Dorothy Day Center Observation

I selected the Beacon to complete my service learning assignment over two days. The Beacon, a nonprofit day center that provides services to Houston’s homeless, is located at 1212 Prairie and staff can be reached at (713) 220-9737. The Beacon’s website, www.chomhouston.org, provides comprehensive information on the history of The Beacon and the services they provide. Established in 2007 by Christ Cathedral Church, The Beacon is currently open to serve clients Friday through Monday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. However, starting in April, The Beacon will begin opening on Thursday to provide services five days a week (Chomhouston.org, 2014). My contact, Zachary Hubenak, is the kitchen Coordinator and informed me the population The Beacon serves

At church, in addition to my participation in the worship services, I volunteered at our church’s soup kitchen, medical camps and elementary school for underprivileged children. These experiences opened my eyes to the deprivation of love and care in the world and a dire need of God’s grace for people at large so they could receive forgiveness, healing and restoration in their lives.

One thing that stood out to Adrian is not so much some of the stories but as a numbers guy seeing the monthly reports on how many people have been helped or benefited from the shelter. The numbers are staggering you know the need is there another report is they track volunteer’s hours. It shows there is a need and people are interested in helping in their community. He was surprised by these numbers. What is most inspiring to Adrian is the volume of people who want to help this cause.

As a teen, I had the opportunity to volunteer on a summer mission trip that focused on serving the homeless population in San Francisco. Stricken by poverty and drug addictions the Tenderloin District was unlike anything I had ever seen. Instead of passing judgment or feeling intimidated, I chose to serve these people with compassion and respect. What I experienced during this time was transformational and helped to direct me on a pathway towards service.

In an effort to end homelessness in Washington, DC, low barrier shelters, such as the Harriet Tubman Woman’s Shelter were implemented. Located in the center of DC General Campus in Southeast, DC, the Harriet Tubman Woman’s shelter, “is a 100 bed low-barrier emergency shelter for women over the age of 18 who are in urgent need of housing, food or case management” (Catholic Charities Archdiocese of Washington, Inc., 2010). A low-barrier shelter is “usually primarily short-term shelter for individuals. Low-barrier shelter is designed to keep people safe, is often open only 12 hours a day, and is often in a congregate setting. This type of program is provided, on a first come, first served basis, to any adult presenting as homeless. It is sometimes also referred to as emergency shelter” (Interagency Council on Homelessness District of Columbia, 2010, p.4) For all shelters in the Washington, DC area the women are to be out of the shelter from the time of 7am until the doors open again at 7pm. For those women who are not a part of the work program or have nothing to do during the day, the women have a chance to participate in the day program located in the shelter.

Thesis: The United Way of Champaign County utilizes their resources to provide aid to the local homeless population.

Volunteering at a local soup kitchen has become an important activity that humbles me, having witnessed the difficulties this population faces. The Christian Medical Association Homeless Meals Program at Wayne State University School of Medicine will allow me to continue this type of community outreach.

Tuesday, September thirteenth, I attended a Healthcare for the Homeless clinical at the Salvation Army located in downtown Minneapolis. My preceptor started the day by providing a tour of the facilities, explaining the services offered and the rules patrons are required to abide by when staying at the Salvation Army. The Salvation Army location operates a medical clinic at the location for homeless persons in Hennepin County. The clinic is staffed with a nurse and an advanced- practice registered nurse. The website describes the clinic services provided, “a variety of health and wellness services to people who are homeless. It operates at 9 different shelters and drop-in centers in Minneapolis, to address health concerns, provide treatment

Dayspring Center is a nonprofit organization that serves homeless families and helps them become independent. The mission of the center is “helping homeless families find their way home” (Casson, 2015). To achieve this mission they try to lovingly meet the needs of homeless families by meeting these families where they are without judgement and by addressing what brought the family to the center in the first place. The idea of Dayspring center originated from a group of volunteers who were inspired by an Episcopal priest. This priest offered pews for homeless people to sleep through the night. This led him to open an overnight shelter and soup kitchen in the local Episcopal Church. Dayspring Center officially opened in 1989 in a renovated building near downtown Indianapolis. Throughout the years the organization has grown into an agency that strives to prevent and combat homelessness. Their programs focus on immediate relief and then sustainability for the families that they work with. They effectively work to combat homelessness by focusing first on the issues that cause families to become homeless.

Since the creation of the shelter in 1968, it has undergone a lot of changes. When the shelter was first started its main objective was to be able to help those individuals struggling with addictions such as drug and alcohol and to be able to help them get back on their feet under no conditions. It did not take long once the shelter was established to continue the full up and expand. Pine Street also began to offer other services such as mental health services, substance abuse treatment, and job training services. It was a very good idea to provide certain services because as the data shows a large majority of individuals were in and out of the shelter in three days or less which represented 51% of the total of individuals in the shelter. The past model was working just fine for all of those involved. The nursing clinic was very beneficial for the homeless to be able to get diagnosed for any illnesses that they currently had and were also able to every Thursday offer foot-wash to all who wanted one. The clothing program was another

I didn’t know what to expect my first night as a volunteer. I was a bit nervous, wondering if I would see anyone that I knew. As it turns out, I did know someone staying there, her name is Patty. Patty is a woman in her mid-sixties. She has a family that lives locally and the last time I saw her, she had a job. Patty openly

Have you ever wondered where you would rest your head at night? Where you would find your next meal? How would support your family given unforeseen sudden circumstances? I’ve never thought about the importance of these questions until a recent experience I had volunteering at a food pantry. There are organizations whose main purpose is to help those in need and provide resources to members of the community who are going through difficult times. A food pantry is a non-profit community serviced organization that provides members of the community with groceries and resources. From volunteering at this food pantry I learned more than ever to never “judge a book, by its cover”, or in other words, even though I person may look well put together on the outside, you never know what it is they are dealing with on the inside. I’ve encountered homeless members of the community, people who have suffered from physical abuse, and people who have experienced unexpected disasters such as house fires to expected job layoffs while volunteering at a food pantry. I’ve also come to appreciate everything that I have in my life from the roof over my head to the food in my stomach and that some people are less fortunate than me.

Friends of the Night People, an organization located on the west end of Allentown in Buffalo Ny,is a small center but has a huge influence on the buffalo community. The Friends of Night People provide services to the homeless and low income workers along with their children. Meals are provided daily along with medical care, clothing and counseling. Anyone is welcome to these services, free of charge and no questions asked. Despite the fact that this organization relies on donations and volunteers to keep it running day after day,the volunteers do whatever they can to help those that are in need. This is apparent as they welcome all who enter with a friendly smile, and warm greeting showing that they truly care and want to help whoever walks

To begin with, it is important to start with the fact that more than half a million people in the United States are homeless and forced to live on the streets and either sleep in an unsheltered location, or at a housing project (emergency shelters, short-term transitional housing, or safe havens). Moreover, according to a Social Solutions’ article (2016), 15% of the homeless population are individuals who have experienced homelessness for a period longer than a year (chronic homelessness). It is because of those facts about homelessness that I had decided to volunteer at a faith-based temporary overnight shelter and subsequently record my experiences and what I observed during my visit.

Two years ago, I came on a mission trip with my church youth group to Austin, Texas. One of the places we volunteered was a refugee house called Casa Marianella. Looking back now, I’m not sure what I was expecting to get out of the experience, but there is no way I could have predicted the encounter I had. My group bought a large amount of lunch food, and we went to the house to serve sandwiches and chips to the residents. About seven men showed up, and after we had served them food, my group and I sat down to eat lunch with them. Right then,