Dilemma

Pete was surprised to get an invitation from Dave early Saturday afternoon for a trip to downtown Sette. Pete was sharing the condo with Dave and regarded Dave with respect due for a senior housemate. Dave was relatively aged and working with a software company as a senior developer while Pete had started his career last year with an eCommerce company.

Pete had been feeling the stress of working from home for a few weeks and thought of this trip as a good opportunity to get together with a good friend and get some fresh air.

Due to Coronavirus, most of the companies in the region had asked employees to work from home. End of February, Governor had announced state of emergency but had to follow it up with Stay at Home orders in less than a month. 

“With all the changes in last couple of months, Dave’s invitation is more than welcome for me. I love driving, especially on the long floating bridge connecting downtown” thought Pete as he drove towards Dave’s home.

As Pete took out the car from garage, he was surprised when car’s rear door opened followed by the sound of a couple of bags dropping on the rear seat.  

“Just some cookies, bread and some tinned food.” said Dave as he sat in the front seat.

“Are we going for a picnic?”

“Sort of. We will deliver this to a few folks who will have picnic. You tell me how you are adjusting to this new work from home reality?” said Dave while adjusting the Car navigation system to the destination in Sette.

“I am totally stressed out and was eagerly waiting for the weekend. There is no start time and no finish time. I am missing the regular office hours”

“How bad is it”

“I almost zoned out on my last call this Thursday. It was nonstop 14-hour calls without even a lunch or bathroom break. Work has increased for all teams. This pandemic is really taking a toll.” Said Pete as he turned the car on to the freeway.  

“Here is a pair of disposable gloves for you” said Dave pulling out a pair of white gloves from his pocket

“What is the mission”

“You know that I have been working on weekends with homeless folks for some time. We collect food from donors and deliver it at the homeless shelters.”

“That’s so cool. Tell me more.”

“These homeless folks stay in temporary shelters and are just trying to make ends meet. Some of them have jobs but most are still trying to find one.”

“Agreed they don’t have a permanent house. But why temporary shelters? Why can’t the shelters be permanently placed?”

“As per the local regulations, they are supposed to move every 90 days”

“That doesnt sound logical. After this pandemic is over, I will take it up in the forums where I can” Said Pete, the man of action

“This is how the local regulations are. The place we are going today, is a new one for me as well. They moved to the new place yesterday. I had collected food a few hours back and found the new address.”

“Talking of regulations, aren’t we flouting stay at home orders by just driving down?” asked Dave just to extend the conversation as also get Pete’s perspective.

“Aren’t we doing something good for society? Why would anyone ask us not to?” responded ever excitable Pete.

“But where can the authorities draw a line? What is essential and what is not?”

“If feeding the needy is not essential, what is? Are you doubting your own mission?”

“I am thinking about the perspective of the authorities who are supposed to enforce the stay at home orders. Ours is a small Not for Profit organization working in this area. There could be volunteers doing this work even without the umbrella of such an organization. There is nothing wrong in the intent. However, there is possibility of others going out just for fun or for non-essential work. How will the authorities be able to distinguish between the two groups?” asked Dave as the car stopped at the traffic light.

Their conversation was interrupted as there was pounding at the rear of the car. While a few pedestrians were crossing in front, there was one young man who was walking in between the cars which had stopped at the red light and pounding his fist on every car he was passing by. Pete was agitated by this but did not have enough time to react as one of the pedestrian in front made an ugly gesture by raising the middle finger as while passing in front of the car.

“Let’s go.” Said Dave as the signal turned Green. Car’s navigation system simultaneously announced that the destination was on to their right.

The location was at an intersection, just off the main road. It was a depression in between two perpendicular roads. An unpaved path led to the area where tents were pitched in an orderly fashion. Just short of the unpaved path was space enough only for one car to park. Dave quickly got off the car. He was surveying the site while wearing gloves and cloth mask and signaling Pete to do the same

“When it rains heavily, this place is going to be miserable.” Said Dave looking at the row of tents in the low-lying area. Pete still visibly upset, was in the driver’s seat and staring in the direction of the traffic signal they had just crossed. A group of young boys was lazily walking to the other side.  

As Dave was unloading the food bags from the car, a young man approached and said, “I want cookies” For sure it was not a request.

“We will leave it in the pantry, and you can take it from there” said Dave politely

“I want cookies” repeated the man

Dave looked at the six feet man with an unfriendly expression and let him take a handful of cookies from the bag.

By the time Pete got out of the car, the tall guy had already turned and gone towards the intersection.

“Who was that guy?” asked Pete

“I thought he must be one of the homeless from this shelter but doesn’t look like. Don’t worry. Let’s get going”

“This area is not safe” said Pete helping Dave by taking one bag from him

As they walked down the slushy path, they saw a barricade with only a small passage to let one person in. There were two middle aged men sitting on plastic chairs right across the barricade.

“We have some food for the residents” Said Dave

“Thank you for this. We will take it from here” Said one of them as he took over the bags from over the barricade itself.

“Is everything OK” asked Dave

“Yes. All is well” replied the same man

Mission accomplished, Dave and Pete turned back on the gradual incline to the parked car. As they were entering the car, Dave called the administrator of the shelter on the phone to check if everything was OK and got the same reply that everything was fine.

“I think something is not right” Said Dave turning to Pete who was maneuvering the car on to the road.

“And why do you say so?”

“Everything seems different in this new place. I have been visiting each of their camp site for over a year but this place is different. Even the way they have barricaded and have guards is not normal. I used to deliver the food inside the camp right up to their pantry.” Said Dave while turning his attention to left where one Police Van was parked on the roadside

“May be, this part of city is not safe”

“I guess you are right. I have been interacting with this group for a year but today they were different”

“Indifferent you mean?”

“I guess it was distrust and fear”

“And how about your earlier interactions with them?”

“Some were shy, some anxious, but most of them insecure due to uncertainties. But today it certainly was fear. Fear which is evoked by a threat. What is odd is that the people who are feeling insecure and threatened are the ones who don’t have too much to lose- not too many worldly possessions- what all can they store in their shared tents? Some of them could even be trying to find their next meal. Still they are afraid. Is it the locality or is it the impact of the pandemic?”

Before Pete could react, his phone rang. It was his Dad Brad. As Pete touched the green button on the car dashboard, Brad’s voice came up on the car speaker “How are you Pete? Hope you are taking precautions and not venturing out? We are a few hundred miles away from you but have no known cases in our area. But bad news is coming out of your area everyday”

Pete quickly explained that he was driving and was accompanied by Dave. He proudly explained the mission. He also explained the insecurities of the homeless in the current situation

Brad did not sound impressed. He wanted to talk to Dave too. Dave had met Brad earlier and had conversations beyond the regular polite conversation which one typically has with a friend’s father.

“Dave do you think that your trip is an essential service?”

“Uncle, actually Pete and I were discussing the same thing earlier. We know that our work is voluntary and could be considered borderline when it comes to essential services”

“But you are just weekend warrior.”

“That’s right. We only provide food over weekends. If we had time, we would have done the same on all days. But we have our daily jobs”

“But the question still remains if this is an essential service like the healthcare workers. Should you be risking going out for this?”

“In today’s world, there are far too many people who will need to work beyond healthcare workers even during pandemic. A typical ventilator has about 1,500 parts, supplied by 14 different countries. Even other services like sanitation, grocery etc have such deep linkages that the definition of essential is getting lost”

“While you may think that your job is essential, do you think that you should be risking going to an area which evidently is not safe and you yourself could be harmed?”

“Uncle you are right that the area is not safe. That clubbed with the pandemic makes things even more complicated for these homeless folks. Few of them who had jobs are also out of job due to pandemic. There is no remote work for clerk at a library or a closed retail store. Almost all of them are now dependent on donations. This is the time when they need the help the most.”

“There are two kinds of errors. Type 1 is premature increase in risk exposure and Type 2 is excessive caution. My suggestion is not Type 2. Don’t you think that you are leaning towards Type 1? Moreover, could you be a carrier of the virus either to the shelter or from the shelter? Don’t you have that dilemma?”

“The real dilemma is not between right and wrong. It is between right and right. Should I be afraid of what I hear and what I see? Or should I extend a helping hand at a time when it is needed the most? We see fear and insecurity with the homeless folks now. We are just trying to rehumanize the situation. While we are taking all precautions, you are right that we could ourselves get impacted or be the carriers. We will think about it uncle and call you back.” Said Dave before ending the call.

What is your advice for Dave?