Activity #5 - Homeless Shelter

So.. I'm in Chicago right now and we're about to do our next activity.... volunteering at a homeless shelter. The idea for this started when we did the V-day service activity and when we shared a meal and learned the story of a person without a home. I thought... like one end... is personally understanding the stories and connecting with the actual people who are in this situation. It's humanizing the situation. The other end... is what services are out there for these people? Public services and private charities. Now, I'm sure that there must be sooo many different types of services out there... from Church-run to city-run.... from shelters to soup kitchens to holistic development, etc. But, we thought that let's go volunteer at some type of place that serves the homeless population... continue to connect with people there (because that's what we do), but also learn about the services.

So, today... we helping to cook and serve a meal at Hope House of Chicago
So, here are some reflection questions after the activity:

1) What did you learn about services that are available to homeless? Specifically, what services are provided by Hope House?

2) What is your opinion on how these services support the homeless population?

3) Personal thoughts/connections/stories from the day / etc.

Astha:

1) Whenever I think of this activity, it starts with a laugh because we went in thinking that we were doing one thing and ended up doing something completely different. I'll come back to that...we learned about the services that Hope House offers from Tiffany, who is a business administrator there. Basically, Hope House serves as a transitional residence for about 100 men. Men that are ex-convicts or without means come to stay here and slowly with the shelter's help are able to move from dormitory style housing to a single room residence to the end goal of having a place of their own. It also serves as an overnight shelter for another 100 or so men during the winter months. From what I remember, Tiffany said that two to three meals are provided per day for the residents. Various life skills are taught here to help get these men back into society such as resume building, interview skills, help with searching for jobs, etc. Some men help at the shelter as well. I think some healthcare services are provided especially when entering the facility. Counseling for addictions is also available. This shelter is affiliated with another organization (i'm forgetting the name right now) that serves the Lawndale community. It seemed that both orgs did the same thing but were made separate for logistical purposes. The shelter is religiously affiliated and was started by a pastor - Dr. Lincoln Scott. There is a church that is nearby and many of the testimonials by the residents include finding peace through the Bible and Dr. Scott's preaching.

2) I think that we can both agree that being homeless involves a day to day struggle for the basic necessities of life after having gone through the day of service, our individual meals with Larry and Kevin, and our own prior experiences with the homeless. Any organization that dedicates itself to trying to reduce this huge disparity in any way has my respect. I think on paper the approach that Hope House of Chicago takes comes with good intentions. The end goal is to have these men functioning and supporting themselves after they leave the shelter. By slowly letting them work their way up with help in finding a job, giving them responsibilities within the shelter, and spiritual support, I would assume they build the confidence to face challenges on their own. What I like is that their goal is not only to hand out shelter and food but provide the services that will give them the skills to step back into "society." However, because of the mix up, we were unable to see what happens in reality for the residents of the shelter. Also, my step by step vision could be completely naive and in reality these men may get some temporary relief but fall back into the same cycle of homelessness, addictions, and prejudice that have all played a role in their lives before. I wonder how hard it is to get any sort of job once you have been in jail. We weren't able to find out the types of jobs that the residents do end up getting. All in all it sounds great. It appears to be looking at the underlying issues that are playing a role in the homelessness but because we didn't actually get to talk to the people that lived there...I'm not sure of their success rates.

3)
-First and foremost I loved meeting Tiffany. She totally welcomed us in even though she had no idea who we were and no one told her anything. She totally reminded me of you with a million and one things going on at once. I knew you knew how she felt in that room as she was trying to find one thing, answer the phone the next second, talk to another person the next and so on...:) I felt like we were sharing both ways...her telling about her personal connection to the shelter and us telling her about us. She was soo warm and you could see the passion she had for Hope House. Her dedication was inspiring.
-We go in thinking we're going to be cooking and we end up writing grants!!! How funny! Mind you, we don't know much about Hope House at all up until this point. I didn't feel too successful in the the things I worked on and wondered about the utility of it for Tiffany. It was really entertaining you type away at the Bank of America grant. That will stay with me. And the powerful speech you wrote...in these times where hope rings from the white house to....hahahahahaha. I love it! Overall it was good to be thrown off and do something that isn't our natural comfort zone.
-As I said above, we didn't get to interact too much with the residents of the shelter. We talked to the guy that answered the phone for a bit. He was chilling and answering the phone. It felt a little chaotic in there with no water initially, then it overflowing in the hallway. From what I did see of the people that were there, it just stuck out to me that everyone was black. I mean time and time again we see that in these settings the number of black people are always the most predominant. Males in general are also more common but this time it could be because its a male transitional center. I mean my lingering thought is always that even some 200 years after slavery has been abolished, this disparity between black and white exist. I always end up thinking where does it start for each individual? What homes were they raised in? Did they have someone to love them? Were they given the proper guidance and nurturing in school that would allow them to learn the way they learn best? What went wrong? Who do we blame and does that ever actually accomplish anything? I can never really find answers to any of these questions but the goal is to try to keep understanding what structures are in place that make this happen.
-Some observations about Lawndale...it is a noticeable change when you get to the area. Seemed very desolate and run down. Not going to add more but main point that you noticed a difference in the environment and the thought that the overall picture is linked in so many ways.
-Finally, it felt very natural sharing this experience with you. I feel like we work off each other's weaknesses and strengths and that is a nice feeling to have.


Raj:
I'm not too excited to write this entry... because while I loved how the day turned out, and how I definitely felt that we connected with Tiffany... I feel like everything we learned, we didn't learn it through experience or interaction with those that are actually being served by the organization. Rather, we learned things through our interaction with Tiffany and through their website, etc. Soo.. I don't feel that I have any new insights into this issue.

1) What did you learn about services that are available to homeless? Specifically, what services are provided by Hope House?
I did cheat and I read Astha's reply before writing my own... soo, I don't have much to add to this question.
Hope House provides nightly meals, a drop-in night shelter during the winter, and a more permanent place to see for those on the road to recovery. I think the key is that they are thinking about how to get folks who live on the streets back on their feet and able to help themselves. Now.. are they actually successful doing so, or not? I don't know. Do they actually have programs that are running and successful, I don't know. It seems like finances are a struggle.. and because finances are a struggle.. it seems like having a sustainable, reliable work-force is also a struggle.

2) What is your opinion on how these services support the homeless population?
Hmm.. sorry.. I guess I already got into my opinion above. I think that the focus should definitely NOT be on just temporary band-aids (meals, place to sleep, etc.)... however.. I definitely think this is needed as well.. because these are human beings' basic needs. Hmm.. I guess I see it as a three-fold process:
1 - Providing for basic physical needs for a temporary amount of time - food, shelter, water, clothing.
2 - Support and training so those who have ended up on the streets can get the skills and etiquette needed to get back on their feet, financially. Along with that, financial training - how to save money, etc... are great additions.
3 - A sense of purpose and meaning. This last portion, I believe, is what is often lacking. Some say that first people must be fed and clothed before they can address their spiritual needs. I don't agree... I think all three of these things must be done concurrently. From my few interactions with individuals who live on the streets.... I see a deep desire for a purposeful life. I actually believe that many of them at various points of their life could have gotten jobs if they really wanted it.... but... something else was missing. A deeper sense of purpose was missing.
Now, for each person... what satisfies this sense of purpose and meaning may be different. I think a common thread for most people is relationship. So... how can we, as a society, help relate/connect to those people that may not have any relationships to fall back on? Another common thread that I've seen amongst the homeless I've interacted with... is that they don't have relationships that they can fall back on.... and because of that, often they create a network among others on the streets.
I am just thinking aloud here... but I think that this portion is what draws me to India.. is what drew me to the organizations that I felt the closest to... Manav Sadhna, SIDH, Manzil Jamghat, etc... because they weren't orgs that just provided services... but they also were all about... this search for purpose... not only for the "servers" but for the "served" as well. And that's why... that line between the "served" and "servers" becomes blurred.
Usually... the 'servers' are doing it because they feel like they want to fulfill this sense of purpose (like Tiffany) but often fail to realize that those that they are serving also have this same desire for meaning...

3) Personal thoughts/connections/stories from the day / etc.
Of course... it was quite interesting how things turned out. Like Astha said... we got there and totally connected with Tiffany... she was scrambled... and probably had 101 things on her plate to do.... one of those orgs where the labor isn't divided.. and the few dedicated people do everything. I love these orgs. =) haha... If I lived in this area... just because of Tiffany's warmth and the GENUINE feeling I got from her... this is an org/place that I could see myself meshing with.
While our cooking and serving a meal plan fell through.... we did end up going to Rush Med. School and doing a little bit of grant-writing for Hope House and Tiffany. It was one of those things... where... we were trying to do SOMETHING that would help her/them out... but... I just felt... like, damn.. if I had more time to dedicate to this, I would definitely do so... but... my plate... is already overflowing... and spilling on to the floor, I feel.
It was awesome seeing Vishal Kamani... and what struck me about our conversations with him... was how many times he said, "well, it's meant to be." I don't know if I believe in destiny like that... because I believe so strongly in free will....
Are you and I meant to be? Was it meant to be to not cook and serve that day... so I could see Rush... so we could grant-write... so we could meet Kamani?
Does everything happen for a reason?
I'll leave these unanswered... because I feel that I can argue both sides of these coins...

And like you said.... our time with Tiffany... conversing with her... I felt completely at ease with you. And even our dinner with Vishal... and even our time with Pritesh... and at the bar that night with Pritesh and Sangeeta..... I feel like not only do we make a great team interacting with each other... but we make an unbelievable team when we're interacting with others.