When we arrived in Chicago, we were bright eyed, and couldn't wait to just jump on board and help! We practically did jump on board...on the subways. Yeah...that was an adventure in itself.
First stop, Deborah's Place. What did we do? We played BINGO of course. Prizes involved? You know it! BINGO with the ladies of Deborah's place was something. They really got into it, and you know what? We did too. We were, however, not eligible for prizes, but it's okay, the women pretty much blew us out of the water. It wasn't just BINGO that we played, but Scrabble, and puzzles as well. Two women at the center were pretty much pros, playing with 9 letters instead of the usual 7, and one woman who we were working on a puzzle with was determined to finish so that the puzzle could be displayed on a wall in one of the offices. The object of BINGO, Scrabble, and puzzles is not just for healthy competition, but for so much more. Deborah's Place is a center where women could learn. BINGO is used to recognize numbers, Scrabble is for forming words, and puzzles to recognize and estimate.
Seond place to go? Friday Night Suppers or Fourth Presbyterian Church to make blankets, hats, and scarves. Each member's choice. Friday Night Suppers is hosted by The Catholic Charities, and that night Fourth Presbyterian were serving. I wasn't there personally...(I was back at the church making blankets with a few others who were gifted in the sewing circle genre) but I heard that it was an amazing time. It was not the type of soup kitchen that people imagine. You know...dark...cold...food that Oliver Twist wouldn't even eat...no. It was held in a nice enviornment, with table cloths, music playing, and a whole bunch of people willing to serve to the homeless. The food? Catered, and served with desserts made by church members. How about those who stayed back to make blankets, hats, and scarves? Um, awesome! Total count of crafts: 4 tie blankets, 14 + hats, and 2 scarves. Our sewing circle was pretty nifty.
Our third site was to listen to two speakers who had their own stories of how they had become homeless, and where they were now. Their names were Jose and Victoria.
Jose was a man who was living from pay check to pay check until age became an issue at his work place. He would go in and out of a men's shelter, and really did not prefer to live in one. He signed up for a program where he would receive an apartment if he attended X many meetings. He is now employed as somewhat of an activist for the homeless with Sweet Home Chicago.
Victoria was a woman who was married really young, and who's husband influenced her to go into prostiution. As she would go out to find possible clients, she would leave her three children behind at the abandoned building where she lived, always fearing that something would happen to her children. While in that type of work force, she contracted HIV. After a while, she decided that prostitution and staying in an abandoned building was not a life for her or her children. She entered a program where housing was offered, but after a while the program was dropped, and Victoria was again, homeless. She joined another program, and although this time it worked out, and she has housing once more, she is still worried that it too, will be dropped.
Hearing their stories really altered our assumptions and thoughts about the homeless. Every person, no matter what their situation is, is different. Everyone is human, and even though we are delted different cards in life, we really have no room for judgement.
Our fourth site was at an urban farm in Chicago. Fourth Presbyterian Church was hosting it's second and last cook out for the year, and we can say that it was pretty fun. The farm...yeah..pretty beast, and the cook out itself, entertaining. You know we were first in line, to serve that is. We even got to make the lemonade (it had mint, and was pretty fancy if we do say so ourselves). The mint was actually grown on the farm. The farm has a core group which is made up of the children who live in the area, and they help up keep the farm. They're pretty proud of it, and they should be. It was beautiful, and they knew their stuff. Pumpkins, mint, purple cabbage, peppers were just some of the many crops that they had. There was also a band playing, and after we were done serving food, you knew we were getting our groove on. They also had pumpkins and face paint for the children, and even though we were college students...we dabbled with that as well.
The last thing we did on our trip to Chicago was help out at the Rest Shelters. Our group was split in two, one group at the men's shelter and the other group at the women's shelter. We served food, mingled with the clients, and even played an intense game of Jenga. It was a pretty fun, and perfect way to end our trip. The blankets, scarves, and hats that we made went to the women's shelter, and it was great to see their reactions. One woman who received one of our hats and blankets was three months pregnant with twins, and her reaction showed us why we were there. She wore the hat right away, and craddled the blanket with such a warm expression. It really brought warmth into our group, knowing that we could make a person happy.
This trip was one of the most memorable trips that any one of us have been on. It really brought a new perspective to our eyes. Homeless is not a general term. Those who are homeless have their own stories, their own experiences, and their own personalities. We were sad to leave Chicago, but are excited to bring back what we have experienced to Coe. We're just bustling with ideas, and we hope Coe is ready for this.
Sam
