Homeless Immersion Trip: Day 4

I did not carry my empathy gracefully today and the lack of quality sleep is definitely affecting me. Remember, I am still privileged enough to be sleeping behind locked doors, out of the rain, and without the fear of being kicked and harassed. But the 3 days of poor sleep got to me today.

We served Morning Hospitality with St. André Bessette (http://saintandrechurch.org/programs-volunteering/morning-hospitality/) for the second time today. Yesterday, I was clearing the tables as our guests finished their meals. St. André gives each guest a name tag as they come in and emphasizes the importance of using it in interactions with guests. I was moved by the transfer of dignity as I used their names and asked if I could get dirty dishes out of their way. I am passionate for that types of service.

Today, I was placed in the clothing room. A man came in that was in clear pain and he seemed miserable and angry. While helping him find new clothing, I asked if he needed a jacket. He shared with me how he already had a nice rain resistant jacket and I could tell how much this clothing meant to him. It seemed to give him a bit of pride. We found a pair of shorts that excited him and by the time we finished he had a small smile on his face. When he put on his jacket to leave, he found that his jacket was ripped at the seams of his left arm. While he was trying to hide his disappointment, my heart shattered. I wanted to sew it up right there, but I didn't have any resources to do so. I suggested that we find a warm jacket and put the weather protectant over that one. He was a good sport about it, but I feel that that was only because he didn't have another choice. Then, his coffee was accidentally spilled by another guest. Turned out that a church volunteer had dumped his first cup as well when he set it down to rest earlier. The doors were closing soon, but I suggested that we head to the kitchen to see if they had coffee left. His health was poor enough that he needed to rest while we waited for the elevator. Once we got to the kitchen, we found out that they were out of coffee for the day. I let someone help him out and the tears immediately came. I was rushed to by my fellow students and could feel the support in minutes. I want to bring attention to the fact that that man I assisted did not and does not have the same rush of support as I do as he goes through much greater trials and again reiterate the importance of being mindful of respectful, positive interaction.

I'm going to save this section for more detail in another update, but we are meeting with a great range of agencies. Some have incredible programs that give us ideas to bring home with us and other meetings have a bit more delicacy to them as we learn about areas in their programs where there is potential growth and we work to ask to find the right questions for not only our own learning but to give them a new perspective so that they may possibly implement solutions.

Our agenda for today is the Portland Housing Bureau, the Portland Police Station, and another youth agency.

#pacificnorthwest #socialjustice #travel #reflection #portland