Category: 2012

It is far too easy to forget about pressing issues when one is living one’s day-to-day life – a life filled with activities, friends, meetings, classes, and the like.  The good that one had done weeks prior may simply be a faded image in the distance.  But what about the lessons that had been learned and the realization that a change needed to be made?

Continuing to meet with the group and planning reorientation projects is essential in truly learning and turning those realizations into actions.  I learned that education is necessary, consideration is always needed, and listening is one of the most important aspects of productive action.   I learned that people make mistakes, but more importantly, people grow from them too.  I learned that just because a man doesn’t have a roof over his head, he is not less of a human being.  I learned that just because a woman depends on getting her meals from the back of a van or the basement of an old church doesn’t mean her life is any less important.  I learned these things.  But I don’t want these messages to fade and become less meaningful.  I learned these things.  But it’s time for others to learn them too.

I miss D.C. immensely. I miss the group of friends I spent the week with, the kids we worked with day to day, the city skyline at night, getting lost in the vans, and having lengthy, late night discussions that made me feel like change was necessary, and very, very possible. The only thing I don’t miss from that week is probably having to shower in a box.

I had wondered before I left for the trip how this trip might compare with the mission trips to El Salvador I have taken in the past five years. What was different was not so much even the trip itself, but the way others received my experience upon my return home. When I told people that I went on an ASB trip to Washington, D.C. to learn about and combat hunger and homelessness, the only thing they asked me was, “How was it?” This question was not what I expected. When I came back from El Salvador, not only did I get that question, but I got, “What did you do there?”

The reason this is so significant I think is not because I went to a different country, but because I think people think that they already know a lot about hunger and homelessness issues. This is what I thought, too, before I went on the trip. To me, this is really awful. I learned so much from being in D.C., and while before I had thought that maybe the needs of those in other countries are probably more because they didn’t have as sturdy a government as we do, now I think that maybe domestic issues are just as important to address. Some parts of our work in Washington hit a little too close to home for me, and had I not been on the trip I would not have learned of all the ways that I can be a better member of my society. It also propelled me to want to educate others on this issue in a big way. I’m hoping our reorientation project will do just that.

This post recaps the experience that me, Leah and Taimmor had during the Urban Plunge. The Urban Plunge was meant to simulate being homeless and force us to think like a homeless person in D.C. For me the Urban Plunge was the best experience on the trip and had a profound impact on me. The experience started out with each member of our group getting 2 dollars to spend on whatever we want. We were also given a metro pass so that we could use the busses to travel around the city. We had certain objectives to accomplish on the experience such as traveling to a certain location, eating dinner with a homeless person and finding out exactly how to live like a homeless person.

We were sent to Franklin Square to start our quest. We got on the metro pretty easily and made our way to the Square. We then turned our objective to then finding a person in the square to share a meal with. We walked around the square and park trying to find a person who looked in need. We found many people there. The whole park was filled with homeless people who looked in need. We felt very awkward as a group just approaching one of them and asking them if they wanted dinner. As a group we decided that it would be best to go into McDonalds and buy the food first. We could then take the food out to a person and need and share a meal. While we were sitting in McDonalds a tall man about 6’6″ approached me casually and said, “nice weather we are having”. I politely responded and in no time all 4 of us were chatting away with him.

His name was Gary Wolf. He was a 49 year old homeless man from California. He had come to D.C. to play basketball for American University. He had dropped out of school and turned to drug abuse. After a while and a series of poor decisions Gary eventually found himself as a homeless man in D.C. For the last 30 years he has been living on the streets. Gary was kind, intelligent and excited to be able to share his story with us. He was not at all embarrassed by his situation and was not shy about talking about his past.

To me Gary had some very interesting ideas about homelessness itself in D.C. He told us about how it was great that we were coming down to help out in all the soup kitchens and homeless shelters, but there was a down side. Church groups and volunteers make it possible for me to remain homeless. Because there were so many groups willing to feed and provide a home for the homeless it allowed him to stay lazy and take no responsibilities. Listening to his stories and his opinion I would have to say that Gary was not happy, but was more content with his life. He had regrets about his past, but was living his life the way he wanted to.

After we had spend a fair amount of time discussion Gary’s life we then walked around D.C. with Gary for a little. He introduced us to Bobblehead who was a homeless women who lived under the cover of a bus stop. She was very humorous and we joked around with her for a while about life in D.C. Our last stop was Occupy D.C. Gary had a couple of friends who were staying at tents at the occupy movement. It was there we finally said goodbye to Gary. He was going to go check himself into a Hospital for a couple of days so he could rest up. We wished him farewell and good luck and that was that.

Our experience with Gary was life changing. Instead of having all the preconceived notions of homelessness I got to spend the day actually getting to realize what it is like to be homeless. Gary put a face to something I knew little about and completely changed my mind about how I view homelessness.

Yesterday was Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service in which we spent the morning portion of our day canvassing DC neighborhoods informing families and individuals about the importance of fire safety and the free services available from the fire department. While this was important for the communities, I found the afternoon to be much more intriguing.

A year ago today I was doing a similar service trip in Camden, New Jersey, in which i met a homeless man who changed my life. His name was Mister Eddie Marshall. When I first met Eddie, we spoke for the whole day. I learned he had a masters degree in Psychology, served in the army, and discussed with him about religion, politics, education, and life in general. After this great experience however, upon my arrival to the shelter the next day, Eddie was intoxicated and acted in a completely different manner. It upset me to speak with him again, this time interacting with a seemingly different individual, speaking nonsense and dozing in and out of sleep. I think what most upset me was to witness this sad sight in a man with so much potential and so many things to offer.

Our afternoon in DC was the “urban plunge” asking us to see what it was like to be homeless, and to interact with others within the homeless community. While my group was not fortunate enough to hear the story of any particular individual we encountered, our team discussion was enlightening. The other groups all had greatly different experiences from each other. Each encountered different sorts of people, and had conversations about different aspects of homeless life. While this discussion was going on, I was reminded of my encounter with Eddie a year ago. Hearing these other stories gave reminded me once gain that not all homeless people are alike, each having their own backgrounds and current situations. It gave me hope to remember that there is possibility in everyone to fulfill their maximum potential and make life better for themselves and maybe, if they are fortunate enough, for others as well.

We began the morning preparing meals for the homeless in the DC Central Kitchen.  Soup was made in large vats and would later be distributed to areas throughout the city, while “Student Cooks,” adult members of the community who intern at the kitchen to learn specific cooking skills for jobs later in life, prepared meals for the workers and volunteers in the kitchen.

Most of us spoke with other volunteers who had stories similar to our own – college students looking to give their time and effort to a worthy cause.  However, such individuals were not the only groups of people present.  Kind enough to share their stories, we found ourselves also speaking to members of the community – from dishwashers, to student cooks, to cooks employed by DC Central Kitchen.  Matt later shared that he casually discussed football while working alongside a man who volunteered bits of his experience.  One memorable comment was that this man truly loved his job.

Kait and Maggie also shared their conversation with one of the cooks.  This particular man had become involved in illegal activities at a younger age and later found himself in jail.  With a young daughter, he found the courage to improve his lifestyle so that he could be a better role model for his daughter and provide her with the care and affection she deserved.  He’s held his job as a cook for quite a few years now and has reasonable yet high expectations for his daughter.  He admitted to being somewhat of a health nut and was generous in supplying compliments to the girls for their accomplishment of being in college and doing well for themselves.

When it was finally time to eat the prepared lunch, all the volunteers and workers sat down together and simply talked.  I spoke with one man who had been in the Army years earlier, traveled a lot, and later discovered a passion for cooking.  Thanks to DC Central Kitchen, he is able to receive the necessary training and preparation in order to find a job in the real world.  He spoke of his hopes, such as becoming a cook for the kitchen or getting an internship at the Marriott Hotel after he had finished his training.

The meal ended and we left, only to move on to our next adventure.  ROJA is an after school program for children that focusses on anything from snack time, to homework help, to playtime.  Each of us worked with one other student in the program.  We were surprised to discover how well behaved the children were and agreed on the overall importance of discipline and respect.  Personally, it was refreshing to see children who could follow directions, accomplish tasks, and work with others without unnecessary melodrama.

Working with young children, who can be so terribly impressionable, always makes me wonder about how I’m influencing them – or even if I’m influencing them at all.  It’s difficult to judge the significance of what one is doing when it is so short-term, nonetheless, the only true failure would be not trying at all.