This past week, I set out on a mission. I informed all of you that, among other things, I would learn the personal story of a homeless person and report my findings here. I was eager to start. In fact, I was so eager that I failed to see something very important. On Tuesday, around ten at night, as I started walking around hoping to stumble across a homeless person who would share the intimacies of their life with me, I was suddenly struck with the realization that what I was trying to do was at best inconsiderate. Getting someone to open up about a down-on-their-luck experience for the sake of an assignment didn’t sit too well with me. I decided to amend my goal. Instead of getting to know a homeless person, I would give a homeless person the opportunity to get to know me.
As I ventured out into downtown Chicago, a few questions started racing through my head: How should I approach a homeless person? What would we talk about? And what if by chance I acquired some nefarious information scribbled on a Playboy and I suddenly found myself being chased around the city by chop-shop gang? All of these questions required some serious thought, except the last one. I’ve seen Adventures in Babysitting. I know exactly how to handle myself in downtown Chicago… After some serious thought, I concluded it best to confront him or her with the same line I use to pick up the ladies, “Hey, how are you doing tonight?” Pretty smooth, right? But the second question was trickier to address. What would we talk about?
It wasn’t long before I spotted a homeless person. At the corner of State and Randolph, sitting against a building, was an elderly man wrapped in a blanket. The blanket nearly camouflaged him into the wall. I moseyed over to his side of the street and slowly approached him. I began with that smooth opener we discussed a minute ago.
"How are you doing tonight?"
He grumbled.
"Excuse me?" I asked.
"I’m gonna wanna keep my shoes!" he shouted at me.
"Oh…" was all I managed to say before walking away.I wouldn’t exactly call it a victory. I’m sure had we been in a movie some passersby would have witnessed this interaction and looked at me strangely. However, thankfully nobody was around. My next two attempts at sparking a conversation with a homeless person were met with equal success but are hardly worth mentioning.
The McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Act defines a homeless person as an “individual… who lack[s] a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence.” Based on information from its website, The National Coalition for the Homeless estimates there are roughly 650,000 homeless people in the United States on any given night. The website goes on to state that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requires “point-in-time counts, which are conducted, community by community, on a single night in January every other year.” However, point-in-time counts are just that, based solely on a specific point in time. When you look at the figures for people who experience homelessness throughout the year, the numbers increase significantly to between 1.3 and 3.5 million. It’s important to remember that accurate figures are difficult to maintain because we’re dealing with a transient group of people. It’s also worth noting that the amount of people in the United States who experience homelessness is increasing daily due to the recent economic crisis: one, because people are in need now more than ever; and two, because welfare programs are usually the first to get the axe when state legislators are looking to save a little cash.
The bar graph below, taken from endhomelessness.org, gives you an idea of the different kinds of subpopulations there are within the homeless demographic. For instance, as you can see, the amount of homeless families is startling. However, while many homeless children in Chicago have family to rely on, nearly 10,000 (ages 14 to 21) do not, according to Chicagohomeless.org. These kids are described as “unaccompanied youth.” And it’s important to keep in mind that 10,000 is just an estimate for the unaccompanied youth in Chicago, not the nation.
Following three failed attempts at conversing with homeless people, I retired for the night. I remained determined, however, continuing to research opportunities online. I eventually came across The Labre Ministry. The Labre Ministry is a student-led homeless outreach program with Loyola University Chicago. According to its website, “Students attempt to form relationships with the homeless of downtown Chicago, providing both food and friendship. Labre's main focus is solidarity, rather than charity, focusing more on the relationships created than on the act of providing food itself.” Every Thursday night, volunteers divide into two groups, tackling two different routes along Chicago’s street.
This past Thursday, I joined them. As I had already tried my luck on my own, and failed, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to go with a group this time. To respect the privacy of those involved, names have been changed. I arrived a little early that night. As such, I was asked to help two other volunteers pack the food into coolers. Ashley, a graduate student and apparent veteran with Labre Ministry instructed Jennifer, a fellow newbie, and me on what exactly we should expect. As we prepared for the night’s events, we talked and got to know each other as well. One exchange in particular stands out in my head:
We had been discussing food
donations when Ashley commented, "I hope they like the chicken pasta tonight."
Somewhat surprised, Jennifer asked, "Who,
the homeless people?"
"Yeah, sometimes they don’t like it…
and don’t wanna take it."
"Are they really THAT picky?”"
Ashley and I shared a look before
she answered Jennifer’s question, “Well yeah, they’re people, aren’t they?"
You could
definitely tell which volunteers where in it to satisfy some job requirement or
credit for a course; after all, volunteering for recognition is the true mark
of a millennial. However, others were genuinely there to help the needy. I know,
I know, there’s no need to remind me where I stand on this spectrum. However,
my suspicion Jennifer was fulfilling a class objective proved to be correct.
Many of you know Michigan Avenue as home to Millennium Park, the Chicago
Water Tower, the Art Institute of Chicago (that museum Ferris Beuller and his
friends visited… who?), as well as a myriad of other notable landmarks.
However, this street is also a stopping point for many of Chicago’s transients
as well as one of the paths Labre walks every Thursday evening. On this
particular Thursday night, the temperature was in the mid-thirties, which was
“not bad,” as described by some of the people we met.Our group spoke with five homeless men. The first two were very thankful for the food. The third, James, was no exception; however, what really stuck out about James was his compassion for others. He declined a second serving of food, explaining that a few of his friends up the street would need some as well. In fact, having just expressed a desire to shave, James even had reservations about taking a razor blade from us, claiming that it was simply too much. We assured him that he could have it. To be honest, had I been in his shoes, I would have been milking these volunteers for every last drop. That’s how I’m wired. But all of the homeless people we encountered that night expressed reservations about taking seconds of food, explaining to us that there were others out there who needed it more. This is definitely an interesting quality, one worth exploring as I continue my interactions with this population in the coming weeks and months.
After our trip was done, the two Labre groups met on Loyola’s campus. We shared out thoughts before concluding with a prayer and then we all headed home.
I know I promised to discuss bumvertising this week; however, once I started reading the literature, it kind of irritated me to see how homeless people were being exploited. The following link will take you to a Daily Show clip that pretty much sums up the stupidity of people who take advantage of this needy population. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUjJtpBa6w0
For next week, I plan to do the following:
- discuss the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act
- attend another Labre Ministry meeting
- and I would also like an opportunity to speak with a homeless college
student. If any of you know someone who would be willing to share their
thoughts, please let me know.
