Day 2 Degage Ministries Marquez

Today was kind of different because Ron wasn't there. Instead their was a lady who worked there a couple days. She didn't know that we were here yesterday, but we got things sorted out. There were't lots of people there and most of them were seated waiting to go in one of the rooms. I didn't do much but I got to help out some people that I didn't see yesterday. Most of the people that knew Gabe and I would say hi and that was nice. We got a little tired standing up but we managed. Most of the people that were there wore a bunch of clothes because of winter, and most of them would use a backpack or a bag and put them in their lockers so they wouldn't have to carry that much stuff. I heard a man talking about how he was sleeping at Mel and would wake up early and come over here because they wouldn't let them in until night and he would check his mail and take a shower and wash his clothes.

The man's story changed me because at the end of what he was talking about he said, "But I know that God helps me through this," and that to me was nice. I was thinking why would a man say that when all he had was destroyed and he was left homeless on the street? I then realized that when everything you own is gone, there's no one to turn to but God.  That changed what I thought about homeless people.

Day 2 Guiding Light Mission Olushola

Today at Guiding Light Mission we joined in on something like a bible study that was short but pretty good. we also helped fold and stack letters to send to people that help out with the mission. Then we carried a lot of boxes of into freezers that were donated by other foundations to help feed the resident at the mission. Then again today we joined in on a class talking about the bible. Ive noticed that the guys in that class have a great amount of knowledge about the bible and how it works.


So far I have learned about that the homeless are not always the people you see that are all dirty and smell really bad and have no education. They're just people who lost there way because of a bad situation and need help finding it back again. At Guiding Light Mission the guys there are just like that--they lost their way and are on their way back to the path.

Day 2 YWCA Workman

Today at the YWCA my group and I went continued the work that we were doing yesterday in one of their storage rooms. We had to somehow create room for another whole van, but we made it work. When we were finished with that the lady showed us another storage room but instead of kitchen and bedroom supplies it was filled with bathroom and cleaning supplies. Just like the other room it was really full and you could barely get inside. We started sorting all of the paper towel and toilet paper and there was so much we literally made a paper towel moutain. By the time we were finished it was pretty much time to go to the bus, so we headed upstairs where I met Angela's mother who works at the YWCA, and we went upstairs to her office to get candy. When we came downstairs we still had a little bit of down time so we sat in their library. While we were sitting there two little boys came in and were extremely friendly and kept saying hi. One of the ladies was giving out stuffed animals and one of the boys chose a big stuffed duck that was bigger than his whole head. When we had to go wait for the bus the two little boys said bye over and over again. It was really cute.

One of the things that I learned about homelessness so far is that becoming homeless can be caused from many different reasons. I used to think that a person became homeless mainly because they were stupid with their money and spent it all on drugs or something like that. But what I learned at the Salvation Army building was that a person can become homeless because of unemployment, domestic violence, abuse, divorce, physical illness, mental illness, bankruptcy, and bad financial luck etc. Because of these reasons even though someone may be very smart with their money they can still become homeless. That just goes to show how even people who are in a good financial state can still become homeless.

Day 2 First Place Van Tol

Today I went to First Place. Mr. Johnson took Amanda and I all over downtown to see where all the homeless work, hang out, and eat. The places were God's Kitchen, Degage, some of the apartments, and a Lutheran church. The restaurants were all really cheap and looked kind of dirty, but they work really well. Most of the apartments were very nice looking and had great rooms for everyone to stay in for the amount of time they needed. Amanda and I didn't get to see all of the places, but I'm sure they also provided well for anyone who's in need. We spent the whole morning we had together down there and before we could finish looking at all the places we had to go catch the bus. So we headed back, thanked him for everything, and waited for our ride.

Day 2 Family Promise Banaszak

Today we  finished sorting and organizing the donation room at Family Promise. Before, you could barely walk through it because people give so much during the Christmas season, but now you can walk through and it's easy to find everything! That took probably about two and a half hours (with a couple games of tag in there :) ).Then we unpacked some bags of clothes and put them on a table for the families to look through. Once that was done, I went and sorted through all the shoes and lined them up so families could pick them out easier. After that, we did a little more sorting of the clothes, and then played with the two cutest little boys ever. They were brothers, probably two and four years old. Once I was done sorting the shoes, the older boy came over to me and gave me a huge hug! So then we played with them for awhile, had to chase them out of the donation room, and they both gave lots of hugs. That was definitely the highlight of my day.

Before today I thought I understood homeless people. I thought they were just average, everyday people. But once I met those two little boys and said hi to their mom, I realized that, at least some, homeless people are more grateful than "average everyday people". The little boys were so full of joy, more than any kid I've ever babysat. Every little thing that most people would take for granted is a treasure to them, and it's great! Another thing I've learned so far this week is that there are so many more causes for homelessness than just drugs and alcohol. There's unemployment, illness, abuse, divorce, and just plain bad luck. And even though I kind of knew that before, it's actually become real to me this week.

Day 2 First Place Johnson

Today we went to go give the money  to the church so they can give it to the people who worked. After we walked to the church Mr. Johnson showed us around to other places that help out the homeless, such as Degage, God's Kitchen, apartments they put people in, and many more. Everywhere we went people knew who he was and stopped, chatted and shared a smile.

I cant say I've learned much more then I already knew, but I never really thought people could be so close when they're alone. The people we've met have a lot of community and support for eachother. 

Day 2 Guiding Light Missions Briseno

This morning I went to Guiding Light Missions and did a couple different things than yesterday. We folded some papers that were going to be sent out to people that donate money to the foundation so it can keep running. We did this for about 30 minutes until our friend, Joshua, came and got us to help him move some boxes of food that were going to be sent out and donated to other foundations. We did this for about an hour and then went to go to a meting.

One thing that I thought was really nice was the meeting. The meeting was for teaching guys more about the Bible and what's in it. I enjoyed it. This morning when I was snoozing my alarm and going back to bed, this thought just came across my mind that there are people right now, out in the cold freezing, with children, trying to survive, while I'm in my bed warm.  It just frustrated me for some reason.

Day 2 Guiding Light Mission Barendse

Today me and my group helped with sending letters to people who support Guiding light. After that we attended the devotion time they had. We helped move food out of the storage area to the loading dock to give food to the other food pantry's. We helped sort the freezer then went to a class and listened about the subject. They were talking about the bible and said that they were going to go over the whole bible in one class.

One thing I learned so far is that most of the shelters get their financial support from everday people. They don't get money from the goverment or make it themselves; it comes from donors and private sponsors. 

Day 2 Shepherds of Independence Bultsma

Today I was at Shepherds of Independence again. We vacumed and cleaned tables on the second floor. We moved tons of furniture so that we could vacum underneath. We picked up all the Christmas decorations that they had put up for the holidays. We took all the ornaments and garlands off of the christmas trees that they had set up around the building. After we were done with that we were given cookie dough and pans to put the dough on to make cookies that they would have out for people.

I've learned much about the homeless already in these past two days. But something that has dramatically changed is how these poeple become homeless. At Sheperds of Independence all the residents are people with mental illnesses. For the past two days we have been there, a man name Johnny makes laps around the building. He walks into the same rooms multiple times a day while mumbling things to himself. There's also a woman named Cathy who I met the first day who helped around in the kitchen, cleaning the dishes, who was mentally ill but was able to take partial care of herself with some extra support. In every place that we have cleaned there have been pills laying on the tables or cigarettes sitting on the floor. I've met people that are mentally ill, but with the right support they need to keep a home. The people that stay at Shepherds of Independence are people who have mental disabilities, and that makes me realize how big of an impact it could have on someones life.

Day1 YWCA Taylor

At 7:50 we got picked up by a bus from school to go to our placements. We were late coming to ours, which was the YWCA. We got dropped off at the ccorner and had to cross the street to get to where we were going.Luckly, Angela knew were we were supposed to go. Once we walked in the lady helping us, Ms. Jen, assisted us right away. She showed us a tour around the home, where we saw some moms and their kids. Then we had to go downstairs to clean this storage room full of donated things such as towels, all types of kitchen supplies, pillows, and covers. There were alot of stuff crammed in that storage room which we needed to organize, so we took down boxes and a couple of things from the shelf, and since there were alot of towels we had to fold them and put them in big bins. The second thing we did was organize this whole cupboard with plates,glasses,cups and other kitchen things neatly and carefuly. That took alot of time because it was so much stuff, but we did get some progress in.

Day 2 YWCA McLemore

Today we went back to the YWCA. We finished cleaning the fuse box room. Since we were done cleaning the fuse box room we went to the supply room and organized the laundry detergent and paper towels and many other things. Seeing all the paper towels, diapers, shampoo and many other supplies people donated made me realized how many caring and good people there are in the world.

When we were almost done with the supply room we decided to go upstairs to take a break. We saw a mother with her two sons, and the little boys were at 3 or 4. Seeing them smile and have such a great additude made me really happy. We said hi to the mother and the two little boys. They were very friendly.  The little boys got two stuffed animals, and when they got them they were so excited. Seeing the two litle boys smile about something so little like a stuffed animal made me learn to appreciate the little things in life and things I have. I learned this lesson by seeing those little boys have such a big smile on their face, and while I was leaving YWCA I waited for the bus with a big smile on my face.

Day2 YWCA Taylor

When we first arrived at the YWCA we went straight to work to finish the storage room we had started yesterday. Today was alot harder than yesterday because we had to move a lot of boxes into what the boiler room, and I was mainly doing that while the other girls were handing the boxes to me. We were making room for alot of other things that Ms.Jen said were in a van. I helped by taking the boxes Angela had gotten to put them in the boiling room while the others were putting away more pillows and gifts I had gotten from the bus. We finished that then we went upstairs and washed our hands. We later had to got back down and kind of clear this path of another room full of bathroom supplients, personal things, daipers, and so on.

Since the last three days I've been in Homeless in Grand Rapids, I've learned that these things are real and people suffer because of it if they are my age, younger, or older. So helping out makes me just feel good inside because I wanted to do this class for that particular reason. I think just donating and doing other little stuff really helps others alot! Mainly I realized that little things can help out peolpe in need and to not just take it as a joke and be grateful.

Day 2 Hope Community Fethke

Today at Hope Community, we set up snacks and crafts for the kids and their moms. We had pipe cleaners, stickers, crayons and coloring books set out for the kids to use. When no one came at 9:00 like we had planned, the workers asked us to knock on the apartment doors to wake up people and get them to join us. We also gave out "Hope Money" to those who joined us for crafts. We hoped for a better outcome, but only two women and their children came, and later another woman came alone because her daughter was in school (she took some coloring pages home for her daughter). We played with the kids and made things out of pipe cleaners, and the kids and moms really enjoyed using the stickers and coloring books. We had a lot of fun, and I really enjoyed seeing the joy on the children's faces when they were playing.

Something I have learned about homelessness is that people who are homeless need more than just money. At Hope yesterday, Felicia told us about how they try to help the women get job opportunities, graduate from college or highschool, get job skills they need, and everyday skills for living in an apartment on their own. Above all those things, the women need personal relationships to get encouragement and support. This is sort of like what the man from from the family we met on Monday was talking about. When he and his wife were homeless, what got them through it was the love and support they had together, and from the people who had helped them. This is what is most important, treating homeless people like normal people--because they are!

Day 2 Family Promise Huan

Today we went back to Family Promise before Kelsey even showed up. We went through towels, diapers and other cleaning supplies. We sorted through boxes, bags and crates of cloth. We organized everything on the shelves and played with two little kids.

Something that I've learned during this time is that homeless people can be anyone. They're normal people. It really surprised me when I saw the mother of the two boys that we played with. She seemed really happy about us helping take care of her kids, and she seemed joyful over help from the agency. Another thing that I've noticed from the two kids was that they were super excited over anything. They did NOT seem like the stereotypical homeless person that I'd pictured in my mind.

Day 2, Hope Community Adrianse

So today we did arts and craft and we went around the inside of the building to tell people we were ready. We had a 3 women come and a few kids. One mom's child was at school so she couldnt come day. I met someone new named Taylor. I didnt ask her anything but her name, but she seems really nice and she's funny too. I had fun helping and getting to play with the kids.

Day 2 Placements Mr. Tuit

Today I visited three of the placements: Shepherds of Independence, Guiding Light Mission, and Family Promise. Again, I tried to talk to the people who host our students, help them understand the class, make sure that the placement is valuable for them, and build a relationship with them. Just like yesterday, the people I talked to were very enthusiastic about our class, grateful to have our students with them, and supportive of the course goals.

One thing I've learned already in this course is how the stereotypes of homelessness we have can be dramatically wrong. I have often thought of "the homeless" in a one-dimensional way, thinking of mentally ill people sleeping under an overpass. Alicia, who works at Shepherds of Independence, said she was the same way until she started working there. But homelessness is much more complex and varied than that. While the reading we looked at yesterday said that "unaccompanied homeless singles" make up 50% of Michigan's homeless people, our visit on Monday with a family that had lost their home, my visit to Family Promise today, and my visit to Hope Community yesterday made real to me how many families with small children are without homes. And the causes of homelessness, too, are complex and varied: Mental illness is a common cause, but job loss, physical injury or sickness, divorce, or just plain bad financial luck can put people out of their homes all too quickly. How blessed I am to be "housing secure." I think I've learned not to take that security for granted. 

Day 1 Guiding Light Mission Barendse

Me and my group went to Guiding light mission. We had a tour around the building and helped make salad for lunch. Then we sat in on a meeting with some people that had problems in the past and were trying to get better. There storys were very meaningfull and close to the heart.

The people in the meeting talked about how they started drinking and even using drugs at a young age. Most of them went to high school and even college but got caught up with the wrong people or bad habits. There was one person who stood out more than others. He worked  at Guiding light and we helped in the kitchen. He told us a story about how he was an alcoholic and homeless because of it, but he had a degree in culinary arts and was trying to get another degree. Overall it was a great first day at Guiding light and I cant wait to go back and learn more.  

Day 1 Degage Marquez

I went to Degage ministries and met with a man named Ron. He was very nice and went straight to the point about what he does there. He told us that he did mail, supplies, and lockers. He said that it would be nice to get a couple more lockers because they didn't have many and lots of people came in looking for lockers to put their things in. He also did the mail, and it was really easy: The only thing you had to do was ask for their ID and look for the first letter of their last name. There were lots people when I got there and most of them were sitting down waiting for help with their problem. Ron gave me a key that worked for the lockers. He told both me and Gabe that we should protect the keys. We had to first ask them for their name and the locker number and then once the locker was open look for the paper with his name on it and his picture.

I met this lady named Tracy who works with people who lost or don't have their ID, divorce papers, or birth certificate and she could find them all on the computer.  There was another man who worked there and he did all the talking. A lady came in and asked for her birth certificate. She said she was out for 15 years and I was startled.  I didn't know that a person could be out for that long and not have an ID.