Young love

A young couple, whom I am proud to call friends, and on whom I will bestow the pseudonyms, Greg and Diana, have served for me as an example of the incredible strength which is the human spirit. 

I have known them both for almost three years.  Greg is an energetic twenty-five year-old child of the wind.  He is stocky, full of humor and always quick to laugh.  Diana is a 5ft, early twenty something woman of the world.  They are happy in love and engaged to be married in the spring of 2014. 

When I first met Greg and Diana they were living homeless on the streets of Austin, Texas.  I don't know the entire scope of their personal histories, but I know that Diana grew up with her brother, Raul, in the foster system, moving around through several states.  Both Diana and Raul have lived on the streets extensively since they left the foster system.  Diana has a few serious health conditions, including having needed kidney dialysis regularly, and even being given a two month clock to live.  She beat their odds.  I do not yet know as much about Greg's past, but I know that it has not been easy. 

I remember talking with Diana (the sweetest person who ever lived) one day at the organization when she began talking about the previous night on spent on the street.  I believe this was last winter.  I remember experiencing a sick feeling pass through my body.  It turned out that these two young, bright and happy people had spent the past seven straight months holding each other each night for protection against the dangerous city street elements.  That conversation really opened my eyes.  They had both spent years going back and forth from living on the street. 

I met Diana and Greg at a social service group which does much to serve the homeless of Austin, and which recruits members of the homeless community to serve as leaders in the organization.  Diana and Greg both serve in some form of leadership at this organization.  I know that Greg has been volunteering at the organization for five years.  They take their responsibilities very seriously and are completely devoted to serving their fellow wo/man week after week. 

Today both Greg and Diana have attained jobs at a major fast food restaurant and have been living in their own apartment for a few months.  There is absolutely no doubt that the skills which learned in their leadership roles fostered them the opportunity to extend their success beyond the organization and out into the job market to find housing and an income (albeit, not a Living Wage).   I think this story is true for many people who've found strength in this organization, and for people who've found it in any of the other thousands of organizations which serve the underserved with not only life sustaining resources, but also, perhaps, some sense of control over their own destiny.

The Volunteer

 

 

I am proud to present to you,

 

The Volunteer

 

 

Above: Sam the Man

 

Heroes of the day

 

 

Above: The fine folks from the Holy Cross Church woke up super-ass early to push out nearly 200 sandwiches in 45 minutes so that some hungry people in Austin, Tx would not have to spend this day (at least) without food.

 

I thank the universe for the people dedicating their own free time and resources to provide for those whom are not able to provide for themselves. 

 

So many good organizations are only able to continue because of their dedication.  

  I want to grow up to be just like them.

keeping the good work going

There is a "soup kitchen" which operates at the University United Methodist Church (UUMC) every Saturday morning under the guidance of a ministry call Open Door.  And, when I say every Saturday, I mean every Saturday.  Their diligence and their pure devotion to their cause is incredibly inspiring.  As the result of their great efforts, on average, 200 people know that they have a guaranteed hot breakfast every Saturday morning.

At the moment, the church is in the act of eliminating the asbestos from their facilities.  This includes this unfortunately includes the kitchen.  Despite having a more than legitimate excuse to take a long overdue break ( the people who direct and lead are there every possible Saturday; day after day and year after year.) and shut the services down, the leaders created a solution which would allow them to continue feeding the homeless and severely underserved of Austin who have relied on them for many years. A plan was devised in which the recipients, or guests, would instead be offered a sack lunch containing a variety of food stuffs to be delivered outside in the front parking lot of the church.

I have been privileged to bear witness to some of the planning and decision making that went into their creating a solution to the problem of changing their entire operation which is always contingent upon donations, most of which need to be prepared with a stove.  I have been amazed (but not surprised) by the selfless and tireless dedication and hard work which every member of the serving community at UUMC has given in the effort to continue their work.  Open Door is operated 100% by volunteers.  The first class organization of their agency has allowed them to remain a critically sustaining part of many people's lives. 

It is a great opportunity for me to be able to see the process to create solutions to serious problems at an organization such as Open Door and make connections to the information presented in Social Work in Communities and Organizations. 

Observation: I can't even imagine what it must have been like for those people living on the street to experience that incredible storm on Wednesday night.  It is so very heartbreaking.