts—
not just in me,
but in the air itself.
Perhaps it’s the magnesium,
or the warmth of ritual in my veins,
but I know now—
this calm is no accident.
It is sacred memory unfolding.
It is my heart,
beating with every life I’ve sat with
in their darkest hour.
The soul, I’ve learned,
is the part of us
that cannot be overwhelmed.
And the heart?
The heart is the drum
that calls us home
when we’ve forgotten how to sing.
