The actual process of becoming a volunteer was most stressful. First, I was asked general questions about myself and about my interest in the foundation. They were eager to learn my intentions of volunteering my time. After filling out the 8 page document cautioning me of various possibilities, I understood the reasoning for trust issues in regard to volunteers. For many of the youth, having had personal experiences of loss, whether it be a relationship or a roof over their head, has made them vulnerable. For that reason, volunteers are encouraged to stay for a minimum of six months. While it is not currently a requirement for volunteers to make the half-year commitment, it is being looked into to be potentially implemented in the future.

I was also walked through a long list of “do’s” and “don’ts” for “[my] own safety.” Most of these guidelines were to ensure that the volunteer and the youth maintain a level of personal privacy. I am to refrain from answering questions about myself. This, I found to be one of the most difficult guidelines to follow. I am to always talk to the youth at eye-level. This means that if one of the youth comes to talk to me and they decide to sit down, I should also sit down. If they decide to stand up while they continue to talk to me, I am also to stand. This is a rule for the volunteers to prevent any possibility of a power struggle.

The final step to becoming an official volunteer required me get in contact with the police department. This particular organization requires the individual who wishes to volunteer to be fingerprinted and background checked. After leaving numerous voicemails, I was never returned a call about setting up an appointment for the screening. After a week and a half, I decided to physically go to the Redlands Police Department. I was told the screening would take several weeks to process, but happened to process the following day for a reason I am unaware of. This served as an true life example of how difficult becoming a volunteer can be which can explain the lack of help available at organizations.

On the first day, I had to manage the flow of high school students that would come looking to renew their bus passes while helping others create resumes with little to no experience. I assisted a young man create a resume. The young man was in his early twenties, fresh out of jail, illiterate, and in poverty. It was his first time at the organization, and it was my responsibility after we finished building his resume to do his intake.

In my time being at the organization, I have only heard the word homelessness once. That particular time was to explain that the youth that drop by either do not consider themselves to be homeless or don’t want others to know. Many of these children have cars, homes, are in school, etc. However, many lack the support that the organization offers. It is only a support system for these individuals.

From the time I have spent in my internship, most of the time I have spent has observing what a case manager at this San Bernardino mission goes through on a daily basis.  The two case managers (yes, there are only two for nearly 70 people) have the daunting task of properly accounting for every single client in the mission, and venting every new person that comes in.  The venting process requires that the case manager acquire legitimized identification, and perform a basic background check to see if the client has committed any sexual offenses (CA Criminal Code 290).  Each client wishing to receive the services of the mission must also set up a meeting with a case manger to create “a plan.”  The mission has a policy that a client can stay no longer than 90 days, and that  each month he must meet with a case manger to determine how he will achieve permanent housing and employment, and send him on the right path.  The client and the case manager must explore every possibly way of attaining residence.  This involves primarily getting in contact with any friends or family members that he might have.  Often times this task alone is incredibly difficult, because the patient has no ties, or has been outcasted from his entire family.  It is expected that during his time in the shelter, he will create ties with other inhabitants.

This religiously affiliated mission has several policies, which to many may seem especially strict.  for example, no client (with the exception of resident volunteers) is able to be on the mission grounds from the hours of 6:30am to 7pm, and are only allowed one meal per day.  In addition, if a client does not show up to the mission for more than one night without notifying the staff and case manager, he is no longer allowed to stay at the mission.  Also, physically disabled (and severely mentally disabled) are not eligible to receive the services.

However, after observing the work of a case manager, it is understandable why these policies might be put into place.  The case managers are constantly bombarded with phone calls from various individuals and other organizations, who are requesting that the mission take in homeless people who have been a “nuisance.”  With a cap of only 70 people, it is understandable that the mission must refuse to take in certain people.  In addition, the staff and case managers have to deal with clients who are exhibiting inappropriate behavior on the mission grounds.  As one of the case managers told me, “they have to show us that they want to change their lives.”

Despite the somewhat selective process that the mission goes through, and the seemingly harshness of the mission’s policies, the staff and resident volunteers are exceptionally friendly and helpful towards everyone inside the shelter, rather it be a volunteer or a client.  I have enjoyed the upbeat and positive attitude that the entire staff exhibits, and I know the clients do as well.

As stated in class, I had not yet been able to work at my assigned non-profit agency because my internship didn’t start until today (Tuesday 3/8).  However, after today it became clear to me that this agency was serious about what they do.  The mission of the non-profit agency is to alleviate poverty, encourage self-sufficiency, and promote the dignity of all.  They provide numerous services; a few of which are classes for basic life skills, clothing, food, and housing assistance.  In order to access such resources at this agency, a person must be assigned to a case manager.  The case manager helps the individual with bills, housing, budgeting, time management, etc.  Clients are also to come in for appointments that follow up on their progress and make sure that they are staying up to date and on the right track.  Case managers really work with helping those towards self-sufficiency.

My job was to work in case management.  However, when I got there, the volunteer coordinator was not available to greet me and tell me where to go.  In fact, I was told to arrive at 8:00 in the morning but the agency did not open until 9:00.  I was a little bothered by this since it was my first day but luckily I met with the program director who was able to show me around the entire agency.  Afterwards, we finally got a hold on the volunteer coordinator and he put me to work at the front desk of the main lobby.  Here I shadowed an older woman who has been working there for over thirty years.

To begin, I watched how the woman at the front desk handed out numbers to everyone who came to the front desk.  Since it was very busy, people had to wait for their number to be called in order to be helped.  I thought that this was a nice system.  Then I started to help the woman sign people in.  For example, if a person needed food they needed to sign in and get a food ticket.  If a person needed clothing however (and most of them did), then they needed to sign in and I needed to write down their information on their recording sheet.  What I recorded included their name, case number, number of family members, their gender, ethnicity, and ages.  After that was on file, then that person could receive their clothing ticket.  The woman from the front desk explained that every detail needs to be recorded for government purposes since their funding comes from government money.

During my time working at the front desk, I was expected to just do whatever task the woman I was shadowing wanted.  I felt very disorganized since I was not told where anything was or what anything really meant.  I was very much thrown into my job.  It was also hectic because of the multiple things I was trying to do while making sure each person who came in got what they needed.  However, I am curious to see what this job has in store for me and what I continue to get out of it!

With the rainy weather we’re having today, I cannot help but think about how this weather affects the less fortunate. I myself, as a native Californian, am not too fond of the rain. I know we need rain, and many people here really seem to enjoy the gloomy wet weather however, I just prefer warmer weather. Others in our society, however may hate the rain. They do not see the novelty of it, because the rain makes everything that much more difficult. Those who are homeless and out in the street in this weather must find shelter when it rains. They have to get their belongings and carry them to a safe dry place, and hope they can find just that. Homeless people have to deal with their belongings and self getting soaking wet in this cold temperature. I can’t help but feel bad for those who have no home during this whether and have to sit in the cold all night. Some homeless people are lucky, and have tarps and lots of blankets. But, there are those who have no resources when it rains. I was reminded about this issue when I went to my internship today at YouthHope. The youth came pouring into the dry building, finding shelter from the rain. They were given warm dry clothes if needed and a hot dinner. YouthHope excels at getting these youth out of the cold weather and into a safe building. However, I cannot ignore the fact that there are many homeless adults who are out in the open today, and will have to sleep in the rain tonight. I wonder what more can be done to help these people individually, when there is no more room in weather shelters?

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/

So over break i was in the city after i went out with my friends one night and we cam across this homeless man that was outside in the freezing cold didn’t really ask for money or for food but just said anything will help. When i looked at him i thought about our class and the readings that we did and i wanted to try to make a change in someones life. So when i saw the homeless man after me and my friends stopped at  Mexican place to get burritos, we were walking down the street and i saw him and i talked to him for literally 15 min about life and other things and towards the end of our conversation i asked him if he was hungry and he said he was so we walked back to the Mexican restaurant and i bought him a burrito and some chips and a drink. When i gave it to him i have never seen someones face light up so much he started to tear up and would not stop saying thank you. I told him over and over again no problem i was just so happy and it felt good to help someone in a time of need. I usually am the one to just walk past and not say anything but this time seeing him and thinking back on the stuff we talked about in class made me want to do something to help others.

Scrolling through Facebook a few days ago, I ran across an article that caught my eye. The headline was “Florida Ordinance bans homeless people from using blankets.” Curious as to who in the world would take the time to create such a heartless and in my mind stupid ordinance I clicked on the link to get more information. As I read the article I found that it was based off of events happening in Miami Florida. Lawmakers in that area have decided to ban not only the use of blankets but of anything that you could use to cover yourself up when you’re cold, if you were homeless. It is also illegal to provide the homeless with blankets and they have also made it illegal for them to use public restrooms, to panhandle and to camp. As the author of this article Reagan Ali states, “The series of bans has made it effectively illegal to be homeless.”

I was horrified after reading this article. I had no idea that people could be so selfish as to take away a humans basic needs. I then began to question why someone, in this case the mayor, would create such a ban. What benefit does it bring to others to make it so the less fortunate in our society have nowhere to sleep and do not have the ability to keep themselves warm? The only thing that I could think that would drive someone to make such a decision was lack of knowledge. Maybe the mayor believed that by banning basically the entire lifestyle of the homeless that it would make the “problem” disappear. This is called stupidity. People who think like this are naive. They do not understand the way that the world works. There are poor people out there, and have been for hundreds of years and as we’ve seen in past history pretending that they don’t exist only makes the problem worse. And taking away persons right to a blanket does not benefit a single person involved. Because when you take away someone’s basic right, like their right to be warm or their right to use the bathroom you basically strip them of their humanity. I don’t know about you, but I would be pretty upset. And the homeless, contrary to the belief of some, are real people with real feelings and are actually a huge part of our society. You wouldn’t tell your friend or family member they couldn’t use a blanket when they were cold, so why would you tell someone else those same words?

http://countercurrentnews.com/2014/02/florida-blanket-ban/#

I went to the nail salon a few weeks ago and I noticed a man sitting in the corner of the parking lot so I decided to donate some money to him.  He was friendly and thanked me.  He tried to hold a conversation with me as well.  However, I was running on a tight schedule that day so our conversation wasn’t very long.  I went inside the nail salon and was able to sit down at a pedicure station right away.  About 20 minutes had passed when all of a sudden the homeless man I gave money to earlier, walked into the nail salon that I was in.  The workers asked why he was there and they seemed startled that a homeless man was walking into their business.  The homeless man reassured them that he was waiting for the “pretty girl” and pointed at me.  This made me very uncomfortable and honestly, a little worried.  The workers didn’t think anything of it and offered him a seat.  My nails were now done and I went to pay for them.  The homeless man was nowhere to be seen.  However, as I was walking to my car I hear a man call out “hey!”  I looked and it was the homeless man waiting for me.  He started walking towards me and making small talk again.  However, he began to ask personal questions like what my last name was and where I was going.  He even asked for my number.  At this point I decided to cut him off and get in my car and drive away.

This entire experience was actually very nerve racking to me.  Being a female and alone, I didn’t feel very safe talking to this man.  However, I did give him money and I understand why he wanted to talk (I don’t mind being polite and making a little small talk) but it gave me a negative experience with the homeless.  It’s somewhat disheartening that these kind of homeless people are the ones who give the homeless communities bad reps but it was something I won’t forget.

I’ve been doing some research on the presidential candidates because I wanted to find out what each of them plans to do about the homelessness crisis. I found www.ontheissue.org which is a great way to find out candidate’s policies for a variety of different issues, so I selected four candidates (Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton on the democratic side, and Donald Trump and Ted Cruz on the Republican side) clicked the Welfare and Poverty link and learned some pretty interesting stuff.

The first thing I noticed, which didn’t really surprise me, was that under welfare and poverty for Ted Cruz there was one line, “government checks create dependency.” So we know Ted Cruz isn’t going to do much to help those in need.

Next let’s move on to Trump, who does a little bit better than Cruz. He wants to apply Welfare-to-work to 76 other welfare programs, not just AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children). However, he thinks “benefits should have strings attached. After all, if it’s our money the recipients are getting, we the people should have a say in how it’s spent.” That quote pretty much shows that his real concerns are where the tax-payer dollars are going. Furthermore he believes teenage mothers shouldn’t get public assistance unless they jump through some small hoops, and that they can receive assistance from “saints” who help them out of the goodness of their hearts.

We now come to Hillary Clinton who has some good ideas, but still seems a bit shaky. First off she opposes criminalizing the homeless and doesn’t see how it helps the problem at all. Secondly she advocates equal access to jobs and capital for all citizens, and thirdly believes banks and mortgage companies need to allow people to renegotiate their loans in order to stem the flow of foreclosures resulting in people ending up on the streets.

And finally, Bernie Sanders, who advocates for public assistance programs such as: social security, pension benefits, childcare and education, affordable housing, and nutrition programs. Not only is he opposed to cutting the food stamps program, but he co-sponsored the Head Start Program which provides early childhood services, as well as Job Corps – which he looks to expand – and a supplemental food program for women, infants and children.

I tried to stay within the word count while still giving you guys a good idea of the policies so I apologize for such a lengthy post. I’ll paste the links for you guys to check out because I didn’t get to all the policies, and I did have trouble interpreting the information on Hillary’s page so feel free to go more in depth on her policies in the comments! Also this is all from one website so some fact-checking may be necessary.

http://www.ontheissues.org/2016/Bernie_Sanders_Welfare_+_Poverty.htm

http://www.ontheissues.org/celeb/Hillary_Clinton_Welfare_+_Poverty.htm

http://www.ontheissues.org/Senate/Ted_Cruz.htm#Welfare_+_Poverty

http://www.ontheissues.org/Celeb/Donald_Trump_Welfare_+_Poverty.htm