If you’ve spent any time in downtown Erie over the past few years, chances are you’ve seen Raymond.
He could often be spotted roaming the sidewalks, searching for food or asking for money, with a battered blanket draped around his shoulders.
Raymond is transient by nature, an unmoored wanderer by choice. For nearly 30 years, he lived without a permanent home—not because opportunities were unavailable, but because he rarely stayed long once he secured them. Over time, he vacillated between street living, shelters, incarceration, and the emergency room.
BUILD’s Street Outreach team began working with Raymond in 2024.
At the time, he had unmanaged diabetes, untreated mental health concerns, frostbite on both feet, and a deep distrust of the health care system. When outreach staff encouraged him to seek medical or mental health care, he would insist, “I’m fine.”
Despite the team’s best efforts, Raymond remained elusive and resistant to treatment. But they continued offering support every time they saw him, patiently building trust and supporting his well-being. They picked up his medications at the pharmacy and delivered them to him. They provided nutritional support, ensuring he maintained the strength needed to survive. And they kept showing up—with consistency and care.
More than once, they persuaded Raymond to seek hospital care, only to watch him leave a few hours later against medical advice. Over time, the frostbite on Raymond’s left foot progressed to gas gangrene, a life-threatening emergency. When Sarah Prylinski, BUILD's Clinical Program Manager, recognized the severity of the infection, she pleaded with Raymond to go to the hospital. With Sarah by his side, he went to the ER.
They were given two options: six weeks of intravenous antibiotics or amputation of his toes. Raymond looked to Sarah for advice, and, together, they made the decision to have his toes amputated. When staff asked for an emergency contact prior to the procedure, he gave Sarah’s name.
And, Raymond stayed.
He didn’t leave the hospital that day or the next. After surgery, he remained hospitalized long enough for meaningful discharge planning, something he had never done before.
Today, that choice means Raymond is alive. And healing. Nearly two months post-op, he is recovering comfortably at a local nursing home. His diabetes is being properly managed, and he is receiving treatment for his mental health. The Street Outreach team visits him regularly. As he relearns how to walk and balance, he is doing something that once seemed impossible: staying.
This is a quiet but powerful testament to the trust fostered by BUILD’s Street Outreach team. Stories like Raymond's are the result of consistent, nonjudgmental care, meeting people where they are, and being present for as long as it takes.