Is there such a thing as too much peace and quiet?

A friend of ours recently asked me this question.  My middle-class, busy pastor/husband/father/homeowner mind immediately thought, “ Wouldn’t that be nice.”  Except it wasn’t my question; it was my friend’s question.

See, he had been trying for more than six months to fill a housing voucher.  Finding a place that accepted him and his history wasn’t easy, and then having that place pass inspection (required for the voucher) turned out to be even harder.  Finally, after all that time, he’d found a place way out at the far end of a far suburb.  It’s a small apartment complex, remote, quiet.

Too quiet, perhaps.

The voucher doesn’t include TV or Internet, and besides, those can only go so far.

What do you do when you finally score a roof over your head but it’s an hour (and bus fare) from your friends and the places you know?  How long is a day spent outdoors vs a day spent indoors with no one you know around?

Yah, he was asking a serious question.  I’ve been chewing on it for a week.

Did you know that 75% of indoor placements fail?  There are lots of whys, probably as many as there are people trying to get indoors.  Some can’t stand neighbors they can’t move away from.  Some don’t follow the rules.  For some the walls simply close in and they need to escape.  Others try hard but the money falls short (again?) and they’re outside despite their efforts.  Another group gets to the end of their housing voucher and still haven’t found a job that will take them so you guessed it – outdoors.

I’m praying that my friend meets people at the apartment complex or nearby.  I’m praying that he feels connected and a sense of home.  I’m also praying that he’ll be able to pursue a job lead or earn that other voucher so he can restart college.  In short, I’m praying he gets to be in the 25% instead of the 75%.

I’ll call him friend either way.  It just would be so good to see him able to establish himself indoors.