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

Kidder details narratives from the recovery coach, Mike, about redefining success—each small win is a victory, particularly with substance abuse. Kidder provides short descriptions of these wins over the course of the Health Care for the Homeless Program’s experience treating patients in Boston.

Jim is arraigned for “unprofessional gift-giving” before the board. Tony had reported this in order to help Jim since he thought Jim was being asked for money too often by patients on the street who sometimes wait in line only to see him. Tony then gets hospitalized and gives Jim a hug—which he’s never done before. Jim notices that Tony is struggling, and Kidder details Jim’s efforts to try and help him find housing.

Kidder details the many legal hoops that prevent sexual offenders from obtaining housing—in Tony’s case, he’s required to register as a sex offender to get housing. However, it is much easier to register once one is housed, thereby creating a paradox for Tony.

Tony attempts to get registered and take care of outstanding warrants for not having done so. Dr. O’Connell and Kidder accompany him to court. Tony is frequently dismissed, either because the courts need supplemental documentation or because his public defender is overburdened with cases. Tony never sees the same judge twice, and Jim becomes frustrated.

Tony takes Kidder and Jim through his childhood neighborhood, showing them the place where he saw his first murder, the home in which he grew up, and the basement where he was apparently kidnapped and raped by his neighbor. Kidder observes that Tony seems distracted when telling this story and considers this strange.

Tony becomes paranoid during his stays at the McInnis House, and his warrants still aren’t resolved. His warrants are eventually dismissed, but he must continue to maintain registration as a sex offender for the rest of his life if he hopes to avoid them.

Tony progressively gets worse, his stays in the hospital increasing in frequency and plagued by his paranoia. Jim sees Tony at Mousey Park, and Tony asks if he can talk to him privately. Tony confesses the real abuse he experienced at the hands of Father Alan E. Caparella, who’d been sued posthumously for sexual assault against a child. Tony tells Jim he thinks he is cursed—that anyone around him will experience harm, including Jim. Jim tells Tony how important he is in everyone’s lives and pleads with him to stay at the McInnis House. Tony says he will, though he disappears again despite needing to register as a sex offender before the deadline. Jim falls ill and needs a pacemaker, and his patients visit him in the hospital.

Tony dies during the night a block away from Seven-Eighty from a drug overdose. Kidder details the impact his death makes on the patients and practitioners of the Street Team. His death causes pain for many people, but Tony himself, Jim reassures many people, experienced no pain in the end. Kidder looks up Tony’s original charge. The details are disturbing, but Jim states that what matters is how Tony acted once he came to the clinic; Tony was a nurturer who took care of everyone around him. To honor Tony, members of his community leave a small memorial in Mousey Park, which Jim finds and of which he takes a picture.