All posts by Sophia

The Blessing Center

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This past Saturday, I volunteered at my internship site, the Blessing Center, for the first time. It was an incredibly eye opening experience and I learned a lot just from the few short hours that I spent there helping to pack food boxes for the long line of people outside the doors.
I wanted to do a little background research on my organization and I stumbled across this article from August, 2011:
http://www.pe.com/local-news/local-news-headlines/20110831-redlands-blessing-center-uses-food-to-fight-hopelessness.ece

It’s amazing to witness firsthand how far this nonprofit has come in only three years. Now, they are able to provide for even more people, have a functional medical facility, and a discounted/free clothing section that allows those who are lacking proper garments to collect the articles of clothing that they need.

While volunteering, the most significant moment that I experienced was when one of the primary leaders of the organization stopped by my section of the food box assembly line to inspect the items I was sorting through. I was in charge of stocking each box with two to three bread items. I noticed while packing the containers that some of the bags of rolls had gotten rather squashed. He noticed this and explained that even if the rolls were fresh, I was to discard any food item that looked unappetizing. He elucidated that just because someone is accepting charity, it does not mean that they should have to compromise their standards for what they consume. It is already such a belittling and tough experience to have to accept a free food box, so they shouldn’t have their dignity further compromised by being given smashed or damaged food items. I was so happy to hear that this is the Blessing Center’s perspective and that they care so much about ensuring that each person who passes through the center’s doors receives the respect and care that every human being deserves, regardless of their socioeconomic status. The Blessing Center is truly an amazing place and I look forward to my next few weeks working there.

Film Reaction

Books and Films

I found the movie that we watched today about Ron, the homeless man who was a candidate for the Santa Monica City Council, to be both moving and troubling. What struck me as being the most upsetting throughout the documentary was just how hideously selfish so many of the people who had homes that were interviewed in the film were. For example, when the two young men were asked whether or not they think food donation services should be outlawed, their responses were centered around the notion that people who cannot afford to feed themselves should be left to starve, because “in nature, if you can’t feed yourself, you die.” Another interviewee, a woman on vacation from Kentucky, described the line of homeless individuals in the beach park waiting for a free hot meal as being “disgusting.” I don’t consider myself to be particularly naive, but I honestly was shocked by how insensitive and apathetic these privileged people were about those less fortunate than them. I cannot even begin to fathom viewing another human being as being unworthy of life simply because they have fallen upon hard times or are losing life’s lottery. This film made it clear how easy it is for others to bask in their own good fortunate and ignore the needs and suffering of others.

A quote I found to be interesting from the movie was “we are not just looking out for a handout, but are looking for just a hand.” This was stated by a homeless man responding to the question of how it is that people can assist those on the streets. I fully agree with what he had to say. It’s the idea of helping people help themselves so that longterm solutions can be made. All of the people in the film wanted to get off the streets and were desperately trying to better themselves and their lives, but between the overfilled shelters and the constant mistreatment and harassment from uncaring police offers they were unable to find proper housing. That is what I found most tragic. That even those putting all of their efforts into trying to rectify or improve their situations just couldn’t do so and not because of anything they were doing wrong, but because the city of Santa Monica was failing to uphold their promises to aid the homeless denizens of the area.

Lastly, I found it surprising how unappreciative people were of the homeless people collecting cans to recycle. The movie made it clear that Santa Monica lacks a productive recycling program and so to me, it appeared incredibly helpful and eco friendly of the street people to gather plastic and aluminum refuse and recycle it. This not only provides homeless people with a form of legal income, but it cleans up the streets, and helps Santa Monica become a greener city. It certainly sounds like a good thing to me!

Stereotypes and Stigmas

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After reading all of the course material thus far, I cannot help but to keep thinking about how many stereotypes and stigmas about homelessness exist. I’m confident all of us have been told at one point not to offer a homeless individual spare change, because “they’ll just go and spend it on drugs.” It is tragic how so many people are led to believe that people are homeless as a result of their own foolish actions and that they are deserving of whatever happens to them. The Book of the Poor shatters that stereotype with the distressing statistic that “full time workers are among the poor including 2.6 million who work fill time.” (p.8). The sad fact is that many people who are legally and gainfully employed cannot afford to live off of their salaries and end up on the streets, sometimes even with young children. It is blatant that more needs to be done to aid people so that they do not end up without a place to lay their heads at night.

After reading Nickel and Dimed, I began to understand that one of the greatest causes of homelessness in America is how little companies and employers pay their workers. If minimum wage was raised and people were actually able to live off of their wages,  I certainly believe that homelessness would become less prevalent and more people would have an equal opportunity to live comfortably and safely.