I can't believe it's almost over! We have half a free day before we fly out this evening. It's been an fantastic experience and I like to think that this week has made an impact on people's lives.
On Friday, my group continued the sanding process. It was hard work and, by the end of it, dust was everywhere! In our hair, on our arms and face, and all over our clothes. It was great! At the end of our workday, the homeowner, Kristy, invited us across the street (to her mother's house) to share with us videos of the hurricane damage on her house. We've seen how important it is for people to share their stories and their experiences and this was indicative of that. A great many people here have videos of the disaster and the aftereffects and they seek to share those videos. I think it's a way to work through the pain of their experience. It's equally valuable for those of us who didn't live through the disaster. We can never fully understand what happened here, but listening to people's stories and seeing their videos help to give us some understanding of the struggles (both physical and emotional) people are still going through.
On Saturday, we were done with service and sought to experience New Orleans. We drove into the city and rode a street car around. By luck, we came across an art festival. It was really cool! There were dozens of booths with local artists, good music, and delicious food. After the art festival, we moved the French Quarter and explored for several hours. People did all sorts of things; some people chose to shop, some sat in the sun and listened to music, some quested for the waterfront. We all had a good time.
This week has been a wonderfully unique experience. Those of us on the trip have made unbreakable connections with the community and with each other. Equally important, we've made an impact on the community and we've learned so much. The question we're faced with now is, "now what?" What do we do from this point forward? A week of change is one thing, but it's important to make this a lifetime of change. To bring our firsthand knowledge back and to share it with our home community, Linfield. We must continue to be the change we wish to see in the world.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
Thursday in St. Bernard
Thursday was a day of change for both groups. But also a day of good food! My group (the mudding group) switched from mudding to sanding. The other group had an even bigger shift, they changed homes.
For the first three days, my group has been applying mud to all of the seems in the home. Since late Tuesday/ early Wednesday it's been clear that we would finish mudding before the end of the week. The question became: then what? Well, on Thursday we found out. Sanding. So we applyed mud to the entire house and now we got to sand all of the mud we applied. I think sanding taught us a really good lesson: do a good job now because if you don't your life will be hell later. In the places that the mud was well applied, sanding was a simple and fun task. In the places where the mud was applied in a haphazard (bumpy) manner, sanding became an unpleasent and exhausting task. You can only sand so much down by hand. So in places where there were huge (1/2 milimeter) ridges, it takes FOREVER to make that area smooth. Nonetheless, it was nice to get some physical labor in after three days of detail work.
Group two faced the unfortunate fate of switching homes and site leaders. The owner of the first home they were working on, decided she didn't want them there anymore. We all struggled to figure out why she would stop The Project's (and our) work in the middle of the most important step, mold remediation. In the end we had to realize that we just can't get into the mind of a person who lived their entire lives in a home and then had it destroyed in a matter of days. The impact that must have is unimaginable. In the end, the group switched homes and began drywalling another home. They're having a ton of fun doing it and, it seems, Tamir is a drywalling god.
The upside for both groups was lunch at Tony's Restaurant. Group one went to lunch on Wednesday, but group two had been eating PB & J all week. It was happy fortune that both groups ended up at the same restaurant for lunch. And it was a great lunch! Filled with stuffed crab, catfish, and oyster po boys (not together, though). It was a nice break from all of our hard work.
For the first three days, my group has been applying mud to all of the seems in the home. Since late Tuesday/ early Wednesday it's been clear that we would finish mudding before the end of the week. The question became: then what? Well, on Thursday we found out. Sanding. So we applyed mud to the entire house and now we got to sand all of the mud we applied. I think sanding taught us a really good lesson: do a good job now because if you don't your life will be hell later. In the places that the mud was well applied, sanding was a simple and fun task. In the places where the mud was applied in a haphazard (bumpy) manner, sanding became an unpleasent and exhausting task. You can only sand so much down by hand. So in places where there were huge (1/2 milimeter) ridges, it takes FOREVER to make that area smooth. Nonetheless, it was nice to get some physical labor in after three days of detail work.
Group two faced the unfortunate fate of switching homes and site leaders. The owner of the first home they were working on, decided she didn't want them there anymore. We all struggled to figure out why she would stop The Project's (and our) work in the middle of the most important step, mold remediation. In the end we had to realize that we just can't get into the mind of a person who lived their entire lives in a home and then had it destroyed in a matter of days. The impact that must have is unimaginable. In the end, the group switched homes and began drywalling another home. They're having a ton of fun doing it and, it seems, Tamir is a drywalling god.
The upside for both groups was lunch at Tony's Restaurant. Group one went to lunch on Wednesday, but group two had been eating PB & J all week. It was happy fortune that both groups ended up at the same restaurant for lunch. And it was a great lunch! Filled with stuffed crab, catfish, and oyster po boys (not together, though). It was a nice break from all of our hard work.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Day Two & Three in Da Parish
The week is going by SO fast! During group reflection last night we realized the week is more than half over at we all got a little teary-eyed. We're considering extending our stay through may. I wonder how our professors (and Rob & Dawn's students) would feel about that...
There have been ups and downs over the last few days. Let's start with the ups. The St. Bernard Project has a "Welcome Home" ceremony every time a house is finished and a family gets to move back into their home. We went to one on Tuesday and it was amazing on several levels. First of all, during the ceremony Win-Dixie (a local supermarket chain) donated $60,000. That's enough for The Project to build five more homes! The family shared their story, thanks, and emotions and it was really quite moving to be able to hear directly from a family that was affected, but has been able to start rebuilding their lives. One of the things the family mentioned, which impressed all of us, was that their small children are the FIFTH generation of the Maus family to live in that house. What's even more amazing is that this is very representative of the Parish. Before the storm there was over 75 % home ownership in the area. Two-thirds! That's amazing and highly unusual. Based on what people have been telling us, most of these homes have housed several generations of the same family. This, in a nut shell, is why people can't just find new homes. They are extremely connected to their homes (however damaged) and their community. The other reason the "Welcome Home" ceremony was nice is because we were able to get a sense of how the homes we're working on will look a few weeks after we leave.
On Wednesday, we decided to take a break from the peanut butter and jelly we'd been eating for lunch and try some place in the community. Our AmeriCorps site-leader, Ryan, as well as The Project office, reccomended Today's Ketch, so we went their. In three words: it was AMAZING. Most of us got catfish poboys (sandwhiches) and we all enjoyed them. One person got an oyster sandwhich and as sides people had jambalaya, gumbo, and (according to Cameron) "the best onion rings in the world." It was a truly fantastic meal. And it wasn't the last fantastic meal of the day. Wednesday night, many of the St. Bernard Project volunteers went to a dinner hosted by a local gentleman who was affected by the storm and came up with dinner as a way to say "thank you" to all the volunteers. It was a great meal with a great deal of community. We had pasta with crawfish and king cake and it was a really great time.
On the less positive side of things, one of our team members, Rob G, hurt themselves. He got a sizeable gash down his arm. Luckily, we had a first aide kit and his group leader, Amy, was able to keep her head and pull out the first aide kit and help him get to a clinic. It turned out, because he wasn't badly hurt, to be a great teachable moment to remind people to be careful, even when doing things that aren't all that dangerous.
The time is flying by. Just two more days.
There have been ups and downs over the last few days. Let's start with the ups. The St. Bernard Project has a "Welcome Home" ceremony every time a house is finished and a family gets to move back into their home. We went to one on Tuesday and it was amazing on several levels. First of all, during the ceremony Win-Dixie (a local supermarket chain) donated $60,000. That's enough for The Project to build five more homes! The family shared their story, thanks, and emotions and it was really quite moving to be able to hear directly from a family that was affected, but has been able to start rebuilding their lives. One of the things the family mentioned, which impressed all of us, was that their small children are the FIFTH generation of the Maus family to live in that house. What's even more amazing is that this is very representative of the Parish. Before the storm there was over 75 % home ownership in the area. Two-thirds! That's amazing and highly unusual. Based on what people have been telling us, most of these homes have housed several generations of the same family. This, in a nut shell, is why people can't just find new homes. They are extremely connected to their homes (however damaged) and their community. The other reason the "Welcome Home" ceremony was nice is because we were able to get a sense of how the homes we're working on will look a few weeks after we leave.
On Wednesday, we decided to take a break from the peanut butter and jelly we'd been eating for lunch and try some place in the community. Our AmeriCorps site-leader, Ryan, as well as The Project office, reccomended Today's Ketch, so we went their. In three words: it was AMAZING. Most of us got catfish poboys (sandwhiches) and we all enjoyed them. One person got an oyster sandwhich and as sides people had jambalaya, gumbo, and (according to Cameron) "the best onion rings in the world." It was a truly fantastic meal. And it wasn't the last fantastic meal of the day. Wednesday night, many of the St. Bernard Project volunteers went to a dinner hosted by a local gentleman who was affected by the storm and came up with dinner as a way to say "thank you" to all the volunteers. It was a great meal with a great deal of community. We had pasta with crawfish and king cake and it was a really great time.
On the less positive side of things, one of our team members, Rob G, hurt themselves. He got a sizeable gash down his arm. Luckily, we had a first aide kit and his group leader, Amy, was able to keep her head and pull out the first aide kit and help him get to a clinic. It turned out, because he wasn't badly hurt, to be a great teachable moment to remind people to be careful, even when doing things that aren't all that dangerous.
The time is flying by. Just two more days.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Homeless?
Wow. Today is Wednesday of our Spring Break trip. I can't believe it's already Wednesday. This has been an awesome, eye-opening, and educational experience so far. I don't know where to start.
On Monday we left Jwade's house and caught the bus downtown. We couldn't check into our hostel until 3:00, so we spent from 9ish until about 3:30 wandering around downtown Portland. JOIN, an organization that does urban plunges and homeless simulations, gave us a copy of the scavenger hunt they use. It had about twenty activities on it, including questions on where to get food, shelter, socks, and TB cards. The purpose was basically to show us that if we were homeless, this is what we would need for survival. We had to walk around downtown Portland, stop at quite a few of the homeless resource organizations, and talk to people - both affiliated with the organizations and the homeless themselves. At the beginning of the day, it was nerve-wracking to go up to a random person standing in line with a ton of bags and often a shopping cart and strike up a conversation. After a couple of conversations, it got way easier - in fact, I loved it. It was awesome to talk to people, to hear their stories - and to realize that they are people and we actually have a lot in common with them.
Our group has been talking a lot about breaking down stereotypes. In talking with the different members of the homeless population we have learned that these people are a big community, and they have welcomed us into it with open arms. We've been to three of the most popular meal service places, as well as talked to people on the street. In doing this, we've realized that everyone on the street knows each other and is kind of like a big family. We have begun to recognize people from different locations and we greet them and talk to them. Kady said that usually when she walks down the streets of a city, she walks past the people sitting in the doorways and ignores them, but notices the "regular people". This week, though, she hasn't even noticed the other people, and it is the homeless that she smiles at, greets, and talks to. Everyone agrees. Walking around the city on Monday, standing in line with the homeless with our big bags, it was us that were getting the looks from the cars and people. To the outsiders, we were homeless.
This frustrates me a lot because I don't know where to go from here. I can't give money to everyone I pass on the street. After this week I will be returning to my privileged college to get a good education so I don't end up like these people. What am I going to do when I come down to Portland and see people I've worked with all week, people I've come to know and care about? Will they recognize me? View me differently? I can't come down to Blanchet House every week, I can't help out at the Downtown Chapel every morning. I want to be able to fix these peoples problems, to give them a roof over their heads and a job, to cure them of their addictions and mental handicaps and family problems - I don't want to have to walk by them on the street and not be able to help them. Valerie, who gave us a tour yesterday, talked about this. She works everyday with the homeless in Portland, but recently she went to Atlanta. In Atlanta, she's not known at all by the people who live on the streets. She was walking around downtown and came across several homeless wandering around and panhandling. They asked for money, but she couldn't help them - she just had to walk past. She said that some days we're going to have to walk past, we wont be able to help every person on every street we walk down. The important thing, though, is to not walk past in life. This week, we are getting the education and awareness to know what is going on, to know what is happening to try to fix these problems. We now just need to take this and share it with people, so as an individual, as a city, and as a society we do not just walk past.
On Monday we left Jwade's house and caught the bus downtown. We couldn't check into our hostel until 3:00, so we spent from 9ish until about 3:30 wandering around downtown Portland. JOIN, an organization that does urban plunges and homeless simulations, gave us a copy of the scavenger hunt they use. It had about twenty activities on it, including questions on where to get food, shelter, socks, and TB cards. The purpose was basically to show us that if we were homeless, this is what we would need for survival. We had to walk around downtown Portland, stop at quite a few of the homeless resource organizations, and talk to people - both affiliated with the organizations and the homeless themselves. At the beginning of the day, it was nerve-wracking to go up to a random person standing in line with a ton of bags and often a shopping cart and strike up a conversation. After a couple of conversations, it got way easier - in fact, I loved it. It was awesome to talk to people, to hear their stories - and to realize that they are people and we actually have a lot in common with them.
Our group has been talking a lot about breaking down stereotypes. In talking with the different members of the homeless population we have learned that these people are a big community, and they have welcomed us into it with open arms. We've been to three of the most popular meal service places, as well as talked to people on the street. In doing this, we've realized that everyone on the street knows each other and is kind of like a big family. We have begun to recognize people from different locations and we greet them and talk to them. Kady said that usually when she walks down the streets of a city, she walks past the people sitting in the doorways and ignores them, but notices the "regular people". This week, though, she hasn't even noticed the other people, and it is the homeless that she smiles at, greets, and talks to. Everyone agrees. Walking around the city on Monday, standing in line with the homeless with our big bags, it was us that were getting the looks from the cars and people. To the outsiders, we were homeless.
This frustrates me a lot because I don't know where to go from here. I can't give money to everyone I pass on the street. After this week I will be returning to my privileged college to get a good education so I don't end up like these people. What am I going to do when I come down to Portland and see people I've worked with all week, people I've come to know and care about? Will they recognize me? View me differently? I can't come down to Blanchet House every week, I can't help out at the Downtown Chapel every morning. I want to be able to fix these peoples problems, to give them a roof over their heads and a job, to cure them of their addictions and mental handicaps and family problems - I don't want to have to walk by them on the street and not be able to help them. Valerie, who gave us a tour yesterday, talked about this. She works everyday with the homeless in Portland, but recently she went to Atlanta. In Atlanta, she's not known at all by the people who live on the streets. She was walking around downtown and came across several homeless wandering around and panhandling. They asked for money, but she couldn't help them - she just had to walk past. She said that some days we're going to have to walk past, we wont be able to help every person on every street we walk down. The important thing, though, is to not walk past in life. This week, we are getting the education and awareness to know what is going on, to know what is happening to try to fix these problems. We now just need to take this and share it with people, so as an individual, as a city, and as a society we do not just walk past.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Day One in St. Bernard's Parish
Wow! Yesterday's tour of New Orleans and today's service were both AMAZING. Yesterday, we visited the Lower 9th ward, looked at the (new) levies, and talked to the people at a grass roots non-profit, Common Ground Relief. Did you know that not a single building in all of St. Bernard's Parish (FYI: in Louisiana "Parish" is used instead of "County") was untouched by the flooding that followed hurricane Katrina? The water rose at a rate of one foot every ten minutes, topping out at over twenty feet in some places. Imagine twenty feet of water surrounding whatever building you're in. Crazy isn't it?
We ate our packed lunches in the parking lot of school. During this short break a woman in a care asked us if we were volunteers; we told her we were. She then, in all sincerity, asked if we could help her this week. Several people in the group were ready and willing to work with this woman instead of St. Bernard's Project, but we told her that our time was filled and directed her to Common Ground and SBP. She thanked us profusely before driving off. This is essentially the response we've been getting from people. They are so gracious towards volunteers; it's a nice feeling to be welcomed.
Our travels yesterday made it very clear why we're here. There is unimaginable need but volunteers really can make a difference. Today, we were able to start making that difference. For seven hours our group worked on two homes. One group, my group, worked on "mudding." This consisted of applying a plaster-like substance to all of the seams of the house (there are more than you'd think). It was messy work and required a great deal of meticulousness but it was more than worth it when the homeowner came over and thanked us and worked beside us. The other group's work was more physically intensive. They were doing mold remediation, which started with scrubbing all the boards to activate the mold before killing it. They tell me they'll be sore for days. But it's a good kind of sore.
These last two days have been educational, fulfilling, and a LOT of fun. I only hope the rest of the week continues this way.
We ate our packed lunches in the parking lot of school. During this short break a woman in a care asked us if we were volunteers; we told her we were. She then, in all sincerity, asked if we could help her this week. Several people in the group were ready and willing to work with this woman instead of St. Bernard's Project, but we told her that our time was filled and directed her to Common Ground and SBP. She thanked us profusely before driving off. This is essentially the response we've been getting from people. They are so gracious towards volunteers; it's a nice feeling to be welcomed.
Our travels yesterday made it very clear why we're here. There is unimaginable need but volunteers really can make a difference. Today, we were able to start making that difference. For seven hours our group worked on two homes. One group, my group, worked on "mudding." This consisted of applying a plaster-like substance to all of the seams of the house (there are more than you'd think). It was messy work and required a great deal of meticulousness but it was more than worth it when the homeowner came over and thanked us and worked beside us. The other group's work was more physically intensive. They were doing mold remediation, which started with scrubbing all the boards to activate the mold before killing it. They tell me they'll be sore for days. But it's a good kind of sore.
These last two days have been educational, fulfilling, and a LOT of fun. I only hope the rest of the week continues this way.
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