StandUp For Kids

Hello Everyone!
Now that we're all settled in in San Diego, we figured it was time to start letting you all know what we're up to. We made it to StandUp For Kids (SUFK), our host for the month of January without a hitch on Tuesday. We met with Teri Burg, the executive director of this center, and she showed us around and clued us in on some of the rules.

SUFK San Diego provides services for homeless youth 21 and under in downtown San Diego. SUFK is not a shelter--youth only use it in the evenings between 5:30 and 8 pm. They can get a meal, take showers, do laundry, use the phone and computers, and take advantage of the t.v., video games, and our favorite: the fooseball table. While we're here, we'll help serve dinner and hang out with the kids. We also have been helping to clean up around the center by sorting donations, dusting, and cleaning out the fridge (it was pretty gross!). Bayo and some of the guys will be updating SUFK's computer system so that they'll be able to take more advantage of it and provide educational technology for some of the kids.

In addition to all of this, we've been sending a few people every weeknight on outreach to talk to kids who don't always make it to the center. We pass out food, toiletries, and the ever-important clothing item: socks. (They can be used not only on the feet, but also as makeshift gloves or scarves).

We've been having a lot of fun getting to know the kids at the center and learning about their experiences. We found a shared enjoyment of fooseball, watching football games, and laughing over funny YouTube videos. We learned about some of the challenges they face on the streets: dealing with pregnancy, drugs, storing your stuff, finding a place to "squat," and interacting with adult homeless. None of the youth really want to be associated with the adult homeless population and often compete for squatting locations. In addition, we found out how difficult it is to get a job if you don't have an ID, a place to stay, a phone number or clean clothes. All in all, it's been an eye-opening experience so far.