service learning logs

Denver Rescue Mission Log

As I was walking there I was extremely nervous. I had to get directions from other people because I didn’t know how to get there and the person giving me these directions was Deven. He said that was in a sketchy neighborhood and I was immediately nervous about going by myself. When I got there, there was a guy standing outside that directed me inside. This guy was of some Spanish origin and knew very little English, and my mind immediately went to stereotyping his situation thinking that he was homeless and just panhandling or something like that. Then later on I found out that he has been volunteering at the Denver Rescue Mission for a very long time and most of the people there knew him. From that moment I set all stereotypes aside because I wanted to learn from this experience and that was my first lesson. Then I went downstairs to the cafeteria and working rooms where they stored all of the food. It was very small and crowded with lots of stuff, but the atmosphere in the room was very positive and happy. The guy in charge, Steve, immediately put me to work with sorting and rotating bread. I learned that they throw out anywhere from 500-700 loaves of bread a day. I was amazed because I had assumed that any donations that were received were needed. This was not the case. Steve said that they had so many donations of breads and perishable products that they could not use it fast enough. Also, there were many loaves that were perfectly good to eat but because they were not sliced or because the slices were too small they would never be used. This made me wonder why the Rescue Mission didn’t have a list of acceptable items to make sorting easier. The people that I was working with were all very nice but at the same time they all for the most part kept to themselves. There were two girls that I did get to know a little bit. It was a grandmother and her 18 year old granddaughter. They said that this was only their second time volunteering but they really liked doing it. The girl had dreadlocks and at one point while we were working, Steve came up and began asking about them. It was quite humorous because you could tell that he was fascinated by them and how you got them and took care of them and the girl was having fun explaining it to him. This was one of the only conversations that I saw that was among many people that were working together. Otherwise, many of the people that came together stuck together. And even though there were many people just keeping to themselves. I thought it would be awkward but it wasn’t at all. Everyone knew what we were there for and everyone had their own reason for being there. When it came time to serve the food I remember looking at the lady next to me and seeing her relaxed face made me feel that much more at ease about this experience. She was delegating the salad and I was in charge of the dressing. The choices were regular Italian or creamy Italian. As people began to come in, my first thought to myself was, “They look normal to me.” Sure some of them looked a little rough around the edges but for the most part they were just the same as me. It surprised me so much to see that many of these people were homeless and had nowhere to go, yet most of them were very cheerful and positive and ready to start a conversation over anything. When the last of the people came in to get the lunch that was actually pretty good, I took a step back as well as a deep breath. It had all gone so fast and the work that seemed easy enough had now exhausted me. After clean up, all of the volunteers had a meeting. Clean up was relatively quick, due to the fact that all the while that people were eating, there were bussers cleaning up the garbage and the dishes. At the meeting we all shared our experiences and what we thought of the whole operation. I told them that I had had a wonderful time and would definitely like to come back sometime. Everyone agreed that it felt great to help people in need and that we would all like to spend more time helping out. I remember thinking how fake that sounded considering the fact that following that statement was the phrase, “… if I had more time.” However, did know that they were there now and that did count for something. After the meeting I headed home feeling tired, accomplished, and a little depressed all at the same time.

PHC6 Log

My clients name for the day was Tina McDonald. She was there with her boyfriend, and throughout the day I did not get to know much more about them. As, we met and got our breakfast, neither of them seemed to want to talk to me, and when they did, they sounded very sarcastic and unwilling to talk to me at all. With constant questioning I found out that they were both ex-felons, and were very upset with the system. They were both unemployed, unable to find a steady job, and in need of housing. Tina needed to get an ID first, so that was our first stop. When we got there, she was able to get a voucher to pick up her ID in one week. This greatly upset her because she was expecting to receive the ID right there and not have to wait. This struck me as a little selfish just for the simple fact that these services were being provided to her free of cost. From there we went to the job fair only to find out that we have not yet registered with the Denver workforce or written a resume, or gone through the mock interview. We spent the next hour in the workforce registration line. During this time all I got to hear from my client was how slow the system was and how inefficient this whole project was. I remember thinking to myself how ungrateful this woman was to have people here trying to help her and all she could do was complain. At the same time I felt guilty, conflicted and didn’t know what to do. So, I listened to her, and agreed because I still wanted to help her as much as I could without creating conflict.
When entering the job fair, finally, after over 2 hours waiting in lines to write resumes and enlisting in the Denver workforce, my client became very jittery and nervous. All of a sudden it was like she did not even want to look for a job. You could see her past mistakes haunting her. Her felony, sitting in the back of her mind and still holding her back, even now from even entering this small job fair where the employers are there to help and not expecting a perfect background. This was the first time that I was really able to see Tina in a vulnerable position. I didn’t know what to do. I was standing there outside the little roped off area signifying the place to find a job, and I remember seeing the CAUTION tape that was used as a barrier thinking how ironic that was. I remember wondering if she noticed that too, and whether or not she was going to make it past the warning signs. Finally, she made it inside. I had assumed it would have been like The Pursuit of Happyness, when Chris Gardner takes every opportunity he can get, like when he shares a cab and solves the Rubik’s Cube, but it turned out to be a completely different story.
I could not get Tina to go up to any of the potential employers. She kept looking at them, not doing or saying anything. There were approximately fifteen different employers there, and out of all of them she ended up applying to only one. I kept urging this stranger that did not want to talk to me in the first place, to apply more places, telling her that she was fine that it would help her situation, and all I received in return was a, “No. I don’t want to”. I felt helpless. How do you get someone to do something that you know will help them, when they do not even want to talk to you in the first place? I knew that she needed to find a job, and that she needed more help that what she received. I did not know where she was sleeping that night or what she was going to do for food so we picked up extra lunches. From there, I followed her out and she left with her boyfriend. As I walked them to the bus I felt completely useless, like my services could have been so much more helpful to someone who actually wanted them. I kept thinking about my experience at the Denver Rescue Mission and how the people there seemed so much more grateful.

Reflecting on the Quarter

As we wrap up the quarter reflect on what you have learned in WRIT1133. Do you think your writing has advanced? How so? What is the most valuable thing you have learned? Do you believe that you will use the research techniques from this class in the future? As for our topic, do you view the homeless community differently? What did you learn about the homeless that you did not know before? Will you volunteer at PHC next spring?

service learning log #2

Project Homeless Connect 6

On May 1^st I was sitting in the Gottesfield room getting training for project homeless connect 6, I and all the other 200 volunteers were told that it was going to be awkward talking to these people, that it will take the whole day to get through the services the client wanted. That it would be crowded and that clients might also start getting desperate or would want to leave. Or that parents would feel nervous about leaving their children in the daycare provided. Many that were returning volunteers expressed how emotional it was and how difficult it is for them to make positive conversation with their clients. These comments sort made me a tad bit nervous, not because I was scared to talk to a client but because I was curious of what type of person I was going to be paired up with.

The day came sooner than I though and without even knowing I was paired up with a Caucasian male in about his mid 20’s or 30’s. We shook hands and introduced ourselves; his name was Myles, and he was very simpatico. Our first stop was the breakfast line. We both grabbed some fruit and pastries. Then we sat down and went through the first page just to get started. Here I learned that his full name is Myles Rubin Browning and was originally from Boston, Massachusetts. That he was indeed homeless and that he arrived from Boston to Denver in May of 2007, he also gave me the date he entered rehab for alcoholism. I also asked him about his thoughts on the Denver Road Home. When I asked this question, I wondered if he knew what it was, and to my surprise he did. He answered that it was a good plan but that he and everyone he knew thought that it would not remove homelessness completely. He also said that not only was PHC6 a start for this plan, but also that it looked good for the mayor to be doing this.

We then walked towards our first stop, the Birth Certificate/ID, where a small problem emerged. The problem was that apparently his mother changed his name when they moved to California. She had also changed hers which made it more difficult to know which name she used when getting his birth certificate. His first name before the change was completely different. Because of this, they took about 30 min trying to figure out how to get everything done. Then we went to employment section and also to Housing and last but not least the Haircut section. All through the day, we had great conversations.

Some of them were very interesting and very funny. This man named Myles was very hopeful of making his life a bit better with our services. He was very humorous as well; this was what struck to me the most since he would make jokes of just about anything. I wondered how after having to live such a rough life he can still laugh and make jokes. But this man Myles he was something else. He made me see how lucky I am, and how grateful I should feel for everything this life has given me. He made me see that everyone is a paycheck away from being homeless. Myles, a homeless person that has alcoholism disease makes jokes about it and tells them to other s as if nothing of what he said affected him in any way. He also said that alcohol is not bad that its good to forget problems and have fun for a little while but that people should not abuse it because than it will take over you. It amazed me that to him appearance was everything he stated that just because someone is homeless it did not mean he had to be dirty and unsanitary. He also gave me pretty good advise his last words were “stay in school don’t become homeless”

service learning log #1

Denver Rescue Mission

The week before my community service at the Denver Rescue Mission I was very excited for it. Through my whole life I have volunteered, I like helping my community to make it better. For me this is something that I like doing but also because of the sight of the smiling and the warm feeling that it brings to my heart. Yet this time it was very different. I did not volunteer myself, this way going to be part of my grade which took away the whole purpose. I like to volunteer to give back and to try to make a difference. This to me practically defeated the purpose of volunteering, because now I am getting something in return for my services.

When the day came I was somewhat nervous, not because I was volunteering at a homeless center. Though it was pretty different but because of the experiences from my peers that went before me. They said that their shift was basically prepping for dinner. They had to chop onions boxes of them and also peel potatoes, sacks of them. I was okay with everything I mean it couldn’t be that bad, I compared it with my job that I once had at Subway. There I would do practically the same thing prep for a day of sandwiches. Although it was very similar there is something that scared me. I was scared and nervous after the Monday’s class; this was when my peers that had all ready went through their service told us about their experiences. What made me nervous and somewhat scared was when they said that they had seen mice at the Denver Rescue Mission while they were doing their volunteering.

When the day came to do my part at the Denver Rescue Mission I felt awful. I felt this way because I did not want to go to this place because of my phobia to mice after sitting on the light rail for twenty minutes I realized that if it was not because of my class I would not think twice and simply avoid the situation completely. When my stop came and I got off the light rail and started walking I convinced myself that I would gain more than just a passing grade from this experience. Ten minutes later my colleague Jacquie and I arrived at our destination. The first thing we were told to do was to sign in at registration were everyone including everyone that needed their services. Then we went to the Kitchen where we were directed to the sink where we could wash our hands put some sanitary gloves on and were we could start cutting strawberries. These strawberries were apparently going to be used for toping on a cake. Later we chopped some radishes, we were to take the edges off and put them in a container. After we finished with this task the next one was to wrap sporks around a napkin as they do in restaurants, we were doing this with all of these tasks with other volunteers from the afternoon class and also with some boy scouts.

Later on while we were finishing up a very well dressed man sat with us and introduced himself. He said that he was asked by someone else to come and share what it was like to be homeless and what services they offered. His name was Joshua he seemed very nervous about sitting there with five girls explaining what life as homeless can be. Yet while we started talking and asking simple questions he would go deeply into his own life. In less than forty-five minutes he gave us the story of his life. This was more than I thought I would gain. I learned that I should not stereotype and or judge a book by its cover. Either because its cover might be nice or crappy not because of what it contains but by how good of a job the artist did. This means that it is that yes homeless people are the authors of their life but they are not the ones that portray themselves they do not paint themselves a certain way everyone sees differently. This man Joshua taught me to look at this world in a different way. It showed me how lucky I was to have a family that cares for me, and how lucky I am to have a roof over my head. His life story was amazing and so inspiring

Service Learning Log

My experience at PHC was an interesting one. I started the morning out by doing a ten second training (for the people who missed their real training session) and got my shirt and a clipboard with the survey questions on it. I got to the Ritchie center a little before 8 in the morning; however, it was almost 8:30 by the time everyone was lining up to be paired off with people. Buses arrived and homeless people began to exit them. I finally got to the front of the line and got paired with someone. Her name was Marie. She and two of her friends had come together. They all wanted to stick together for most of the time, so I was able to stay with one of my friends that got paired with one of them as well. Throughout the time at PHC, I didn’t do very much. Marie knew the things she wanted to do and went to do them. I just sat along for the ride for most of them time. There were occasions when I helped her find things or got information for her. But for the most part, she did everything. She wasn’t a very talkative person either. We talked only for a little bit here and there. For the most part she seemed to be getting things together in her life. Before coming to PHC, she had already begun to get housing, she had a job and she had gotten food stamps. She didn’t need all that much from the services that PHC provided.
Even though I did not learn all that much from Marie directly, the experience of being around so many homeless people changed my view nonetheless. What changed the most about me was my understanding of who homeless people are. Most of them at PHC were ordinary people like me. Things probably just didn’t work out quite the way that they wanted it to and became homeless. I came to realize that something like that could easily happen to me one day. Most homeless people are not mentally ill or lazy. I think now that for the most part, they are victims of circumstance and happenings.

Service Learning Log 2: PHC6

Project Homelessness Connect 6 was finally here. This was going to be a big test for me after my last experience with the homelessness downtown. I was standing in line waiting with everyone else for my client. It never struck me until I realized that I was in the front of the line waiting for the next bus to show up. My client would be the second person off the bus, Jeff’s would be the first. When he finally arrived, I was scared, intimidated, and hopeful that it would go better. I was to be Michael Grier’s partner for the day at hopefully assist him without breaking his hope as I had done before. Michael’s main goal was to get a job. He had been homeless in Colorado for six years after he moved here from New York. He had not had a job, he did not have any friends, and he had no income. Michael on paper seems as bad as it gets, but I think Michael is one break away from his whole life changing. We got him a resume, we got his records completely straightened out, he talked to a lady about a job interview, and then he saw a promising career in the job fair. He had sold insurance in New York so he knew a lot about money and finances, something that is desired by banks. TCF Banks was there conducting interviews for the homeless people. Michael talked to them, filled out an application, and was promised a second interview, if not a job within two weeks of the event. “Today is a good day.”, said Michael, “Today is a very good day.” Michael expressed to me the desire for a job that pays $27,000 a year, a place he can get health insurance from, and a place he can retire with. All of these things were discussed in his interview, which was very promising. Michael was very grateful to me and to everybody who helped at PHC6. I was very pleased to know that I had helped somebody find a job after nearly ten years without one.
This day was very educational and hopeful for me. Michael told me that he could just never get a second interview with any company and that because of his weak resume, there was nothing he could do. This helped me see that homelessness is not a choice, but rather something that can often times not be helped. This made me view homeless people in a different way than lazy bums because they were not lazy bums; they were people who found themselves in unfortunate circumstances with no way out. This is significant to me because it changes my outlook on a huge group of people all across the world. This makes it possible for me to look into the eyes of a homeless person and know that they are trying and working hard to better themselves.

Service Learning Log 1: Food Delivery to Homeless

Every year, multiple times a year, Eastern Hills Community Church packs hundreds of lunches and delivers them to the poor and homeless in Denver. On Saturday May 3rd, I took part in this activity for the fifth time. I did this with my mom, sister, our church pastor, and about 15 other members of the church. When I arrived there at 9 A.M. on Saturday morning, there were 300 brown bags, more loaves of bread than I could count, packs of turkey and cheese, bags of original Lays potato chips, cookies, cans of soda, napkins, and many sheets of paper with encouraging notes on each one. We made the sandwiches and packed the bags equally in a conveyor belt style of work, so we could do this tedious task as fast as possible. When this was done, we piled into the church’s bus with the lunches and headed downtown in a central location between homeless shelters. We opened up the bus, and it seemed that instantly there was a mob scene around the bus. Homeless people were shoving each other, each fighting for a position so that they could ensure themselves a lunch for the day. Eventually, the time came where we had to turn away the remaining people because we did not have any more food. This went from a mob to a near riot. “Why would you come here without enough!?” said one lady. “This isn’t fair, thanks for the false hope!” said another. Wow. What a feeling and lack of appreciation. Although we had helped 300, we could do nothing for the other 500. This made me feel good because of the hope, but I also felt like we should have done more so that everybody could have been helped. I felt like I wanted to solve homelessness in Denver by serving lunch one day out of a year.
Every time I have done this, I have found the experience humbling, moving, and uplifting. This time was different. I felt sad, inadequate, and I felt like a “hope wrecker”. Although it was just a word, it cut me deep. I was there to help them, and they looked to me as though I was only helping certain people. How did I know? I have the mindset that I never want to help the homeless again because what I had to offer was not enough to make them all happy, so why even try?
This helped me see and respect more about the public good and civic engagement because it not an easy thing at all. There are so many people looking to you for the answers, and I did not have them. Hopefully my time at Project Homeless Connect will render different results for me personally as well as the people I am going to help. Hope is a good thing to have but a horrible thing to lose.