1/31

On Thursday we were asked to reflect on our purpose as a class. I think we all agree that the Upstate Homeless Coalition is an organization whose mission is worthwhile, and we want to offer any help we can this semester. This is probably going to take the form of helping them with social networking, newletters, documentary movies, and other creative ideas that will increase their visibility and ultimately enhance their ability to reach out to the homeless in the upstate.

All of those things are awesome, and I am sure that the UHC will greatly appreciate our talents. But when you get right down to it, most of those things are a one-shot deal that will help in the short-term but need to be replaced or revised in the future. So we need to look at what our purpose is for the semester not in terms of what we are necessarily going to "do" but more like what is the greater purpose being served through us.

I believe that we are serving a higher purpose than just putting band-aids on the problem of homelessness. More than anything we can physically do, I think that our attitudes and treatment of the homeless can start to make a real difference in the broader culture. I know that this is a class and I don't mean to get too preachy on this blog but I am reminded of the story from Mark 1:40-45 when Jesus touched the leper. In that culture, lepers were total outcasts from the time the disease showed itself until death. While the leper had to deal with sores and pains, his biggest hurt probably came from the lack of community with anyone around him. Jesus could have healed the leper with the snap of his fingers, but he didn't. He reached out his hand and touched the man... something that might have never happened to the man before in his life. Sure, his illness was cured, but later that week he probably stubbed his toe or got robbed or lost a loved one. The point I'm trying to make is that it wasn't the immediate cure that meant so much to the leper, but it was the fact that Jesus was willing to reach out and touch him when nobody else would.

In the same way, I think that we can have a much more lasting impact if we change the way we think about the homeless and show the Upstate Homeless Coalition that we are a generation that refuses to just throw money and other resources at the problem. Hopefully we will have the opportunity and the privelege of being a part of real change this semester as we offer the UHC our services.

1/28

Chapter 8, which we discussed in class today, stirred up some memories from experiences I have had with the homeless in Greenville. One time over break I was working the door at the Project Host soup kitchen and a guy sat down to play some piano after he finished his meal. He was playing well and everybody enjoyed it but another guy thought it was too loud and told the piano man to stop playing. The piano man did not and it quickly escalated into a loud shouting match with everyone in the dining hall staring at the two. At this point it was not about the piano anymore (I honestly don't think either of them was genuinely mad at the other) but it was pretty much a pissing contest to see which one would come out looking stronger. To back down would mean admitting defeat and when they left the soup kitchen that day it would be back to the streets, where weakness can put you in serious danger. The two men ended up being separated and it never actually got physical, but it was interesting and sad to see how the culture of homelessness causes individuals to feel like they must harden themselves in order to survive in a dog eat dog world.

1/26

Talked to my mom this weekend and she is going to write her article for the Greenville News about the Bridesmaid's Ball and put pictures from the event in TALK magazine. I talked to Linda via email and she seemed excited to have the publicity.

In class today we discussed the interesting distinction between being "homeless" and "houseless". It is funny to think that two words which mean something so similar on the surface can be so different in the eyes of those who use them. If I were to be without a home, I think I would prefer to be houseless rather than homeless. The word homeless has so much baggage attached that to be homeless implies being lazy, alcoholic, violent, and a dozen other stereotypes. I also thought it was interesting to consider the attitude of some "homeless" as just "killin time". When I look at most of our lives in the class, I feel like we are all motivated by goals that we hope to achieve in the future. We do well in school to go to college to get a good job to raise a family to retire to die rich. It seems pretty lame when you put it into a single (possibly run-on) sentence, but at least it gives us something to work towards. The author talked about how when you have no money and no connections those goals can get lost and it leads to a very simple and unmotivated existence.

The more I learn about the condition of being homeless, the more I am beginning to see how so many people fall into the cycle of homelessness and never escape.

1/21

This post will be a summary of the two classes from this week. First, thoughts from Tuesdays class. Mike and Linda came and addressed a lot of the issues that we have been wondering about. I was really impressed by Mike's sincerity. Helping out the homeless doesn't exactly lend itself to self glorification, but Mike's humble desire to help those around him struck a chord with me. He challenged us as a class and as a generation to be the change that his generation had failed to be. It is a challenge that I believe we welcome as a class and I look forward to using our skills for the good of something so real and tangible. I cannot help but realize how blessed I am to be in this class, doing real, hands-on service. For three years I have had to write mindless lit. reviews about things I cared nothing about. The opportunity to apply what I've learned for the good of others is truly a blessing.
Now, on to class today. Whenever we address an issue of homelessness, it seems there might be an easy solution. Then, after a few moments of ignorant bliss, reality sets in as we start to realize that each issue is actually a complex set of circumstances that can't just magically be "solved". One of my tendencies is to see a problem and try to "fix" it. This makes things a little tricky when homelessness is the problem I so desperately want to fix. I've caught myself in class getting overwhelmed with how big of a problem we are up against. Even if all of us in the class dedicated our whole lives to the cause of homelessness, we would not likely see a solution in our lifetimes. The thing that gives me hope is my belief that God is in the mix. We don't see a solution to the problem, but He does. I believe with all my heart that God is bigger than the problem of homelessness. Habakkuk 1:5 says " 5 "Look at the nations and watch—and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told." As long as I cling to that, there will always be hope. As such, I think that our responsibility as a class is to do all we can to fight for justice and trust that he will provide in ways we can't yet imagine.

1/14/10

Today we talked more about the book and discussed some ideas for our Q&A on Tuesday. In the middle of class I remembered a book I read this past summer called "The Same Kind of Different as Me". It is a really interesting and moving book that follows the lives of two completely different people who eventually become lifelong friends. It pertains to this class because one of the characters is a homeless black man and the other is a wealth white art seller. The homeless man, Denver, has some really enlightening things to say about life on the street and the way society treats the homeless. At the heart of the book is a beautiful story of faith and God's love triumphing over the prejudices of man.

I am excited to see what Mike and Linda from the Upstate Homeless Coalition have to say on Tuesday. There are definitely a lot of people with amazing gifts to offer in our class, so I know that whatever needs they present us with will be met with creative solutions.

1/12

Just got out of class. I saw an interesting story on CNN about the homeless in St. Louis. The temperatures there were around 7 degrees during the day with wind chills at -18 degrees at night. Lots of homeless people gather in the tunnels at night to try and get shelter from the harsh conditions. The story was about their struggles, and it highlighted a church who sends its members to volunteer as night watchmen for those that are camping in the tunnel. If someone needs help or gets dangerously cold, these watchmen would provide help for them. Good to see that people are trying to help, especially when the weather has been so freezing.