Well, life has been crazy and being sick makes everything tough to handle! I mean, I've been having fun and working hard but having a stuffy nose and sore throat makes me feel gross and exhausted. I think I picked up something from one of the girls in my house. She was sick a little while ago and perhaps it was bound to happen to me at some point. Hope it goes away soon!
Anyway, here are the topics for today:
1.) Haven for Hope
2.) Crisis Intervention Caseworker = Babysitter??
3.) Running and drinking for fun!
4.) Huevolution
5.) Til'Wanna Monay
6.) Raspas, get your Raspas!!
7.) Does Your Mother Know That You're Out?
1.) Haven for Hope
So, last Tuesday, I was sent to a facility for the homeless here in San Antonio. The center is called "Haven for Hope" and is actually pretty fascinating. It's mission is NOT to provide food, clothes, and shelter for those without homes. Instead, it's mission is to help people make the permanent transition from homelessness to stability. Here is an example of how it works:
-Joe, a man without anything but the clothes on his back enters the facility
-He is brought to the "Prospects" yard, which is a big outdoor yard (surrounded by fences) with toilets and showers. He is given a thin mat to sleep on and provided with three meals a day. He can stay in the Prospects yard for as long as he fancies. The toilets have half doors and the showers have no curtains so he doesn't have much privacy, but at least he has meals and a safely guarded place to sleep.
-If Joe so chooses, he can then apply for the transitional program that Haven for Hope offers. He will be accepted into the program on the condition that he follow through with it to the end.
-If Joe is an addict of some sort, the program offers (and mandates) a couple sessions of "detox"
-Then, the program assists Joe with obtaining all of the documentation necessary to get a job (if he's lost those documents). This means applying for birth certificates, social security cards, driver's licenses or state IDs from whatever state Joe is from. The program pays for these documents so Joe won't have to.
-The program then offers job training, GED classes, parenting classes, nutrition classes, and other sorts of training to help prepare Joe for a job.
-Then Joe is assisted in filling out job applications and finding affordable housing.
The hope then is that, with all of these acquired documents, job training, and assistance finding affordable housing, Joe will never need to visit another homeless shelter or food pantry again.
Visit http://www.havenforhope.org/ for more information.
I'm pretty jazzed about the idea of the place, but apparently it's too new (it opened in April) for anyone to really have an idea of how successful it's been. It gives me hope at least, that people will start to break the cycle of poverty that consumes our nation.
So, anyway, why did I have to spend three hours of my work day at Haven for Hope? Catholic Charities is in charge of funding the official records section of Haven for Hope. That is, Catholic Charities pays for every birth certificate, social security, and ID needed by the Haven for Hope clients. My coworker in the Crisis Intervention Department is usually in charge of processing the requests that the clients fill out and bringing them to the Catholic Charities Headquarters, but he's going to be out of town this week. He therefore had to bring me along last week to receive training on how to process the requests. It was great getting an insider's view of the facility and how it functions. I wasn't given an in-depth tour, but I at least got a feel for the environment.
As I write this, I'm at Haven for Hope by myself waiting for record requests to be brought to me for processing so I'll be reporting more on Haven for Hope later, hopefully, because it really intrigues me. If it's successful, I'd like to help instate in other cities throughout the U.S... namely, ChIcAgO :)
2.) Crisis Intervention Caseworker = Babysitter??
So my job title here is "Crisis Intervention Caseworker" and what I thought that entailed was purely providing clients with utility and rental assistance. Little did I know that it also includes a myriad of random chores and duties. Last Friday, one such random duty was to act as a supervisor for the after school program that Catholic Charities provides daily from 3pm to 5pm. There are about 20 kids between the ages of 5 and 12 (maybe, I really don't know anything about the program) and they are given a hefty snack and some homework help. I came around 3:30pm, since I had some casework to finish, and the kids were running rampant throughout the computer lab, study room, and outdoor basketball court. There was one other volunteer watching the kids and so mayhem ensued.
Kids screamed, hit each other, and accused one of the female secretaries of opening the boys' bathroom and staring at the boys while they did their business. They demanded money for ice cream (the ice cream man had strategically placed his truck next to the basketball court), got splinters (which I had to remove with my nails- yuck! there were no tweezers to be found anywhere), left the premises and wandered around alone on the streets, and climbed on railings they weren't supposed to climb on.
At one point I was proud of myself because I grabbed a volleyball and had some of the younger kids line up in front of me, one behind the other. I showed them the way my volleyball coach had taught me to hold my hands and they each took turns hitting the ball as I threw it to them. They loved it... for awhile. Then, they each wanted to take turns throwing the ball at the front of the line, but couldn't figure out a fair way to take turns doing so. They soon tired of the whole ordeal and scattered. Oh well!
I also tried to organize a game of knock-out, using the basketballs and one of the hoops. But the kids started cheating and yelling and misbehaving so I forgot about that.
I played make-believe with some of the younger kids, skipped around, ran in circles, and confiscated a billiard ball that one of the youngsters was whipping at the fence surrounding the basketball court.
Later, to my dismay, some high school boys came onto the basketball court and took over. They claimed that one of the basketballs on the courts was "theirs" and they refused to give it back at 5pm when the other volunteer and I were trying to clean up. I finally said in a sad voice, "It's such a shame that you would lie and claim a basketball that belongs to the little kids." He sighed heavily and tossed it to me. (Point Laura!)
I would love to instate some structure for that program. I want the gate to the basketball court locked so no teenagers can come in and no kiddies can escape. And I want actual activities for the kids to participate in. If they're left to their own devices, they fight and do bad stuff.
Oh yeah, one girl found a large knife next to the basketball court, and another girl's cell phone was stolen. They're a rough bunch of youngsters to say the least.
3.) Running and drinking for fun!
I participated in a Pub Run on Friday. It started at 7pm at a pub called "Beethoven's" in the hipster, young part of San Antonio (a neighborhood called "King William's" just south of downtown). The Pub Run is an event that involves wearing running gear (spandex, gym shoes, sweatbands, etc.) and literally running (or jogging) from pub to pub. The organizer of the event designates about five participating pubs where discounts are given to the runners. In all, I think participants run 3 full miles. It occurs every first Friday of the month.
I went with five of my housemates and some of their friends. We enjoyed running/jogging/walking to each pub and meeting new people. I especially enjoyed being one of the only sober people participating in the event. I was approached by two very nice UTSA students who offered me some free beer. They had purchased some large beer cans and were trying to "get rid" of them. I said "No thank you" which confused them but we ended up having a nice little conversation about random things. One of the guys had been raised in Germany so we mostly discussed that, since I've been to Germany before.
Then, we all met up with our seventh housemate at a salsa club/pub called "Azuca." Her mom and sister were visiting and they treated us to drinks. While waiting at the bar for the drinks that we had all ordered (I requested water on the rocks), I was asked by a man in a fake muscle suit if I'd like a shot. Without really answering, he gave his credit card to his friend and commanded him to buy whatever I was having. I thanked him but informed him that I was only drinking water. "Are you driving?" He asked. "Yes." "Oh, that's awesome! One less drunk driver on the road is a good thing!" Yes, yes it is. Then I was approached by another man who offered to buy me a shot and I politely declined, stating that I was the "DD" for the night. He smiled widely and gave me a high-five. One thing I can say for the San Antonio menfolk- they seem to really respect responsible drivers!
Then all the gals and I did some salsa dancing. I was asked to dance by an intoxicated fellow that I had sort of spoken to earlier. He was a crazy dancer, and not in a good way, so I thanked him for the dance and swiftly "got lost" in the crowd of dancers.
I must say, I enjoy going out pubbing in workout clothes. They're much comfier. And I'm glad that I can still have a good time without consuming alcholic beverages :) Well, not that I really doubted that I could...
4.) Huevolution
Last Saturday morning, one of our three parish priests invited my housemates and I to a breakfast across the street in the plaza. There was live music, food (free for us), a ceremony, and an impressive outdoor art gallery set up. The celebration was to honor the King and Queen "Huevos" (eggs) of the neighborhood. According to some tradition, huevos are important or something. Ok, so I didn't research the event very thoroughly. All I know is that I got a free breakfast of delicious eggs, beans, pastries, tortillas, and watermelon juice. And that at one point, the king and queen huevo, who were sitting in a huge egg chair were crowned with crowns that had HUGE feathers on them. And if you wanted to dance with either the king or queen, you had to pay a dollar. The king and queen were chosen based on their involvement with social justice issues in the community. Pretty neat- but completely random to me!!
5.) Til'Wanna Monay
I had to follow up on my coworker's client. The client's daughter's middle name was "Til'Wanna Monay." Fascinating.
6.) Raspas, get your Raspas!
I volunteered at our parish festival on Sunday from 1:30pm to 4:30pm. It was across the street in the somewhat shady plaza (where all the drug deals and prostitution go down on a regular basis...oh and where Huevolution had taken place) and I would consider the fair a success. My housemates and I were in charge of manning a booth that sold pepperoni pizza (that's it, no other kind), raspas, and large sour pickles. Raspas are snow cones and we sold them in 8 different flavors...one of which was vanilla?
Man, did people eat those raspas up. Forget the pizza and pickles. People wanted their raspas!! Then, during one of my shifts, our supervisor brought over some ice cream and told us to give customers the option of putting ice cream on top of the raspas. Ooh boy! People were excited about that! As if the syrupy substance enveloping the shaved ice wasn't sugary enough, people wanted their snow cones topped with ice cream! And customers would come up with all sorts of demands- more syrup, not too much syrup, strawberry with a "splash" of coconut, make a nice rounded ball of ice at the top, more ice cream, more ice. I was about ready to scream!
However, it was nice working with my housemates on a common goal. And we all got free tickets to use at the other booths at the fair! I had a chalupa, some nachos, lemon cake, and the sugariest of fruit punches- yum!
I also danced a bit to the live music playing. My housemate Megan is a very talented dancer so when Celia Cruz's "Carnaval" came on, we got out on the dancefloor!
7.) Does Your Mother Know That You're Out?
Perhaps the least savory part of our parish festival was when I unwittingly befriended a young member of the church's youth group. I have been trying to be on friendly terms with the teens in the church youth group so that I can have a positive influence on them (it's a lofty goal of mine, I suppose). So after my shift at the booth, I spent some time chatting with the teens. However, at one point, all of the teens trickled off to do different activities and I was left conversing with a 15 year old boy with a foul mouth and loads of inappropriate stories. He told me that he was affiliated with a gang and that he was currently in a state of "SOS" (Slaughter on Sight). He said that if any of the members of a certain gang saw him, he would be killed. I wasn't sure whether to believe him or not. Then he went on to ask how old I was. He thought I was maybe 16 or 17. When I told him that I was indeed five years older, he replied "Oh that's cool, I was with a 21 year old once." Ok, buddy.
He filled my ears with info on the gangs in San Antonio, the people he had murdered, the girls he had courted, the drugs he had done and sold, and the huge fights he had "won." He painted himself out as a true hero, since he donated his monthly drug wages ($5,000 to be exact) to people who truly needed it. I felt like I was listening to a movie plot or rap song. However, perhaps most of his stories were true... I certainly hope not. He told me he had found a better life by attending a Catholic retreat a few months back. I told him I was proud of him and that I hoped he'd continue on his journey towards improving his crazy lifestyle. He then wouldn't leave my side. I told him I had to go home to do laundry and he followed me. I walked all over the festival and he just stuck to me like glue. Then two of my housemates came over to us and when they left, the kid asked me how old they were. He guessed 19 or 20 and I said that one of them was 25. "Well, that is the HOTTEST 25 year old, I have ever seen!" Yeesh. I finally got rid of him, but I was left with much to ponder. Is the gang situation in San Antonio really as bad as he described it? Are kids really engaging in such adult activities? I will continue to investigate.
And, as I was told by a client of mine at Catholic Charities, I should use my youthful facade as a method of obtaining info about the youth from the inside. The other youth in the church youth group thought I was between the ages of 14 and 18. No one could believe I was any older...much less four years older. So, maybe looking like a child is a gift. It will allow me to get in with them as their peer and then have a positive influence on the youngsters that way. Oh, who am I kidding? I don't actually want to do that. I like being a 22 year old. And pretending to be a teen probably won't bring about the groundbreaking change I'm seeking anyway. Oh well, I'll keep thinking of a new way to promote positive, drug-free, promiscuity-free lifestyles for the youth.
Wish me luck! And please do leave comments if you feel so inspired. :)
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