Homelessness

I have journeyed over the last 30 years with different groups that have a passion for the urban centers of cities. My first experience while I was in seminary, also relatively young, was in San Diego, CA. I worked at my father in-law’s church, which is in the downtown of San Diego. Historic First Presbyterian was homeless person’s nighttime destination because it had great areas to sleep up against the building that was hidden and covered. (There were window wells that were at least 6 feet deep and made great sleeping place.)

Looking back at the transition of First Church from a church that looked the homeless as more of a nuisance and threat instead of neighbors God calls us to love and help. I can remember the discussion of many on the leadership about the problem and how we can alleviate it. I totally understand the fear of the elderly in San Diego who live in the downtown. They have been approached by homeless often and asked for handouts in front of their homes. They live in fear that one of theses people will either mug them while taking their purse or wallet. All it takes is one bad experience and the entire group of homeless is labeled as being bad.

Looking back 30 years ago I will always remember the ‘experiment’ that First Pres did with the help of the State. We were blessed to have two full time social workers that helped with seniors and homeless around the church. The purpose of the grant from the state was to see whether or not homeless and low-income seniors would benefit from one on one counsel and guidance from our two workers. They opened an office in the church. The city of San Diego began a partnership with local businesses and hotels in the downtown. The goal was to get the homeless off the streets, employed and in a hotel. The city and state help fund this so it wasn’t as if the local businesses were taking a ‘hit’ for this.

I was finishing seminary and working at the church as a youth director and C.E. Worker. So I was in contact with homeless all of the time because of working at the church, doing activities at the church and just walking and hanging out in the downtown. The presence of the social workers brought more homeless around the church. I will always remember Tony, who was in his late teens. He had been on the streets since he was 13. His family had abandoned him and he was in and out of State Institutions for mentally unstable. Our College and High School adopted Tony for a year. Looking back as an older adult, parent and worker with teens in the hood, I might be less likely to welcome Tony into my home and group.

Tony enjoyed participating with our various youth activities during his stay in San Diego. What stands out looking back was his ongoing reaction to people trying to help him or change him. He loved living on the streets, eating out of dumpsters and was always vocal about not wanting to become like the rest of us, city people who were tied down to a house, a job and a family. I can remember telling Tony the first time he attended a function that he could bring any type of weapons. (He usually had either a big knife on his side, a walking stick or brass knuckles.) He reacted at first to my request but eventually understood that on church property it wasn’t ok.

The social workers had helped Tony get a job and place to stay in the downtown area. He seemed ok with this for about a month. He had a tough time getting up on time and figuring out that work required him to be punctual. He participated in everything we did from church, outreach events, trips to T.J. and even retreats up at our church camp. The catch came when he decided to move on, he didn’t like be tied to any one city. So Tony left on a trip to Florida. During his travels Anne and I moved, after seminary and working at First Church for four years, to the San Francisco Bay Area. I will also remember the shock of a call from Anne telling me that Tony had landed on our doorstep while I was away on a church related trip. I remember talking with Roger, one of our deacons a big guy and Navy Academy grad to quickly go over to my house and escort Tony to a hotel on our dime.

I think Tony meant well but always came across as a tough guy who couldn’t be trusted. He was a gifted artist who would always draw a picture as his way of expressing thanks. Tony was gone when I arrived home. Our next letter was from a prison back in Florida. He decided that he like living behind bars than on the street. He had stolen something and purposely got caught. He thanked us for our loving on him over the last couple of years. Yet, my main hope to get Tony off the street wasn’t realized. He was up for release and decided to get into a fight and wasn’t released.

First Church during my time on staff birthed a ‘Soup Kitchen’ that was called Ladle Ministry. This was birthed in 1983 and I was fortunate to be on the steering committee that put all of this together. First Pres was blessed with an amazing kitchen that had recently been refurbished. So we came up with a plan and cooking team. Our first few ventures of feeding the homeless on Sunday afternoons turned out to be a huge success. We would feed any where from a few hundred to 500 depending upon the date. (The closer to the end of the month the greater the need.) This Ladle Fellowship continues to this day. It is now its own non-profit with staff and over 50 churches involved. They do much more than give out a great bowl of soup and bread. I believe all of this echoes God’s heart for the poor as revealed in Scripture.

Now fast forward to my experience over the last 3 years as I have done mercy church in the South Phoenix area. It was through the radical mindset of a couple of teens that our burrito ministry was birthed. We worked with Ben and Amy over a period of time and our house became the burrito-making center for our work. We partnered their church over the next 6 months before both of them left for college or different jobs. We learned a few things like don’t take teens out at night to hand out burritos. We instead started doing this after our painting projects on Saturdays in the mornings.

Over the last 3 plus years I am sure we have gone downtown to the overflow shelter area over 50 times. My heart has always been to connect with real people who would help me be better equipped to empower homeless individuals to get off the street, get a job, regain confidence and find a family. I have to be honest that over the last three years I really hadn’t connected with anyone that followed through and stayed in touch. I was confronted by one of the workers at CASS to partner with them or another homeless shelter so as to not duplicate their work and be more collaboratively centered.

So I was thrilled when I received a call from Running Deer and was invited to meet with him and other organizers of a new group, Arizona Organizing Project. I was excited be around a group that was able to sustain relationships with both homeless men and women. I sensed real commitment to helping each other rise above the norm and help each other to figure out how to get off the streets and help others while in the process.

It has been exciting to see my group partner with AOP a couple of times. We did our usual Christmas Eve Service with over 50 volunteers making hundreds of burritos, collecting blankets, getting donated coffee from Starbucks and other food items. I partnered with the AOP group let them decide and direct where we should do this. It was a great experience especially because my group got to connect in a real way with the AOP helpers. As many would say this gave a face to what they were doing.

I had another group come from Virginia to work with us for a week. I decided at the last minute, First Fridays were cancelled to do a homeless for a day experiment. I was cruel and made this college group get up early in the morning after arriving late at night to stand in line with other homeless to eat at St. Vincent de Paul’s Center. I know it was an experience for the group as we waited in line, saw the crowds form, got a breakfast that wasn’t Denny’s or Jack in the Box but still good hot food. I enjoyed talking to a few who we sat around. I could tell that the normal crowd was giving us a look as my group was checking everyone out also.

We went back to the AOP house where a few interns live and work in the downtown with the homeless. We got a great overview of AOP and living on the street. We spent the next 2 hours handing out flyers promoting AOP’s work in the house as a resource. We talked with a few homeless and business people that work downtown. This was an eye opening experience for the group. I could tell that a few of the students were a little uneasy. The best was yet to come – we were going to spend the night on the street.

We did lunch that day at Ranch Market to give the college group an exposure to the Hispanic Culture in Phoenix. It was a lot of fun. We went back to my house for a few hours and then got ready to camp on the street. Our urban camping guides were to be Cowboy and Richard. I know that this would be the extra that would help my group understand the real dynamic of living on the street.

We met at the AOP house and listened to Cowboy and Richard give us guidelines. We were given extra blankets to use for ground cover and to keep us warm. It was almost as if Cowboy especially wanted us to have a good experience. I doubt many on the street actually have this luxury. We waited for the sun to almost set and then we loaded up the van and truck. We drove to a vacant parking area adjacent to warehouses that were across the street from a ‘What a Burger’ that was open 24-7. We cleared out our away, put down tarps, put down blankets, sleeping bags and then more blankets. We hung out at the What a Burger for a few hours. We had brought plenty of food and water for the evening. Around 10pm it was time for bed. We were right next to a freeway so there was constant noise. The interesting dynamic was that there was a police helicopter out all night looking for someone in our area. I was able to get warm in my sleeping bag and did eventually fall asleep. My adopted son, Terrance, a college student who lived with us had a tough time falling asleep and tossed and turned all night.

I can remember Cowboy saying we needed to be up by 4am and out of the area by 4:30AM. It was almost like I had just put my head down to sleep and here was Cowboy saying it was time to get up and moving. I was proud of the group because they got moving and packed in about 15 minutes. My wife pulled up with the van and we quickly loaded up. My group went back to my house and crashed for another hour or so before I had them go paint a house of a South Phoenix senior.

I push people all of the time to live on the edge and see what God really wants us to do and be. So as I evaluated what we did and waited for the group to give feedback I thought that maybe we were too soft on the group. They really didn’t experience the hardship of not having any $$, a place to hide their stuff, few friends and a sense of being an outcast. Yet, as I have been reading their reflections I think they see homelessness in a totally different light. I think my hope of making the homeless have a face and names is working. I know that many of the stereotypes of homeless were raised and the initial image that all homeless are bums was addressed.

The obvious question as to whether I would do this again – of course! I think I would be more focused and have the group really exist all day and night on the street and not give them any help. I would have them interview a few on the streets to hear their stories. My prayer is that these students would be different back at school and at home. I know that all of them will reflect on the life circumstances of those who are on the streets and consider what it would be like if they had family or friends that were homeless or God forbid they end up without a job after college and experience what it is like to live ‘hand to mouth’.