All posts by Joline

Final Internship Report

Homelessness, How we should treat each other, Local organizations, Organizations

After finishing my time volunteering at my internship I was able to grasp the full meaning of the organization.  They serve as an open door to their community serving anyway that they can. Through volunteering I was able to see the strengths and weaknesses of this organization. Strengths include helpful and thriving volunteers, non-discrimination towards clients, various service/resource centers, and correspondence with local organizations and churches.  All of these help the organization thrive into a better organization.

When I first volunteered I noticed how many other volunteers there were and how all were diligently working with smiles on their faces.  Volunteers are the biggest strengths and assets to the organization.  The number of volunteers the organization has is what keeps their doors open because they make all of the distribution centers and resource clinics possible the organization’s goal is to provide as many things as they could for each client so that they could use their earned money elsewhere, such as paying rents and other bills.  This is seen as a strength because clients can come here and not have to worry about being pushed away.  The organization is a sign of hope, an open door, and a place where people know they can come to receive help in many ways.  They provide service to all families that are registered with the organization.  In working with other organizations, this organization has created a multifaceted relationship with these prospering organizations and has truly embellished their mission statement

Weaknesses include, low volunteer restrictions, moldy food, and difficulties getting in contact with members of the organization. Volunteers do not need to have interviews or health screening which is something that should be done since volunteers deal with food.  Sometimes the food is not edible and a lot of it is thrown away.  Lastly, the members of the organization are extremely busy so it is quite difficult to get into contact with them and ask direct questions about the organization.  The weaknesses do not compare to the multitude of strengths that are seen through this organization.  The organization is doing great things for its community and is building stronger every day.

Overall, this organization has been a great place to volunteer.  I am seeing the benefits and hope that they bring to people who are struggling, but also the impact they have on volunteers.  The organization is a small community within the larger community that helps people needy people in ways I did not think were possible.  Seeing how volunteers who were once helped by this organization are giving back, shows the impact that this small community has had.  People who volunteer at are hopeful and dedicated to helping others in any way that they can.  It is an organization that has stood in Redlands for over 14 years and continues to follow its values every day of feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and helping those who are hurt.  They thrive off of volunteers and donations, so giving back to this organization is something I see myself doing in the future.Open Hand[1]

 

Global Awareness

Homelessness, International, Organizations, Poverty

Throughout the course of the semester we have learned a lot about homelessness within the United States. But last week, we had a speaker who broke down that wall and opened our eyes to poverty on a worldwide scale. ABC’s and Rice is an organization that raises global awareness of poverty. They are based in Cambodia where they educate young children and give them a bags of rice at the end of each week to help feed their families.

Children around the world are not as priveledged as many children that we see around us. Something that really stuck out to me was that children in other countries often do not go to work becuase their parents cannot afford it. This sounds like a common reason but it was not for the reasons I initially thought. These children do not go to school because their parents need them to work or else their family cannot survive. So if these children were to go to school, not only would their parents not be able to afford it, they would also not be able to afford food which they survive on.

Our guest speaker, Tammy Durrand told us that this was her main objective when starting this organization. She wanted to be able to feed and educate young children to make a lasting impact in their lives. This really opened my eyes because this is often something that we do not think about. Tammy opened our eyes to child poverty on a global scale and this is something that really stuck with me. My plan is to become a teacher, so hearing about the struggles these chidren are enduring on a daily basis was very hard. The goal of the organization is to raise awareness so this is something that we all can do to help. We may not be able to go to Cambodia or start our own organization but we can help existing ones by spreading awareness and encouraging people to give to those who need it most.

To make a donation to ABC’s and Rice or explore their website, click the link below:

DSC00529http://abcsandrice.webs.com/donate.htm

Minimum Wage Controversey

News link, Solutions to Homelessness

Raising minimum wage has been a constant controversial issue of the past few year and it is still ongoing. many people do not understand the annual rates of pay for people who have minimum wage jobs. The amount is not efficient enough for them to live in southern California and be able to raise a family.

Los Angeles times reported that “If California and D.C. won’t raise the minimum wage, city and county leaders should go it alone”. People are fighting a protesting to raise minimum wage because around a  $30,000 annually is not enough to live off of. Los Angeles has been working to make improvements within the past decade but have yet to have a city wide increase of minimum wage.  The cost of living is increasing but wages are not, making it very difficult for people to live in Los Angeles.

People think that going statewide would be a difficult task, so going city at a time is the best outlook. But in order to this city council members need to be on board and at times it seems like they are not. The would benefit many people lives in a positive way. However, we do run the risk of housing prices going up even more if the minimum wage is increased. Sometimes this seems like a never ending battle that needs more solutions.

This article mentions how ” raising the local wage would pour more money into the economy and improve the business climate” which shows positive effects on our economy. So why is this something that has not been taken into action yet? Many questions are looming over this controversial topic. This article shows how increasing minimum wage would have “little political risk” and would benefit numerous people in Los Angeles county.

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/commentary/la-oe-meyerson-city-minimum-wage-20140330,0,1288897.story#ixzz2xaRPQDmU

“Keep your coins, I want change”

About being poor, Homelessness, Reflections on our Reading, Solutions to Homelessness

“Keep your coins, I want change”. This is something that truly stuck out to me during one of the presentations last week. This statement speaks great volumes about the needs of the homeless. Coins do not do anything, but change does. Between this and our conversations in class, I was able to recognize the resources that would benefit the homeless. Through various organizations, help centers are offered to teach life skills to those who are homeless. There resources are aiming to provided life lessons, skills, and goals to make a lasting impact.  It related to the metaphor: “If you give a man a fish you feed him once, but if you teach a man how to fish, you feed him for a life time”. This is the kind of action that needs to be taken.

Having resources such as resume building, job skill training, and educational classes we are offering needy people the chance to have a life that they are in need of. I feel this needs to go beyond local non profit organizations and have a bigger impact within the government. A great population of our country is homeless, and sometimes it seems like many options are not put into full force to make a lasting impact. We have learned a lot about how one person can make a difference with their voice, but actions are louder than words. I hope to find out more information, especially from my internship, and see exactly what they are doing within these resources and seeing the lasting impact that they have on people finding jobs and getting off of the streets.

Homeless with a Home

Homelessness, People, Reflections on our Reading

After reading At Home on the Street, by Jason Wasserman and Jeffery Clair, I was shocked and impressed by the measures they took within their experience with the homeless.  In this book, authors tell the story of their journey and methodologies they used. They lived among the homeless on the streets and were able to form relationships with them. One leading question was why did they choose to live on the streets and not in a shelter. They chose the streets because they were able to choose where they slept and were able to get the full effect of what it truly is like to be homeless living on the streets.

I found this to be commendable of Wasserman and Clair and believe they took the right approach in their research. In addition, they were able to build relationships/friendships with fellow people on the streets and hear their stories. Also, they felt that living on the streets was safer than living in shelters which I thought was unexpected. May people think that sleeping in the shelter is the safer option but in reality there are a lot problems with crime and violence within shelters making it an unsafe environment.  In addition, you may not get to choose were you sleep in the shelter, unlike the streets. In the book, it was explained that people who were living on the streets did have a home, it just did not seem like a home to outsiders.  Many had a constant resting spot that they would go to every night and that was their home. I found his to be very powerful and eye-opening.

Here is a look to purchase the book:

http://www.amazon.com/At-Home-Street-Poverty-Homelessness/dp/1588267016/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395134115&sr=8-1&keywords=at+home+on+the+street

The Blessing Center

How we should treat each other, Local organizations, Organizations, People, Portraits of Homeless, Solutions to Hunger, Uncategorized

The Blessing Center has been a great place to volunteer.  I am seeing the hope and help that they bring to people who are struggling, but also the impact The Blessing Center has on volunteers.  The Blessing Center is a small community within a larger community of Redlands that helps people who are in need, in ways I did not think were possible.  Seeing how volunteers who were once helped by the Blessing Center are giving back, shows the impact that this small community has had.  People who volunteer at The Blessing Center are hopeful and dedicated to helping others in any way that they can.  It is an organization that has stood in Redlands for over 14 years and continues to follow its values every day of feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and helping those who are hurt.

Within The Blessing Center there are food and clothing distribution centers and resource centers available for their clients.  Being able to volunteer at this site has shown me the value of volunteering.  While working in the food distribution center you are able to see the clients and sometimes interact with them.  I was fortunate enough to be able to see and interact with the clients while giving them food.  It was very eye opening to see how many people just in Redlands were in need of help.  They picked up their boxes of non-perishable food and then came to us so we could give them the fruit/vegetable bags.  Many of the people kept saying “God Bless You” as they walked by showing just how grateful they truly were.

The distribution centers of The Blessing Center are opened every Tuesday and Saturday for clients.  After getting their food, clients are able to come back in and take any clothing if needed.  I have only been able to volunteer on Saturdays so I am hoping I can go during the week to volunteer and observe some of the other resources and centers that the Blessing Center offers.  They have class to teach people how to operate computers, resource centers to help people find jobs, clinics for people in need of shots or other medical attention, dentistry,  H.O.P.E centers for people affected by HIV/aids, and various programs for children.

My favorite part about volunteering at the Blessing Center is the sense of community that surrounds you while you are there.  Every Saturday Pastor Craig starts off the day with a prayer circle.  He blesses the food and clothing that they have received throughout the week and blesses all the volunteers.  He thanks God for all the opportunities he has given The Blessing Center and how grateful he is for it being able to help so many people.  He then opens up the circle for anyone else who would like a say a few words.  This prayer circle always makes me feel like I chose the right place for my internship because of the sense of community and how grateful, passionate, and hopeful everyone is.

 

 

 

Taking Action

About being poor, Government programs, News link, Solutions to Homelessness

As we transition into the part of the semester in which the underlying theme is about what  the government is doing about the homeless population, I found an article which shows how taking one step can make a huge impact. On March 8th, The Los Angeles Times published an article about having a safe space for homeless people. In Sonoma County, supervisors lifted the ban of people sleeping in their cars. They realized that for some people, living in their cars is their only option. They made a Safe Parking Program that allowed homeless people the opportunity to park their car in a designated lot and could keep their cars there overnight.

This program provides a safe space for homeless people. One man described it as “heavenly” and was grateful for this safe space. While reading, I was asking myself why is this just happening now? This is a great program that should have been brought about sooner. One woman states “A man walked up to me and his entire face and beard was covered in frost”. This just shows how action needed to be taken. It is said that four men died from freezing to death, which is another situation that should not have happened. By lifting this ban and allowing this safe space program, homeless people not only feel safe, they also being taken out of bad weather conditions that they would have to face if they were sleeping outdoors.

After reading this article, I am confident in some of the steps our government is taking towards helping homeless people. If more ideas and solutions like this were put into action, homeless people would be given a better outcome.

Safe Space Program provided these people with a place to park their car and sleep overnight

http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-santa-rosa-homeless-parking-20140309,0,3081428.story#ixzz2vbYjWG6y

 

What do you think the major cause of homeless is?

Homelessness, People

After doing the Data Exercise this week, I was curious to see what other people thought the major cause of homeless was. After researching last week and reading various articles and studies I found many different causes of homelessness, but the major cause was job loss and the lack of income. Taking this into consideration I decided to ask various people what they thought was the major cause.

In response to this question I got various answers:

Drugs/Addiction

Financial Issues

Economic Region

Inability to Change

Criminal Record

Based on these answers I saw that many believed that homelessness is caused by something that the homeless individuals did wrong. In our world, homeless people are constantly stereotyped as people who did something wrong which brought them to the place they are today. One theory I thought was interesting was “economic region”. This is something that is very important because in some cities there are less job opportunities available for people, which makes it hard for people to earn a living.

After asking everyone, one person said that they thought the leading cause was drugs and addiction and that everything always comes back to addiction. This was upsetting to me because after seeing countless videos and reading various stories of homeless people, I know that not all homeless people are affected by drugs. Yes, some do turn to drugs because they feel like they have no where else to turn, but this is not something that should be a stereotype of homeless individuals.

 

 

 

County to County

Government programs, Homelessness, Portraits of Homeless

This weeks data exercise put faces to the countless numbers of people who are homeless. While researching Riverside County I found that there was 31% decrease in homelessness between 2011 and 2013. In 2011 the homeless population was 4,321 people and in 2013 the homeless population was 2,979. Of that 2,979, 1,888 people were unsheltered and 1,090 were sheltered. Within Riverside County, the city of Riverside had the most homeless people at 571.

These may just seem like numbers but each one represents a specific individual. Seeing these numbers and the methods they used to come up with these statistics really put things into perspective.  I was surprised by the numbers in Riverside County because I thought that the numbers were a  lower compared to other counties. During my research I found that San Bernardino is the poorest county in California. The fact that Riverside County and San Bernardino County are so close to each other really shows the effect that bordering cities have towards one another.

For example, Pasadena, California tends to be an extremely upscale city. With that being said, homeless people often are not present. But less than 15 minutes away in Downtown Los Angeles is the greatest population of homeless people living on skid row. Our society stereotypes people to where we think they should reside. People believe that if someone is homeless then they should be with the rest of the homeless population. This is something that needs to be changed and by doing research and making people aware of the homeless populations within their own counties gives them the opportunity to step in a try to make a difference.

http://dpss.co.riverside.ca.us/files/pdf/riverside-county2013homelesscountandsubpopulationsurvey-6.3.pdf

We Have the Power To Help

News link, People, Reflections on our Reading

Listening to all the presentations given in class, really opened my eyes. Many of them touched on similar conflicts and struggles of homelessness which showed how prevalent these issues are in our society.  In everything that we have learned so far in class including documentary clips, texts and book presentations my views of homelessness have changed. My enitre life I have grown up in the suburbs where I do not see the effects of homelessness and poverty. Realizing the truths behind homelessness had made me think about what I can do to help.

After graduation I am planning on becoming an Elementary School teacher. As a teacher, I will be faced with many obstacles involving the life of my students at home. Some might come from families who are in poverty and are under priveledged. As a teacher it is my responsibility that I give them as much care and help in the classroom as I can. While reading Homeless Mothers by Deborah Connolly, I saw the effects that povery can have on children whose parents are under priveledged. Some do not get the care or event he love that every child deserves.

homeless

I recently read an article in the LA Times about a LA Unified School District giving back to the homeless. This article brought me hope that our schools are giving back. The students in these schools were very passionate about helping in any way that they could and one student said “”Just looking at them you can tell there is so much need and they’re in so much  pain,” from this you can see how this student is becoming an advocate for helping the homeless. The article mentions how many of the students vowed to return to the shelters and to encourage friends to  raise money for the area”, showing how these students really do want to make a difference. As a future teacher, this makes me very proud of students today realizing the struggles in the world and realizing that they have the power to help.

To buy Homeless Mothers by Deborah Connolly visit this site: http://www.amazon.com/Homeless-Mothers-Face-Women-Poverty/dp/0816632820/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1392069254&sr=8-1&keywords=homeless+mothers+deborah+connolly

To read the LA Times article click on this link: http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-student-volunteer-homeless-20140209,0,2391622.story#axzz2sxOq6XPM