There’s a new sign at Old First from the Park Slope Coalition for the Homeless. It’s about calling 311 when you need to get help for a homeless person. The sign is obviously an outgrowth of the meeting of the Department of Homeless Services and the newly established Park Slope Homeless Coalition, which is made up of representatives from the community, Beth Elohim and Old First Church that was held more than a week ago at Beth Elohim. Here’s some background on why the sign is there from Andy Bachman’s blog:

And finally, we learned that the fastest way to immediate help is by dialing 311.

Sounds too good to be true, right?

Well last night, while walking home, I encountered what one would call a chronically homeless man. He was in his 30s; seemed mentally disturbed; and was silent, sitting atop a park bench near my apartment. I approached him and said hello. He looked back and said nothing.

So I walked some distance and called 311. It was 11 pm. The phone picked up and I got a very friendly city employee. She immediately connected me to DHS. I stayed on the phone for five minutes, giving a profile of the man along with my name and number. And within the hour, a team was dispatched. I was told I’d get a call today to follow up and let me know how it went.

I was impressed enough by the response. If I get the call today, I’ll be blown away.

To know, at this level, that human dignity is at the core of this city agency’s mission and that it squares with the mission of the synagogue and the church is a good sign–a siman tov–for the ecumenical and human ability to solve problems, increase ethics, and, for those so-inclined, do God’s work in the world.

As the meeting ended, I thought and said aloud, “We should overturn Term Limits in the city. Why not let the city elect the Mayor for as many terms as it takes to build this kind of culture of problem solving.”