The action project that I did not see coming

It all began with a search for an organization for my group to work with. We brought it down to a few and ultimately chose to go with REST.

We were instructed that in order to work with the group we would have to go through an orientation of sorts. Jen and I were able to do so a week ago, the other two group members will do theirs soon. Upon completion of the meeting we were given a chance to chose our times. For some reason, simply serving a meal did not seem adequate enough for what I was seeking to gain from this group. I told the coordinator that instead of the 6-8 am breakfast shift or 8-10 dinner, I would like to begin at 6 am and see how long I could last in the organization. Little did i know what was in store for me.

To keep the blog brief and save information for my presentation, I will give a quick overview of my day at rest.

6am Walk into the mens shelter and engage in conversation with the night supervisor along with one of the "clients" who is the cook. I found it interesting and encouraging that the residents so to speak were all labeled as clients and members.

The food situation was not ideal and the menu consisted of oatmeal and coffee.

I guess shortly after the disorientation settled in for me the door was opened and I stood witness to the sleeping situation. That along with the smell took my breath away.

Fast forward to an awkward morning of service and it was almost 8am. The cleaning and putting away of the beds had begun to occur and I was just in a state of shock.

around 8am i met the two day shift supervisors and it was business as usual for them. From processing in the current males, in addition to the women from down the street, it was quite a sight to see. I worked with the two on the front end to receive and process the clients as if it were a job or something with a roll call. My appetite at this point was gone.

Orientation for some newbies happenned around 10, after which i took a lunch to regain composure and let things marinade a little bit.

My group partner Jen came in after lunch and together we mingled with the clients and discussed some of the scenarios that led them to this place of refuge. In addition to some board games and what not, we then went on an adventure with a young fellow through the neighborhood and to Starbucks, where we unexpectedly ran into another client who walked in.

By 7 pm, the day had reached an end for us and the rest of the fun filled action will have to be told in class, so make sure you attend!!!!

DALLAS...again

Dallas was our city
• The number of estimated homeless people in the county was around 6,000
• 10 % of unmet need from the Mayor’s Report with regards to food that comes from the food pantries. This was interesting when you consider the report states that there was a 77% increase in funding in this area.

In 2004, when this city took the pledge to end homelessness in ten years, times were different. The answer as to why they are not providing better, enough, or more comprehensive services is kind of tricky. Prior to this crisis, and for a good number of decades, the homeless were not your working or middle class individuals. Thanks to some corruption on a number of levels, millions have now lost their homes and jobs and as a result are now poor. People who back in 2004 could not begin to fathom what this would be like are now at the pantries trying to grab some grub. Well, this has stalled things across the country and will take a good number of years before they can begin to combat this issue.

Cadillac Chapter 3

Uhhhh, it is no secret that the media plays a huge role in the stereotypes that have wrongfully been embedded into our society. As a young child, I can remember the white people standing in front of Dominicks trying to sell their food stamps for cash which I can only assume would be to fuel one of many addictions. These characters have never been shown on FOX, NBC, or CNN when I have been watching.

I have attached an interesting article in the link below that may be from 2003, yet is still relevant today.

http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/478/

So you think I drive a Cadillac? Chapter 2

Nope, i drive a BMW.

Seccombe and her version of aid and assistance.....can i say headache? While I understand what the misconceptions are about those on the receiving end, those who are the ones giving the handouts need to be examined as well with their motives. Whether it is this text or the video we watched in practicum about the projects, this type of aid does nothing for long term benefit for anyone and in my opinion deepens the divide amongst the classes.

I have said it time and time again that we need to stop complaining and start acting. Looking at the causes of poverty can end up being an endless list. TIME TO ADDRESS IT AND CHANGE IT. Was it just me or was there not enough of that in chapter 2?

Justyna's Blog

I definitely had to check out Justyna's blog since she is the polish version of me with bleached hair.

JUST KIDDING.

I thought it was flattering that she commented on my blog and that i hit a 2 for 2 upon checking others blogs who happened to comment on mine. HOW NICE>?

She had some good graphics as well as a personal portrait which i found to be appropriate for the topic. On any note, her blog is effective in spreading the message and I felt as if i was growing with her along this journey in understanding the homeless

CLAUDIA and her definition of poverty

If i had an extra dollar for every single time Claudia complained about education there would definitely be an extra 20 bucks in my wallet.

She is relentless but the correlation she finds is strong to a point. I can't stand when people keep on blaming class because it does not take a high class individual to know that going to school is important and sitting in front of a television is not. Let us keep it to the point, education is the key, and reinforcing what a good education is imperative. To the families who complain about school closures but purchase their kids video games and nike shoes i think the answer is self explanatory.

Quit complaining and do something about it.

Time for some ACTION

Action Project details....

I feel like we are Group 4, but not too sure on that. At least i have the group members down. Jen, David, Adolfo and I plan on doing our work with REST, which is a United Way Member Agency. You all can find some more info on the organization on the link below.

http://www.restweb.org/

Since this is a class on Hunger & Homelessness I hope this organization can provide us with an inside look at the issue right here on Chicago's very own north side. I am sure we will have more info in the near future once we get this thing rolling.