Hitting Bottom
Nathan Kahle
The Environment…
As I arrived at 1020 West Market Street I noticed a large group of people standing in line to get into The Healing Place. The Healing Place is an all male homeless shelter/recovery center for alcoholics and drug addicts and it also provide shelter and food to the homeless. I got out of my car and walked across the street to the detoxification unit and asked an African American man if I could take some notes on the environment. He invariably said “yes” and asked what the purpose was. I informed him that I am from the University of Louisville and am doing research on subcultures. He seemed skeptical and cautious about me due to the smug look on his face and how he kept observing me out of the corner of his eye. The man was tall and slender at approximately six feet and two inches in height and his hair braided in cornrows. A black wave cap covered his braids and was tied in the back. He wore long baggy jean shorts and a white tee shirt that looked four sizes too big. The unit was not very large and had an odd odor to it resembling left out food and unclean people. There were two vending machines located at the front of the unit that were side by side. To the left of the vending machine there was large metal shelving with food and drinks laid out for the clients to eat as they please. I turned around and began walking toward the rear of the building where the beds were located. There was a long narrow hallway that separated the beds located on each side of me. The beds were cheap looking, probably composed of some kind of fiberboard as opposed to wood. Between each bed was a privacy wall about four feet in height with a number on each one. The numbered beds identify each person that is staying in the unit to update their chart. Some clients were still in bed even though it was three o’clock in the afternoon. They were probably sleeping off the toxins that are still in their system while others were...