The Blessing Center is a social agency aimed in helping those of low income communities. Homeless individuals also benefit from their resources offered. The center’s missions statement is based on a Matthew 25 mandate that states, “Food for the hungry, Clothes for the Naked, Help for the Hurting.” Their moral mission is to help those who are unable to help themselves. Every day they provide one meal and one change of clothing for an individual. Also, once a week a low income family can line up with their $2 donation, proof of residency with their ID and receive a box full of food which is worth $75 and within a month they receive $300 worth of groceries. This is such a great aid to families who need food to feed their families. By doing so, they are preventing homelessness. The non profit organization is led by Pastor Craig Turley, it is entirely run by volunteers. In an article published in 2012 by Redlands Daily Fact News, Pastor Craig states,”I am personally invigorated by being around people that have need. I believe the grace of God, like water, flows to the lowest points. When people are at the lowest point of their life, that is when they need the most. Those that need the most should get the most. They are the most special because of that.” The center makes a great example of the Matthew 25 mandate, they assist hundreds of families. Community members from over twenty churches in the Redlands area come together to aid. I greatly appreciated this because it exemplifies that as a society we need to come together and aid individuals and families who are struggling and need to get back on their feet. It’s unfortunate that policies are not advocating or funding affordable housing or increased wages. Over the years, there has been an increase of those receiving aid from the Blessing Center.

Other services offered are the resource center and the New Hope Free Clinic. The clinic is comprised of volunteers from the Loma Linda Hospital which offers free dental and health screenings to those with no health insurance. It has been a great success with a long waiting list of those eager to receive care. The resource center helps with resumes, employment applications, skills needed for interviews, and tutoring for S.A.T and the G.E.D. The center has also hosted job fairs, where TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Ashley’s and Furniture, and Mcdonald’s are seeking to hire individuals! That was one of my favorite moments in volunteering, it was great to see individuals all dressed up with their resumes in hand ready to apply for work. Overall, it was eye opening to put a face to poverty and homelessness in the community. Taking this course on hunger and homelessness has allowed us to understand the structural components that contribute to these social issues. It gives me great hope that there are agencies willing to fight on behalf of the poor! If we all implement our knowledge, we can begin to eradicate hunger and homelessness in our communities.

During class we discussed  Inequality, Poverty, and Neoliberal Governance, by Lyon Callo, he sought out to explore homelessness in Northampton, Massachusetts. It became especially difficult to address the homeless youth. The shelter staff had all the wrong methods in embracing the youth, for example Hannah proposed that staff become parent figures that would help the youth address the reality of where they were at in life. The staff saw the youth lacking the skills needed to get a decent job, the staff failed to see the structural components of society (low wages, lack of employment, mental issues etc) The youth were resistant to the shelter rules and its attempts to normalize them. It would only further establish hierarchical relationship with the staff and holding them accountable for their personal homelessness will further push the youth away. Lyon Callo suggests that the staff take time to build a relationship with the youth and helping them figure out what they want, many of them had great disdain towards the American middle class. It was simply not their fault that the wages they received were not enough to pay for an apartment! Many youth like Susan were angry that the system failed them. She had experienced sexual and emotional abuse and actively sought out work, but even then she had no money for rent. Susan would end up pregnant and receiving family assistance. How will the chain of homelessness be broken? How will our youth survive while on the streets? Who will advocate for the youth?

The author of How to Increase Homelessness and CEO of PATH Partners, Joel John Roberts, describes the changing direction that Los Angeles is taking in hopes of finally achieving a long term plan that will truly help the poor stay off the streets for good. Homelessness has increased by 12% in the past two years! The discussion on homelessness needs to remain the focus, Los Angeles’ new proposal on homelessness can become a model for other cities facing the same issues. They have learned from past failures, such as “Bring LA home” in 2003 because they did not have the resources to back up their proposed solutions. What’s different this time is that significant financial commitments are being put on the table. The State Senate is proposing $2 billion for those that are homeless battling their mental illness. The County of Los Angeles will contribute $149 million in order to put into effect the new homeless plan on top off the $300 million they committed last year to Housing for Health and the Mental Health Services Act Housing programs. As Robert argues, money alone cannot solve homelessness, what is more thrilling is that there has been a collective effort and shift by the County and City of Los Angeles to help the most vulnerable people off the street. If every Public Housing Authority agency in the county makes it a point to prioritize 50% of their turnover units to those that are vulnerable, 10,000 people within five years can be sleeping in their own bed. It’s time we change how we approach homelessness, let’s prioritize those that are the most vulnerable and are prone to stay on the streets vs those who can maneuver the system on their own.

http://www.povertyinsights.org/2016/03/15/la-homeless-plan-find-change-here/

Homelessness is not just a national issue, but a global issue that as a society we have to tackle. According to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights there are over 100 million people that are homeless. Depending on the country, state, or city, reforms and policies are decided by those in government, those in office need to advocate for changes so that the homeless are equipped with the resources they need in order to be successful. For example, Moscow’s homeless population is increasingly steadily yet there has been no action taken to confront this issue, while cities such as Phoenix and San Francisco have taken initiative in aiding their poor, they give their poor newspapers to sell on the streets. The fifteen most homeless cities in the world in ascending order are: Athens, Phoenix, San Francisco, Washington D.C, Boston,Sao Paulo, Budapest, Buenos Aires, Mumbai, Jakarta, Mexico City, Moscow, Los Angeles, New York City and Manila. With over 700,000 people on the streets and over 1 million children in the country, Manila tops the list with the city with the most homeless. Recently, Pope Francis visited the Philippines and authorities rounded up children off the streets and locked them in cages!!! The justification was that they did not want a gang of beggars to approach the Pope. The inhumane treatment of the homeless is seen throughout the world. Mexico City places fifth on the list, they have over 30,000 homeless on the streets, with 50% being children. The contributing factors of children living on the streets is due to physical abuse and family breakdown. While those in Budapest, face legal jail time due to laws enforcing homelessness as being illegal. Homelessness is not just in our backyard, but around the world. 

http://www.therichest.com/rich-list/poorest-list/the-15-most-homeless-cities-in-the-world/

I recently came across an article online where a homeless man handed out resumes! I thought this was such a positive story that broke the stereotype of homeless people seen as opportunists and lazy. Frederick Callison had unfortunate luck when his job at the Salvation Army didn’t work out thus resulting in him ending up on the streets. Michael Marteen came across Callison one day and asked to see his resume. Callison’s resume was impressive, having over 35,000 hours of work experience! He had all his necessary documents needed to start to work, such as his food handlers license and social security. Marteen posted his story and resume on Facebook, and a week later he found a job at a pizza restaurant, “He was ecstatic about landing a job and very grateful for the opportunity, he was up the night before studying the menu for hours.” This story warms my heart! It goes to show that those on the streets are just like us! They have work experience and work ethic, but due to a misfortune they end up with nothing. This ties into what we were talking about today in class, social media loved Callison’s story because he was self sufficient and seeked independence. He was taking charge of his future by handing out resumes rather than asking for money. What a way to be creative!

http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/homeless-man-hands-out-resumes-instead-of-asking-for-money-and-lands-a-job/

I recently went to the laundromat with my mother. She had so much laundry to do that she would rather leave the house and go to the laundromat where there are bigger machines to use.

My mother, my one year old brother, and I walked in the laundromat. It was very crowded as I assume it would be on a Saturday morning. I saw two little girls holding a leash to a big pitbull, a lady talking to herself, and a little boy running around.

I sit on the bench with my little brother, a young woman walks in with her little daughter accompanied by a gust of cigarette smoke. I inevitably start coughing and get up from the bench as I do not want my baby brother to inhale the smoke. As I’m walking away, I hear the woman yell at me “Oh hell no!!!” I look back and I see her exit the laundromat and approach the window where I am at. At this point I am by my mother. I hear her furiously scream and cussing at me, saying, “Do you want to come outside right now? I will beat you right now. You better not come out with that baby..” (this is the censored version of what she said) My mother looks at me perplexed and asks me what I did to her. I immediately defend myself knowing I did absolutely nothing wrong.

I’m thinking to myself, did I offend her in some way?  Did my coughing bother her? I was beyond confused. She would later approach us face to face and start screaming at me again. In her rant she would reveal to me that she was homeless.

I was completely shocked. I greatly sympathized for her especially since she has a little daughter to take care of. I hope she finds the help she needs, no one can progress in life if they are angry at the world. Being homeless shapes how you perceive life and how you interact with others. It’s a sad reality that many who are homeless  have anger or mental problems they have to face everyday. The woman I met was no exception. How can they help themselves..

Heise described how the government has a duty in protecting its people. We implemented in our constitution that we shall “promote the general welfare.” History has shown time and time again that citizens will rebel when they are not being listened to. It got me thinking what would happen if there was a national movement to get the homeless of the streets?  I feel that homelessness is an unspoken and hidden part of society. Today the media has a great influence, they need to focus on social changes! Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; however, this is not the reality for most. Half of those that are poor are in extreme poverty, they make $11,000 per year, as seen with the class exercise this is not a manageable way of life. As Heise mentioned the war on poverty should help lift millions of Americans out of poverty.