Listening to the police officers talk in our last class, I learned a lot about a group of people who are actively doing something to change the homelessness dynamic. These 3 men are a very small portion of the police force and do not have much help outside of their group but they are working towards a change. they are the people who are known to criminalize the homeless, yet they are working to make the lives of the homeless better.

After listening to them talk about all of the hard work and the repetition an the relentless effort they put into getting these people off the street, I began to wonder why it was just these three police men who were doing this work. if they can go out and bring people into rehabilitation centers and find them stable housing, why aren’t there more people out there doing this same work if its proving to be successful? The personal component of this tactic I think is what makes it so effective. If we say as a country that we want to eliminate homelessness, then this would be the way to do it. bringing a more personal aspect into the helping of the homeless I think would make them a lot more comfortable and willing to take help. Along those same lines, many homeless people don’t even know where to start when it comes to finding help or they’ve been rejected so many times that they don’t know where to turn or have given up hope. If we were to create and organization or even expand the HOPE team and make more people available to go up to these struggling individuals personally and offer them help, I believe we would have a higher success rate of bringing people off the streets.

Our conversation with Mike Jones had me thinking more about regulations around homelessness. The ultimate question that puzzles me is why are we trying so hard to get rid of the homeless? I think the first thing that comes to mind is the desire for cities to look clean and desirable to live in. Mike Jones told us about the divide in wealth of the Redlands community. The wealthier people that live in the hills come down to get groceries and see homeless people and are moved to correct the stigma that comes with it. This community of Redlands locals might call for laws to be set in place to criminalize the homeless and push them out of the city. This obviously doesn’t solve the problem of cost to tax payers, chronic homelessness, and affordable housing. So then what is the job of law enforcement, policy makers, and housing authorities to ensure all people in the community are satisfied living there?

I came across a blog post about “The Ten Most Ridiculous Anti-Homeless Laws” and though I would share some examples of absurdity with you. Number ten on the list is homeless meters on the street that provide a solution to panhandling by giving to an organization. This is an interesting way of addressing the problem of homelessness in certain cities and I wonder what the effectiveness of this method presents. Another more direct blow from anti-homeless laws are water sprinklers and bench removal, removing the pleasure of being comfortable outside. We have heard some of the other bans on sleeping, food sharing and panhandling and see them enforced in the local Redlands community.

How can we educate others about alternatives to these rights being taken away from the homeless? I think we can be involved in understanding our local laws as well as homeless services and be active in educating others. A step further would be to volunteer or work with agencies and promote affordable housing. I hope that more cities adopt Housing First models and strengthen their understanding about homelessness through organizations that are helping these populations.

http://nationalhomeless.org/WordPress/2011/07/the-10-most-ridiculous-anti-homeless-laws-part-ii/

Some of you may know that the new Starbucks on Redlands Boulevard took the place of a Mexican restaurant called La Rosita.  Being a Redlands native I have never gotten food at La Rosita but I never really saw anyone there anyways.  I am assuming that La Rosita was going out of business because they weren’t receiving any customers or revenue.  However, recently writing a paper about the new Starbucks and it’s clientele I found an article from the Redlands Daily Facts that makes me think otherwise.

The article said that The Planning Commission of Redlands approved the plan of building a Starbucks there because they thought it would be a great addition to Redlands and that the property will be nice to have in the city.  This property was actually a landmark of Highway 99 built in 1960.  One of the commissioners says, “‘I did find it a little sad that this last vestige to historic 99 through our community is going down with the replacement of yet another corporate franchise that’s indistinguishable from any other of its outlets anywhere else’” (http://www.redlandsdailyfacts.com/government-and-politics/20140515/la-rosita-building-to-be-demolished-for-new-starbucks-in-redlands).  He continues however by saying that the recognition of the franchise is an “award winner.” Meaning that since people are familiar with the area and that there is now a popular franchise there, the clientele and revenue will be great.

Although I have to agree that it has brought in numerous amounts of people, I don’t think that the Starbucks was built entirely on the fact that it would be just a great addition.  Having a Starbucks in this area of Redlands brings in a certain type of person.  As in, upper and middle class people.  Growing up going to Redlands High School down the street, it was no secret that homeless people hung out around those fast food places where Starbucks has now been thrown into.  Thus, with the type of people that Starbucks usually attracts, I think that one of the aims of this new development was to weed out some of those homeless people.  They don’t want Redlands to look run down and unsafe, especially downtown where people go to socialize.

I think that this is a great first hand look about how cities keep their homeless numbers under wraps as well as how they try to hide their homeless people.  I never thought of building a “high-end” store as a way to kick out the homeless but it sadly makes sense.

According to the Huffington Post, a study reveals the number one cause of youth homelessness. Paula Braitstein is the researcher behind the study. Braitstein has affiliation with the University of Toronto and is based in Kenya. The data was collected from “49 studies with a total of 13,559 participants from 24 countries, including 21 developing countries. No one was older than 24.”

Of the data collected, poverty was reported to be the largest factor of homelessness. About thirty-nine percent of participants in the sample claimed poverty as their reasoning for being homeless. The runner up reason for homelessness was family conflict, at thirty-two percent. The third highest reasoning for homelessness was abuse, at twenty-six percent.

Now that a study has been conducted to highlight the factors associated with homelessness, the next step is setting forth solutions. While this study is useful in terms of numbers and statistics, it is not essential. Poverty, family conflict, and abuse are not surprising. When I first read the title of the article, I immediately thought I would be surprised by the “number one cause.” This post serves as a resource to those who may follow the Huffington Post and happen to come across this article. This article highlights the issue of youth homelessness briefly, but fails to offer a clear purpose or solution. The few solutions the post offers are underdeveloped. However, the article claims that because there are a lack of youth homelessness data reviews, this is its essential purpose.

Citation

Seaman, Andrew M. “Study Reveals No. 1 Cause Of Youth Homelessness.” Huffingtonpost.com. Huffington Post, n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2016. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/study-reveals-no-1-cause-of-youth-homelessness_us_57057deee4b053766188a3a5>.

When i first started my internship i did not really know what to expect and i was a little scared to even go. I thought that i would just be sitting around and talking to the homeless men at the shelter and not really learn anything  about the agency and just listen to the personal stories of the men at the shelter. Not only was i scared i was nervous that everyone in the agency would look at me like why are you here you and that i was just a no good kid from a college that had to be there and did not really care about them. When i first got there i took a tour of the facility and was shown were everything was and how a regular day was conducted around the office. The first person i met was Stephanie she was in charge of the scheduling of my hours. I worked a lot with Rick and Ziggy they are both case managers of the men at the agency, Rick is the case manager that is there during the day and is charge of the intakes and meetings that the men have to go through before they can start their programs, Ziggy is the case manger that is there during the nights and stays with the men through the night as they stay there. The shelter is open from 7PM unitl 7AM they are served 2 meals which are breakfast  and dinner but if they want they can come back during the day and get lunch if they want, but they cannot stay at the shelter all day they need to leave when the shelter closes. This shelter can have a total of 75 men staying at a time and they are allowed to keep a bag at the shelter during the day which has their personal belongings in it. One thing that i thought was really cool and interesting about this shelter is that when the men do their first intake and assesment they are ask what their goals are and most of them say they want employment, but for most of the men their first goal should really be getting help if they have mental disorders and other medical things like that  and thats what CCLM helps them do it helps them with their fist goal and helps them get the proper help they need. After my experiences at the agency it really made me think about my life and how i take a lot of things for granted when there are men like the ones in the shelter that have nothing and are trying to survive everyday on the streets. By working at the shelter it really it close to home and hit a soft spot because no one should have to live the way they live and i just wanted to make a change in their lives and i feel like i did that by just the little things that i did in my time there.

My internship this semester with the Time for Change Foundation has been a one of a kind experience. Volunteering outside of the class really put the issue of homelessness in America into perspective. Although for several days I did busy work, after a while I began to work with the children, simply observing and listening to the conversations that went on provided me with so much insight. This organization has had a very large success rate because the staff works extremely close with the women and children who walk into their shelters. Their approach is addressing the core issue which might be keeping the women from breaking the cycle of addiction in their lives in order to hopefully achieve self sufficiency.

Aside from all of the positive things that continue to be done, society fails to realize that as long as homelessness is criminalized, very little will change. Not only that but this increasing issue needs to be better closely looked at by politicians and people who hold the power to create policies and make significant changes. Coming into this class at the beginning of the semester I believed homeless people to only consist of those asking for money in the streets. I never once thought that the term homeless also included people who are constantly couch surfing, those barely getting by on minimum wage, people living out of their cars and people who find a home at an airport. Taking this course has really changed my perspective on homelessness and that there is so much that has yet to be done regarding this problem.

I have learned to look at this problem with an entirely different perspective than I would have four months ago. Being the number one country in the world one would think that homelessness would not be such a big issue in America, but the increasing numbers in the homeless population demonstrate the contrary. The mentality that majority of the american population has towards these people is what is really preventing them from getting the help and resources that they need. Several times I have asked myself if only one thing could be changed, what would it be ? And my answer every time has been that I would change the way in which homeless people are seen. I think that simply looking at them as human beings that are going through difficult times because of the flaws in our safety net, things have a possibility of changing. But as long people keep turning the other way, avoiding the issue, and stripping these people of the dignity that they have left, homelessness will continue to be no ones concern. Before this class without realizing it, I was doing exactly what many ignorant people do. I would come across a homeless person and look down and pretend like they do not exist. I am so grateful taking this course that I have become educated and no longer do I look down but instead I greet the person like any other human being because they do exist, they are human and they deserve to be treated with respect. As far as what I can do to solve the problem of homelessness for now as a college student is teach to the people around me what I have learned so that at least they can also treat someone from the streets with the same respect as they would any other human being so that hopefully when homeless people are no longer considered unworthy, America will give the issue of homelessness the attention it desperately needs.

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.

After interning at YouthHope Foundation for nearly two months, I understand the services the nonprofit strives to provide. Initially, I did not have specific expectations of what my experience at the organization would be like but I thought I had a general idea. I envisioned YouthHope have a greater sense of organization mostly. After having read books describing homeless shelters and organizations providing services, learning from my peers and professor, I expected to be reviewing paperwork and learning about policies through services. However, after “volunteering” week after week, I realized YouthHope resembled nothing we had discussed in class nor really learned about.

I was immediately put in charge of the computer lab. Here, I sit down for four hours hoping someone will walk in, needing any kind of assistance involving a computer. On a good day, about three people come in to use the computers while the rest socialize and play pool in the main room or smoke outside. Although not many people seek help in the computer lab, the few people that do, require an uninterrupted session. The main thing people seek assistance for in the computer lab, is building a resume and job searching. Each of these individuals needs focused attention.

Often, I am hesitant to offer my help. With little to no training, I felt out of place and under qualified to offer my limited knowledge. Managing the computer lab requires a lot of focus, knowledge, and commitment of the various roles available for volunteers to fulfill. If I fail to show on Thursdays from two until 4 in the afternoon, the computer lab will most likely remained closed or another volunteer will sit inside, only to supervise. As a temporary volunteer, I feel as though I am relied on more than I should be.

YouthHope is a great organization despite its flaws. In my limited experience, it is easy to see why Heidi’s kids appreciate her. I have had the opportunity to speak with individuals that have been with Heidi before YouthHope was established. Aside from the non-profit and services aspects of YouthHope, I have learned an incredible amount from the individuals that come regularly. There is an overall sense of community, love, and safety at YouthHope that cannot be taught.

I have had the honor to work and intern at Redlands Family Services this semester. Redlands family services have many different services it offers to its clients. It is not a homeless shelter, but is a foundation like service to help teach at risk and low-income families life skills. They offer food support, rent support, bus passes, motel vouchers, clothing, as well as many different classes to help them build different skills. During my twenty hours of working I had the opportunity to work in different areas of service. From the clothing room, to different food options I was moving around every week.

The clothing room is somewhere where each family that is a client is allowed to go every two weeks for age appropriate clothing for their family. They are allowed five items per family member as well as are able to browse for twenty minutes if they have a family of four and an additional five minutes per each family member that exceeds four. This room was organized as best as possible, but with the excess amount of donations they receive and the few volunteers that work in this area it is difficult to keep everything in an orderly manner.

Redlands family service has many different food options they offer mostly to its clients and one option that is for anyone in the community. The option that anyone in the community is allowed to use is the hot breakfast and dinner option. This is offered Monday through Friday for breakfast and Monday through Thursday for dinner. Although not very many people off of the streets that are not clients do attend they are allowed to, which is the only area of Redlands family services that they will not turn you away if you are not a registered client.

Food emergency kits are a little different and it offers clients food to feed their family for seven days, three meals each day. This is typically given to new clients or clients in a crisis situation. This is not a service all clients have access to and the clients that do have access do not have it regularly. On the other hand food surplus is available for clients each and every day. This consists of food items that are reaching close to the expiration date.

All in all I think Redlands Family Services is doing great things for the community. I think on the side of managing volunteers they are extremely unorganized and I feel this is due to them being understaffed. I like their philosophy that they are there to help build these peoples skills and not to enable them to stay in the same situation they arrived in, but they want the to grow as people and as a family each day.