Once Christopher Rogers worked security details at the Pine Street Inn, watching over the homeless men who shuffled in and out of the shelter. Now he sleeps there, in a room with 17 other people.
Years ago, Rogers walked a beat in the South End and Brighton, keeping an eye out for criminal activity. These days, he rambles along the streets of Boston, filling the hours until he can return to the shelter.
Until 2006, Rogers was a Boston police officer, respected by many of his peers, a member of a department singing group, and beloved by the students he worked closely with as a community service officer. Since June, he has been homeless, the culmination of a long decline that he says began with a 1987 domestic call that left one of his colleagues dead.
His fall has shocked former colleagues, who want to help him regain his footing, but also see in him a cautionary tale about how a seemingly stable life can be so dramatically transformed.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/09/12/former_police_officer_finds_himself_homeless/
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
