Returning back to school after a Winter Term in Service trip is a smack in the face.
After three weeks of living at the StandUp for Kids center--getting to know the homeless youth and spending our time learning about homelessness in San Diego--coming back to a world of classes, sorority/fraternity recruitment (for many of us), snow, and innumerable friends with vastly different winter term experiences can be an odd, disjointed transition. No less than 36 hours after arriving in Indiana, I was back at my sorority house practicing rush cheers and scrambling to prepare for a semester that was quickly approaching. For me, I was miles away (both literally and figuratively) from StandUp and the teens we met. For the teens, had anything changed? Weren't they still living on the streets as they had been in days prior?
We asked this question of ourselves often through reflections sessions. With the luxury to return to our cushy college lives, how do we: 1. grapple with the fact that the teens at StandUp are probably still facing the same challenges they faced prior and during our time in San Diego, and 2. incorporate what we learned and experienced in our daily lives?
Perhaps we will never truly know the extent of our--hopefully positive--impact on the teens. They certainly more than tolerated our company (or intrusion) for three weeks and opened themselves up in ways that I cannot imagine doing so to complete strangers. For some, this was the beginning of unique friendships across newly established Facebook accounts and lists of phone numbers scribbled down on notebook paper. For others, perhaps they never want any contact with us again. To us DePauw students, or at least to me, I will always feel that I gained much more than I can ever give. I had the opportunity to view life, if only a glimpse, from the streets. The teens, on the other hand, cannot so easily enter into the world from which we came.
I feel that we owe it to the teens, for everyone that assisted us in any way in making the trip possible, and for everyone that taught us something about homelessness in San Diego to continue to be engaged on the issue. This could mean becoming a volunteer, it could mean being a willing advocate, or it could even mean evaluating the way that civic service could be a part of one's future career or avocation.
In any case, we are excited to bring our experiences back to the DePauw and Greencastle community. On March 4th from 5:00-6:30 p.m. in the U.B. Ballroom, we will be hosting an interactive homeless banquet. Essentially, the goal is to explore/demonstrate various facets of homelessness as we experienced as well as present pictures and stories from our trip. As the root causes of homelessness are not unique to San Diego, we feel this is a great opportunity to engage and encourage others to be aware and involved.
In service,
Paige, Project Intern
Monday, February 8, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Return
The San Diego team is scheduled to return tonight (January 27, 2010) at 10:35 PM. The WTIS will notify parents of their safe return via email.
Monday, January 25, 2010
a night on the streets
As our time in San Diego learning about homelessness and working with the Stand Up For Kids Center has gone on, we have realized that we still don't know much about what it actually means to be homeless on a day-to-day basis. In order to further our understanding, the SUFK Executive Director set up an optional opportunity for members of our team to spend a few hours on the street at night with some of the kids from the center.
We split into two groups of about seven students led by one or two kids from the center and set out after the center closed at 8 PM. My group rode the trolley down to Old City, and it was still raining for the 5th day in a row. When we got off the trolley, we ran into a few other kids that we know from the center and they joined us. We then walked to an old building that our leaders called "Witch's Tower". One said that this spot used to be a popular squat with his friends and that the tower is rumored to be haunted. I was expecting some place abandoned as we walked towards this place, but it turned out to be a San Diego Historical site. It was well lit but fairly deserted. The view from the balcony was incredible! It looked over the highway into downtown and it was nice to step back and watch the cars go by for a while.
After spending about an hour there, we walked back to the trolley station. Many of us were already tired, cold, and/or bored. Honestly, I felt all of the above but also felt guilty for feeling so because I know that this is what the kids from the center go through everyday. We ended up cutting our night short and going back to the center as a group to have hot chocolate and snacks. It was fun to talk to our two leaders, share stories, and get to know them better. I admittedly still do not understand what it means to be homeless and for this I am lucky. However, I was grateful for this opportunity to get a further glimpse into the lives of the kids we have been working with and getting to know here in San Diego.
We split into two groups of about seven students led by one or two kids from the center and set out after the center closed at 8 PM. My group rode the trolley down to Old City, and it was still raining for the 5th day in a row. When we got off the trolley, we ran into a few other kids that we know from the center and they joined us. We then walked to an old building that our leaders called "Witch's Tower". One said that this spot used to be a popular squat with his friends and that the tower is rumored to be haunted. I was expecting some place abandoned as we walked towards this place, but it turned out to be a San Diego Historical site. It was well lit but fairly deserted. The view from the balcony was incredible! It looked over the highway into downtown and it was nice to step back and watch the cars go by for a while.
After spending about an hour there, we walked back to the trolley station. Many of us were already tired, cold, and/or bored. Honestly, I felt all of the above but also felt guilty for feeling so because I know that this is what the kids from the center go through everyday. We ended up cutting our night short and going back to the center as a group to have hot chocolate and snacks. It was fun to talk to our two leaders, share stories, and get to know them better. I admittedly still do not understand what it means to be homeless and for this I am lucky. However, I was grateful for this opportunity to get a further glimpse into the lives of the kids we have been working with and getting to know here in San Diego.
Skid Row Visit
We just returned from a weekend full of fun in Los Angeles. This included having the opportunity of touring the JWCH Institute with Dr. Paul Gregerson. It is a medical clinic located downtown LA in Skid Row. Dr. Gregerson presented information about the clinic while sharing some of his observations from his years of work with the homeless population.
The clinic was brand new, six months old. It was a state of the art facility that was quite organized and clean. It includes pharmaceutical, optometry, HIV, dental, and general medicine facilities. All of these specialities work together in the clinic to try to treat the needs of the homeless patients coming in to the facility. The clinic treats multiple homeless individuals each day as there is a line formed outside the building early each morning. One saddening bit of information was the fact that dental care is one of the major needs of the patients, yet there is only funding to have it running one day a week.
Not only did we get a tour, but we also learned what characteristics go in to hiring someone for such a clinic. Dr. Gregerson explained that he places a lot of emphasis on not just intelligence, but social skills as well including bed side manner. He said the way one interacts with the patients can do a lot with both progress and regression depending on the treatment. He expects his staff to be professional and show the same treatment that they would to any other patient. He made a point to emphasize that these individuals really aren't too different from you or I. To be in this field, it is important to not be judgemental.
It was explained to us that most of the individuals living on Skid Row are in their 40's. Not many youth are found living in the Skid Row area. In fact many individuals of Skid Row have severe addictions to drugs with little chance of ever overcoming the addiction. Dr. Gregerson said it is more about treating the issues that are making them unhappy rather than the addiction. There are many mentally unstable individuals as well. It is hard to get these patients of the clinic to return for a follow-up appointment. This makes it hard to treat the patient, but there are incentives in place to try to see them return. This includes food vouchers. He wasn't trying to paint a dark image, but said it is important to face the fact that many of his patients will never work or live a normal life again. The median age on Skid Row is 48, so majority of these adults are sadly on the verge of death. This age is surprising, but at the same time not at all when considering the lifestyles that these individuals have lived.
An interesting project was explained to us involving the gathering of the 50 most endangered homeless individuals of Skid Row. By endangered, the study meant those most likely to die in the near future. These individuals were placed in a shelter that had social services, a clinic, counselors, and anything else needed to help these individuals survive. It has been two years now, only four have died, while only one has successfully overcome their drug addiction. This portrays what a struggle it is to overcome such an addiction. Even though they haven't overcome the addiction, Dr. Gregerson said that he notices the patients are happier. They attend group meals and birthday parties once a month. It is about improving their lifestyles not necessarily curing them. The JWCH Institute was very impressive with a facility and staff dedicated to the homeless of Skid Row.
We ended our time with Dr. Gregerson by walking around parts of Skid Row. We saw LAMP where the Soloist was filmed along with many other facilities/shelters for the homeless. It was interesting to see how much more populated the streets were with homeless individuals compared to the streets of San Diego. Apparently, the streets are much more densely populated at night on Skid Row, but during the day people try to spread out to avoid the police. We saw the police out when we took our tour. Dr. Gregerson said they are always trying write a ticket for anything from possession of drugs to j-walking. It was interesting to compare what we had seen on a daily basis for three weeks to Skid Row.
The rest of the weekend included a team dinner along with many other fun activities ranging from Magic Mountain to a celebrity house tour of Los Angeles.
LG
The clinic was brand new, six months old. It was a state of the art facility that was quite organized and clean. It includes pharmaceutical, optometry, HIV, dental, and general medicine facilities. All of these specialities work together in the clinic to try to treat the needs of the homeless patients coming in to the facility. The clinic treats multiple homeless individuals each day as there is a line formed outside the building early each morning. One saddening bit of information was the fact that dental care is one of the major needs of the patients, yet there is only funding to have it running one day a week.
Not only did we get a tour, but we also learned what characteristics go in to hiring someone for such a clinic. Dr. Gregerson explained that he places a lot of emphasis on not just intelligence, but social skills as well including bed side manner. He said the way one interacts with the patients can do a lot with both progress and regression depending on the treatment. He expects his staff to be professional and show the same treatment that they would to any other patient. He made a point to emphasize that these individuals really aren't too different from you or I. To be in this field, it is important to not be judgemental.
It was explained to us that most of the individuals living on Skid Row are in their 40's. Not many youth are found living in the Skid Row area. In fact many individuals of Skid Row have severe addictions to drugs with little chance of ever overcoming the addiction. Dr. Gregerson said it is more about treating the issues that are making them unhappy rather than the addiction. There are many mentally unstable individuals as well. It is hard to get these patients of the clinic to return for a follow-up appointment. This makes it hard to treat the patient, but there are incentives in place to try to see them return. This includes food vouchers. He wasn't trying to paint a dark image, but said it is important to face the fact that many of his patients will never work or live a normal life again. The median age on Skid Row is 48, so majority of these adults are sadly on the verge of death. This age is surprising, but at the same time not at all when considering the lifestyles that these individuals have lived.
An interesting project was explained to us involving the gathering of the 50 most endangered homeless individuals of Skid Row. By endangered, the study meant those most likely to die in the near future. These individuals were placed in a shelter that had social services, a clinic, counselors, and anything else needed to help these individuals survive. It has been two years now, only four have died, while only one has successfully overcome their drug addiction. This portrays what a struggle it is to overcome such an addiction. Even though they haven't overcome the addiction, Dr. Gregerson said that he notices the patients are happier. They attend group meals and birthday parties once a month. It is about improving their lifestyles not necessarily curing them. The JWCH Institute was very impressive with a facility and staff dedicated to the homeless of Skid Row.
We ended our time with Dr. Gregerson by walking around parts of Skid Row. We saw LAMP where the Soloist was filmed along with many other facilities/shelters for the homeless. It was interesting to see how much more populated the streets were with homeless individuals compared to the streets of San Diego. Apparently, the streets are much more densely populated at night on Skid Row, but during the day people try to spread out to avoid the police. We saw the police out when we took our tour. Dr. Gregerson said they are always trying write a ticket for anything from possession of drugs to j-walking. It was interesting to compare what we had seen on a daily basis for three weeks to Skid Row.
The rest of the weekend included a team dinner along with many other fun activities ranging from Magic Mountain to a celebrity house tour of Los Angeles.
LG
Around the Stand Up for Kids Center
Hey Everyone!!
Its been awhile since we've blogged and A LOT has happened. I'm just going to talk about a few things that we've done around the center with the kids. January 19th was the second day of intense rain here in San Diego. They don't get storms much so it affects a lot of people when they do get rain. We had felt bad seeing the kids come in the night before. Most of them were wet from the rain and didn't know where they were going to go after they left. A few of them were going to St. Vincent De Paul's, the biggest homeless center in San Diego. They open their cafeteria for people to sleep on the floor when it rains or storms. But on the 19th we had the opportunity to have a "Movie Day" with the kids. This meant that we opened the center up at 2 or 3 PM (I don't remember exactly) and invited all the kids to come hang out and watch a movie. We rented The Hangover, made nachos, popcorn, and had a blast! About ten kids showed up and we all sat around like normal teenagers. It was especially good because it was raining when they came so they had some time inside during the day. Our group was happy to watch the Hangover because we had been calling Doug, "Dougie Doug," from the hangover. He got to hear his song and I think he liked the movie too.
The next night we had a talent show at the center. It was awesome!! We saw lots of exciting talent from members of the trip and kids at the center. It was slow in the beginning and lots of the kids seemed nervous and hesitant to step up. Our first act was Brian playing guitar and Becca singing. They performed "Imagine" by John Lennon, and they rocked!! We also heard Kirstin rap some of her own lyrics. She is very inspiring. A lot of the kids rapped Insane Clown Posse lyrics which are extremely dark and morbid. They were still very talented though. Also, one of the kids rapped his own lyrics for us. It was an interesting contrast between what DePauw did and the kids did. Their lives are obviously different than ours.
My final topic about things going on around the Center was a group conversation held on Thursday night. The center brings in a facilitator to lead group discussion once a week. He is extremely inspirational and has a way of making the kids open up. It was an interesting conversation that took place on Thursday night. The facilitator was extremely interested in getting one of the younger kids to open up at the center. The kid expressed an urge to change his future actions and to hopefully get himself out of the trouble that he seems to always find himself in. Surprisingly, the older kids who usually seem to hang out with him came down on him pretty hard. They strongly suggested that he change his ways and expressed the jealousy they feel towards him because he still has the opportunity to get his high school diploma and get off the street. It was interesting to witness and for me it was very hopeful to see that the older kids are not only starting to see that their actions have consequences but that they also want to help the younger kids. It also led to a very deep reflection within our group after the center closed for the evening.
Its been an eye opening experience so far and I can't believe that three weeks are almost up!! More to come soon -
Kristy
Its been awhile since we've blogged and A LOT has happened. I'm just going to talk about a few things that we've done around the center with the kids. January 19th was the second day of intense rain here in San Diego. They don't get storms much so it affects a lot of people when they do get rain. We had felt bad seeing the kids come in the night before. Most of them were wet from the rain and didn't know where they were going to go after they left. A few of them were going to St. Vincent De Paul's, the biggest homeless center in San Diego. They open their cafeteria for people to sleep on the floor when it rains or storms. But on the 19th we had the opportunity to have a "Movie Day" with the kids. This meant that we opened the center up at 2 or 3 PM (I don't remember exactly) and invited all the kids to come hang out and watch a movie. We rented The Hangover, made nachos, popcorn, and had a blast! About ten kids showed up and we all sat around like normal teenagers. It was especially good because it was raining when they came so they had some time inside during the day. Our group was happy to watch the Hangover because we had been calling Doug, "Dougie Doug," from the hangover. He got to hear his song and I think he liked the movie too.
The next night we had a talent show at the center. It was awesome!! We saw lots of exciting talent from members of the trip and kids at the center. It was slow in the beginning and lots of the kids seemed nervous and hesitant to step up. Our first act was Brian playing guitar and Becca singing. They performed "Imagine" by John Lennon, and they rocked!! We also heard Kirstin rap some of her own lyrics. She is very inspiring. A lot of the kids rapped Insane Clown Posse lyrics which are extremely dark and morbid. They were still very talented though. Also, one of the kids rapped his own lyrics for us. It was an interesting contrast between what DePauw did and the kids did. Their lives are obviously different than ours.
My final topic about things going on around the Center was a group conversation held on Thursday night. The center brings in a facilitator to lead group discussion once a week. He is extremely inspirational and has a way of making the kids open up. It was an interesting conversation that took place on Thursday night. The facilitator was extremely interested in getting one of the younger kids to open up at the center. The kid expressed an urge to change his future actions and to hopefully get himself out of the trouble that he seems to always find himself in. Surprisingly, the older kids who usually seem to hang out with him came down on him pretty hard. They strongly suggested that he change his ways and expressed the jealousy they feel towards him because he still has the opportunity to get his high school diploma and get off the street. It was interesting to witness and for me it was very hopeful to see that the older kids are not only starting to see that their actions have consequences but that they also want to help the younger kids. It also led to a very deep reflection within our group after the center closed for the evening.
Its been an eye opening experience so far and I can't believe that three weeks are almost up!! More to come soon -
Kristy
Friday, January 22, 2010
Visiting The Monarch School
Today we had the unique opportunity to visit The Monarch School, a San Diego public school specifically geared to the homeless community. We had heard about The Monarch School during several of our other visits to organizations for the homeless during our trip. About a week ago, Kristy discovered that her former boss' cousin volunteers extensively with The Monarch School (small world!). Through this chance connection, we were able to set up a tour and information session for today.
Our tour began at a hotel down the street from the school because the campus is very small and there was no meeting area large enough to accommodate our whole group. I was especially impressed by how many of the school administrators came to talk to us at the hotel meeting room. We got to hear from Principal Sarita Fuentes, Vice Principal Joel Garcia, Counselor Jessica Nunez, and more. They all provided an interesting perspective on the school and the students it serves.
The school is K-12th grade and currently has 162 students. The students come to Monarch from a wealth of different backgrounds but all share the fact that they are currently homeless. The classrooms are combined between grade levels, and each student is at a different academic stage. Therefore, the teachers must provide a great deal of individualized instruction to each student. They certainly do a great job- for every six months a student spends at the Monarch School, he or she raises an entire academic grade level.
After our information session, we split into two groups for our tour of the school. My tour group was led by Principal Sarita Fuentes. The campus has a main outdoor courtyard with a covered tent area. There are about eight classrooms inside the building, as well as offices, a library, and several resource rooms. There is also a doctor's office that is staffed once a week so that students can receive full medical care.
Besides education, the school also offers services specific to the homeless population. Students receive two meals a day as well as grocery store gift certificates for those who may not have access to a meal at dinner time. Students and their families can also do laundry on campus. A therapist at the school provides counseling and mental health services to the students. An extensive after school program is also offered in order to let students explore their individual interests and have a safe place to remain after school hours.
After our tour of the Monarch School, our whole team expressed that they were quite impressed by the school. The faculty and administrators were highly qualified and dedicated to the student population, and the programs provided by the school seemed to cover all the needs of the students and their families. This was definitely a great visit!
Our tour began at a hotel down the street from the school because the campus is very small and there was no meeting area large enough to accommodate our whole group. I was especially impressed by how many of the school administrators came to talk to us at the hotel meeting room. We got to hear from Principal Sarita Fuentes, Vice Principal Joel Garcia, Counselor Jessica Nunez, and more. They all provided an interesting perspective on the school and the students it serves.
The school is K-12th grade and currently has 162 students. The students come to Monarch from a wealth of different backgrounds but all share the fact that they are currently homeless. The classrooms are combined between grade levels, and each student is at a different academic stage. Therefore, the teachers must provide a great deal of individualized instruction to each student. They certainly do a great job- for every six months a student spends at the Monarch School, he or she raises an entire academic grade level.
After our information session, we split into two groups for our tour of the school. My tour group was led by Principal Sarita Fuentes. The campus has a main outdoor courtyard with a covered tent area. There are about eight classrooms inside the building, as well as offices, a library, and several resource rooms. There is also a doctor's office that is staffed once a week so that students can receive full medical care.
Besides education, the school also offers services specific to the homeless population. Students receive two meals a day as well as grocery store gift certificates for those who may not have access to a meal at dinner time. Students and their families can also do laundry on campus. A therapist at the school provides counseling and mental health services to the students. An extensive after school program is also offered in order to let students explore their individual interests and have a safe place to remain after school hours.
After our tour of the Monarch School, our whole team expressed that they were quite impressed by the school. The faculty and administrators were highly qualified and dedicated to the student population, and the programs provided by the school seemed to cover all the needs of the students and their families. This was definitely a great visit!
Sunday, January 17, 2010
A Little Bit of Rest and Relaxation!
All of you readers out there can tell we've been quite busy and working hard in our past two weeks in San Diego! Don't worry, we've had time to relax, too. We spent our first full weekend (Jan 9-10) visiting Coronado Island and the famous San Diego Zoo. We took a city bus to Coronado Island, which was scenic because we got to go over the big Coronado bridge on our way there. Once we were there, we had the opportunity to explore the famous Coronado Hotel and relax on the beach. It was warm enough to wear our bathing suits and a few of us even went swimming even though the water was still freezing in my opinion! There were also some great shops and restaurants on the island. A particular favorite was the homemade candy store, where several of us stopped to fill up bags with goodies. Kristy broke the record with a total sixteen dollars spent on candy! I hope she doesn't get mad that I just outed her sugar addiction on the internet :)
On Sunday, we woke up early to make it to the zoo by 10 AM and spent nearly the entire day there. We had the opportunity to visit a baby panda (very cute!) and a sea lion show. Our tickets allowed us unlimited access to the zoo bus tours and the "Skyfari" gondola. Favorite animals seen by the group included the gorillas, Siberian tigers (rawr! go tigers), elephants, koalas, and more! Of course, we also enjoyed attractions such as face painting and the gift shops too.
This past weekend, we went out to lunch as a team. Paige found a great Mexican restaurant for us in Old Town, a fun touristy district of San Diego. After a short trolley ride, we sat down to a huge menu full of our favorites. I must say, the salsa and guacamole was quite an upgrade from those Greencastle Mexican restaurants that we are used to! My personal favorite, the fish tacos, were full of flavor (shout-out to my mom, who also loves fish tacos!). After lunch, we had a couple hours to explore the shops and sites of Old Town. There were plenty of souvenirs and fun gifts purchased.
At the end of our reflection period on Sunday night, we received a special surprise. A few of us who have been on WTIS trips before knew this treat was coming but kept it a secret from our teammates. Becca passed out envelopes full of letters & love from our family and friends at home. It was great to receive such special notes and we thank you all for putting forth your time and effort to provide those for us!
Look for an update next week about our upcoming weekend visit to Los Angeles, where we will continue our learning on homelessness with a visit to Skid Row and then stay overnight at a hotel in Hollywood with some guaranteed fun times!
Love,
Madeline
On Sunday, we woke up early to make it to the zoo by 10 AM and spent nearly the entire day there. We had the opportunity to visit a baby panda (very cute!) and a sea lion show. Our tickets allowed us unlimited access to the zoo bus tours and the "Skyfari" gondola. Favorite animals seen by the group included the gorillas, Siberian tigers (rawr! go tigers), elephants, koalas, and more! Of course, we also enjoyed attractions such as face painting and the gift shops too.
This past weekend, we went out to lunch as a team. Paige found a great Mexican restaurant for us in Old Town, a fun touristy district of San Diego. After a short trolley ride, we sat down to a huge menu full of our favorites. I must say, the salsa and guacamole was quite an upgrade from those Greencastle Mexican restaurants that we are used to! My personal favorite, the fish tacos, were full of flavor (shout-out to my mom, who also loves fish tacos!). After lunch, we had a couple hours to explore the shops and sites of Old Town. There were plenty of souvenirs and fun gifts purchased.At the end of our reflection period on Sunday night, we received a special surprise. A few of us who have been on WTIS trips before knew this treat was coming but kept it a secret from our teammates. Becca passed out envelopes full of letters & love from our family and friends at home. It was great to receive such special notes and we thank you all for putting forth your time and effort to provide those for us!
Look for an update next week about our upcoming weekend visit to Los Angeles, where we will continue our learning on homelessness with a visit to Skid Row and then stay overnight at a hotel in Hollywood with some guaranteed fun times!
Love,
Madeline
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