This morning, since we did training last night, they let us have a little free time. So a bunch of us walked to Fremont, which is a little town over the bridge. We all got some coffee from some small little shops. It was super hot out, but it's very nice for a change. I got sun burnt today, so that's good (: The only other time I've gotten any sun was during the homeless simulation because we didn't really have a choice.
Today was our last day doing homeless ministry. My group, with our body guard Josh, went out with a lot of sack lunches, socks, and water bottles. We actually finished giving our stuff out pretty quick, but talked to a few great people. I was pretty proud of myself for going into the blue tree park today without running off scared. This park apparently has a lot of gangs that hang out there, and it was pretty evident. I was not comfortable with the thought at all, but I stayed. Usually when I decide I'm not comfortable, I flee as fast as I can, but I stayed and we finished out our conversations there. We talked to a few believers, one of which was an elderly woman named, Peggy. She was the sweetest thing ever. She shared the Footprints in the Sand poem with. I already knew it, but it was really great hearing it from her. The first guy some of my group talked to was a man named, Buddy. He was really sweet, and shed some tears while talking to us, but he was completely surrendered to God which was really cool to see. While we were walking about we found a man with his dog that was homeless. This man's name was, Richy. Him and his wife, and dog have been homeless for awhile. A really sad part about his story is that they have grown up kids, and kids in college, but the kids have no idea of their situation. Richy wouldn't tell us why, but I'm assuming he felt ashamed, and didn't want to put the burden on his children. We also got to try some amazing ice cream from an ice cream shop. While we were back at our spot waiting for the bus we talked to a few other people who were just hanging around that area. There was a guy there from Waseca, MN so that was crazy cool. There were also some more believers. They are always super appreciative of the work we're doing because people need to hear the gospel.
My favorite part of this day was watching one of our other groups explain to a guy how to accept Jesus into his heart. They ended up giving him a Bible as well. That kind of thing just makes my heart so happy. We've spent all week out in the streets trying to help those that are less fortunate, and if just one of them comes to know Jesus then it's all worth it. There are quite a few things I've learned this past week about the homeless: a lot of them are Christian, they are truly just like us but have gone down paths that led them to where they are, if we treat them like people they will share their life stories with us, I don't have to be afraid of them like I thought, they have a lot of wisdom if you're willing to listen, and it hurts no one to acknowledge them as you pass on by.
I'm just waiting on supper right now (super hungry). I think we are doing "women time" tonight, and that would obviously be just us spending time with all the girls without the boys. And tomorrow we get to be a tourist, so I'm SUPER excited for that. I'm excited to see the area outside of the homeless, and brokenness of the town. Maybe I'll see some awesome sights, get some good pictures, and maybe a few souvenirs.
Also a little side note, I've been celebrating the past day and a half that Alyssa Sandeen from the Mankato area has finally received her new heart that she had been waiting for, for 6 months. This girl's story has been close to my heart for a long while, and I'm incredibly happy for her. So far the surgery seems to have gone well! God is good!!
Friday, June 28, 2013
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Just a Little Rain
We started out the day with training as usual, then headed out to the streets around 1. Today was a very emotionally draining day for a lot of us out there. We met quite a few Christian homeless people today, which is great, but today was different then all the other days. Today my group talked to a man named Jose, Ramone, Adam, Bob, and a women that referred to herself as "Koolaid", but I believe her name was Louis. Every person that I talked to was so broken. There were many tears involved in each conversation. They were very appreciative of us, but are just lost. Some of them don't understand why they're here, what their destiny is, or what they should do. Some of them said, "It is what it is." They all had rough pasts, and you could see it once we hit a touchy subject. It was heartbreaking to see these people in the state they were in. One man in particular, Adam, really stood out to me. We tried to explain how God can give him purpose, but he wouldn't accept that it isn't too late for him. He said he once had it all, and got to spend a lot of his years traveling. Now all the money is gone, and he's living on the streets. His son has been in jail for 11 years, and gets out soon. This subject brought him to tears, and I could not stop staring at his eyes. I can't even put what I'm thinking into words, but I just felt so helpless. I felt helpless a lot of today when I'd see a person start to cry. I wish there was some way to magically fix everything, but that's not realistic. Another thing that stood out to me was that the area we were in had a heavy smell of weed wherever you went, and people were just walking around with whiskey bottles in the open.
We had more training tonight, and DNA groups. I'm once again exhausted; as usual. Tomorrow is our last day doing homeless ministry, then it's the WEEKEND. Which means I get to be a....TOURIST!!!
We had more training tonight, and DNA groups. I'm once again exhausted; as usual. Tomorrow is our last day doing homeless ministry, then it's the WEEKEND. Which means I get to be a....TOURIST!!!
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Western State Mental Hospital
Today we started our hour and a half journey to Tacoma this morning at 7:15. We spent the great majority of our day at Western State Mental Hospital. This hospital was built in the 1800's, has 800 patients, and about 1,800 employees. It actually use to be a military base. It definitely has an older look to it. It kind of reminded us of the movie, Shutter Island. The whole campus was over 100 acres long. The morning was spent in a classroom setting listening to panels of different staff members explaining what they do here. There were quite a few social workers there, which made me super excited.
There are two units in the hospital. There is the Center for Forensic Services (CFS) Unit, which houses all people who have committed crimes. There are three things that people come to this unit for: 1. To be analyzed for competancy of the court system to figure out if the individual understands what is going on. 2. Because they pleaded criminally insane or Not Guilty for Reason of Insanity (NGR) or 3. For community purposes to see if they can eventually be transitioned back into the community. All the people that come to this unit come from jails, or straight from the court. There are 7 levels that the patients go through in this area. The levels just refer to their rights of freedom throughout their daily activities. The other unit is the Civil Unit, which over half of the patients are in. The people that come to this unit are all court ordered and are detained for three reasons: 1. Danger to themselves, 2. Danger to Others, or 3. Greatly disabled (not able to care for their own emotional and health needs). Patients don't usually come to this hospital unless they have failed in other treatment centers. There are 5 levels in this area, which is also the same idea as the forensic unit. This hospital use to be very "institutional" based, but are now working towards the goal of transitioning people back into the community, even though that's not possible in some cases.
Several staff spoke to us, but one that stood out to me most was the Director of Consumer Affairs. The word "consumer" is a better term for client, or patient. She had a presentation on the power of language, and how we need to remember the consumers are people first. They are not a person who "has" schizophrenia, it's a person "with" schizophrenia. That way the person knows that their illness is not who they are. That really stuck with me because we learned a lot about that last semester in my social work courses. One cool presenter was a Clinical Social worker who did Drama Therapy. Drama therapy is using acting/theatre/drama to help a person change their behavior, or process their emotions.Another thing I really liked was listening to the social workers explain their roles in the hospital. The primary role of the social worker is to help transition the patients into the community. They also provide support/therapy to consumers, are a member of the interdisciplinary team to decide what's best for consumers, the outlet between the community and the hospital, and they work with the families. There are 2 to 3 social workers per ward. One of the social workers said that "there are a lot of challenges, but even more fulfillment working here, and that's exactly what I'm here for. I want to make a fulfilling life for myself while changes others lives.
We got a tour of the day treatment centers, which is basically a lot of classrooms, and relaxing areas. Some people went to go tour the museum of the hospital (blows my mind that the hospital even has a museum), but others got to choose if they wanted to go pick the brains of some of the employees. Myself, and three others decided to go with the supervisor of the social workers. She works in the forensic unit, and it was a little walk over there. While we were walking over to here office we asked her, why she worked here. She said that during her interview she asked the interviewer why she liked her job, and she said it's because, "it's God's work". She was sold from that point. That is just an amazing statement because it is so true. What social workers do here, and in other settings is so vital to the well-being of someones life. I want to work with the lowly, the ignored, and looked-down upon, and that's exactly what Jesus did, and what He calls us to do.
Once we got to her office we sat, and talked for awhile, BUT then she asked if we wanted to go into the actually wards where the consumers are. ummmm YESSSSS. Keep in mind this is the Forensic Unit that houses strictly criminals. AKJFEKRJHFKJSNJKF. We actually didn't know if we could, but since she is the supervisor she asked someone if it was possible. And it was because we had already signed a confidentiality form from the hospital, and only needed some form of i.d. with us (I had my license). Unfortunately, one of the girls didn't have her license or anything so she had to sit, and wait for us. We got to have these sweet badges, and got wanded down by a security guy. Those people don't mess around!!! There are 4 wards in the forensic unit, and 30 patients per ward. We got to walk through the dayroom, where actual clients (consumers) were hanging out. These were all level 4 consumers so they have been here quite awhile, and have freedom to call people, or hang by themselves in their rooms. It made everything more real. These are people's actual lives. When I begin my social work career I will no longer be just an intern, volunteer, or "playing" social worker. I will actually be dealing, and hopefully bettering the life of someone who has gone done a rough path. It's sounds scary, but I'm hoping I'll be prepared for it. We were very lucky to have actually gone through the wards because nobody else in our group did. I also had my business coat on so I looked super official (:
Once we got back from the long bus ride I got to go on a quick run with my Debra, and get some Starbucks. We had a lovely supper of spaghetti, but I started getting a pretty bad headache so I laid down for awhile. I was doing much better by the time we were ready for our speaker. I guy named, Steve, that had actually been on this project, and on student staff came to share his life story with us. He's an incredible person who's been through a lot in his life. A really cool thing he did was give us all a broken pottery piece. The broken piece was to represent that we're all broken in some way. He wanted us to write any bible verse on there that represents what we are through Christ, or what changes us from being broken. I chose John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” This verse always been one of my favorite verses because when I'm down I just remember who my God is, and that my pain, and this worldly life won't last forever.
Tomorrow it's back out to the streets to do some more homeless lovin'.
There are two units in the hospital. There is the Center for Forensic Services (CFS) Unit, which houses all people who have committed crimes. There are three things that people come to this unit for: 1. To be analyzed for competancy of the court system to figure out if the individual understands what is going on. 2. Because they pleaded criminally insane or Not Guilty for Reason of Insanity (NGR) or 3. For community purposes to see if they can eventually be transitioned back into the community. All the people that come to this unit come from jails, or straight from the court. There are 7 levels that the patients go through in this area. The levels just refer to their rights of freedom throughout their daily activities. The other unit is the Civil Unit, which over half of the patients are in. The people that come to this unit are all court ordered and are detained for three reasons: 1. Danger to themselves, 2. Danger to Others, or 3. Greatly disabled (not able to care for their own emotional and health needs). Patients don't usually come to this hospital unless they have failed in other treatment centers. There are 5 levels in this area, which is also the same idea as the forensic unit. This hospital use to be very "institutional" based, but are now working towards the goal of transitioning people back into the community, even though that's not possible in some cases.
Several staff spoke to us, but one that stood out to me most was the Director of Consumer Affairs. The word "consumer" is a better term for client, or patient. She had a presentation on the power of language, and how we need to remember the consumers are people first. They are not a person who "has" schizophrenia, it's a person "with" schizophrenia. That way the person knows that their illness is not who they are. That really stuck with me because we learned a lot about that last semester in my social work courses. One cool presenter was a Clinical Social worker who did Drama Therapy. Drama therapy is using acting/theatre/drama to help a person change their behavior, or process their emotions.Another thing I really liked was listening to the social workers explain their roles in the hospital. The primary role of the social worker is to help transition the patients into the community. They also provide support/therapy to consumers, are a member of the interdisciplinary team to decide what's best for consumers, the outlet between the community and the hospital, and they work with the families. There are 2 to 3 social workers per ward. One of the social workers said that "there are a lot of challenges, but even more fulfillment working here, and that's exactly what I'm here for. I want to make a fulfilling life for myself while changes others lives.
We got a tour of the day treatment centers, which is basically a lot of classrooms, and relaxing areas. Some people went to go tour the museum of the hospital (blows my mind that the hospital even has a museum), but others got to choose if they wanted to go pick the brains of some of the employees. Myself, and three others decided to go with the supervisor of the social workers. She works in the forensic unit, and it was a little walk over there. While we were walking over to here office we asked her, why she worked here. She said that during her interview she asked the interviewer why she liked her job, and she said it's because, "it's God's work". She was sold from that point. That is just an amazing statement because it is so true. What social workers do here, and in other settings is so vital to the well-being of someones life. I want to work with the lowly, the ignored, and looked-down upon, and that's exactly what Jesus did, and what He calls us to do.
Once we got to her office we sat, and talked for awhile, BUT then she asked if we wanted to go into the actually wards where the consumers are. ummmm YESSSSS. Keep in mind this is the Forensic Unit that houses strictly criminals. AKJFEKRJHFKJSNJKF. We actually didn't know if we could, but since she is the supervisor she asked someone if it was possible. And it was because we had already signed a confidentiality form from the hospital, and only needed some form of i.d. with us (I had my license). Unfortunately, one of the girls didn't have her license or anything so she had to sit, and wait for us. We got to have these sweet badges, and got wanded down by a security guy. Those people don't mess around!!! There are 4 wards in the forensic unit, and 30 patients per ward. We got to walk through the dayroom, where actual clients (consumers) were hanging out. These were all level 4 consumers so they have been here quite awhile, and have freedom to call people, or hang by themselves in their rooms. It made everything more real. These are people's actual lives. When I begin my social work career I will no longer be just an intern, volunteer, or "playing" social worker. I will actually be dealing, and hopefully bettering the life of someone who has gone done a rough path. It's sounds scary, but I'm hoping I'll be prepared for it. We were very lucky to have actually gone through the wards because nobody else in our group did. I also had my business coat on so I looked super official (:
Once we got back from the long bus ride I got to go on a quick run with my Debra, and get some Starbucks. We had a lovely supper of spaghetti, but I started getting a pretty bad headache so I laid down for awhile. I was doing much better by the time we were ready for our speaker. I guy named, Steve, that had actually been on this project, and on student staff came to share his life story with us. He's an incredible person who's been through a lot in his life. A really cool thing he did was give us all a broken pottery piece. The broken piece was to represent that we're all broken in some way. He wanted us to write any bible verse on there that represents what we are through Christ, or what changes us from being broken. I chose John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” This verse always been one of my favorite verses because when I'm down I just remember who my God is, and that my pain, and this worldly life won't last forever.
Tomorrow it's back out to the streets to do some more homeless lovin'.
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Discovering The Spirit
Today was just another life changing day in Seattle. In the morning we had homeless ministry training again. We also had a talk about a Spirit-filled life by our director, Tom. It was such an amazing thing for me personally. I have been living my Christian life for a long time, but have really lost myself along the way recently. It was like a brand new beginning for me because I've finally accepted that once you are saved, you are always saved. Jesus can't unadopt you, and truthfully accepting what he has done for me has been really difficult for me, which I have never realized before. I've always struggled with feeling good enough, and worthy to be loved etc. So living in the Spirit (as in the Holy Spirit) is something really new for me. I've obviously always known who He was, but I've never realized how much He can help me. (It's also thundering here right now, sweeeeeeet)
We went out into the streets again today to give out some lunches, and just hang out with whoever wanted to hang out with us. Literally the first thing that the first guy my group walked up to said, "You guys are Christians aren't you?" And we were all kinda like how'd you know, and he said, "I can see it in your faces." And that was probably one of the most touching things I've ever heard. I would love to be recognized as a Christian just by the way I looked. His name was Richard, was also Christian, and he basically was preaching to us the whole time. It blows my mind how many homeless people are Christian. In my mind it would be soooo hard to be Christian, or even the motivation to believe in something if I had nothing, and if life was such a struggle all the time. He really touched my heart, and he even volunteered to pray for us. He said the Spirit was really working through us, and obviously the Holy Spirit is really working today since it's been the topic on my mind the whole day. We also talked to a man named Theo, whom some of us knew from Saturday during our homeless simulation. He also brought up the topic of God right away with us. The last person I personally talked to was a guy named Joe. The guy in our group, Jake, was also with me. Joe is waiting to go back to live in Alaska, and has been homeless here for 8 months. We never talked about the Gospel, but we gave him a lunch, and spent the time talking about things he was interested in. He basically carried the conversation. We talked about camping, fishing, and the bears that are in Alaska. He really enjoys the scenery of Alaska, and if anyone knows me they know I'm OBSESSED with Alaska and really need to go someday.
We aren't going to talk about Jesus with every homeless person we talked to, which is TOTALLY fine. Yes, it's great if you can talk about God, but really all these people want is to be recognized, not ignored, spoken to, and not looked over. They just need human interaction, and communication. I learn so much about so many walks of life just by listening. I'm really grateful for the opportunity to do this because not many people do. They seriously impact me way more than I do for them. I also want to mention the guys on our trip. They are such unbelievable gentleman. They really have the standards of what I'd look for in a husband. They are just Godly men that protect us like sisters. I'm especially thankful for them while we're downtown with the homeless.
I'm basically just waiting for dinner now, and we have DNA groups later to just debrief about our day. I'm really starting to like my group, and we're all just growing closer. It's only been a week and a half and I love it here. Tomorrow we are going to a mental hospital, and I'm STOKED!!! I think we're just talking to employees, touring the hospital, and seeing what types of people/programs they have there. I'll be blogging the details of what went down tomorrow night.
We went out into the streets again today to give out some lunches, and just hang out with whoever wanted to hang out with us. Literally the first thing that the first guy my group walked up to said, "You guys are Christians aren't you?" And we were all kinda like how'd you know, and he said, "I can see it in your faces." And that was probably one of the most touching things I've ever heard. I would love to be recognized as a Christian just by the way I looked. His name was Richard, was also Christian, and he basically was preaching to us the whole time. It blows my mind how many homeless people are Christian. In my mind it would be soooo hard to be Christian, or even the motivation to believe in something if I had nothing, and if life was such a struggle all the time. He really touched my heart, and he even volunteered to pray for us. He said the Spirit was really working through us, and obviously the Holy Spirit is really working today since it's been the topic on my mind the whole day. We also talked to a man named Theo, whom some of us knew from Saturday during our homeless simulation. He also brought up the topic of God right away with us. The last person I personally talked to was a guy named Joe. The guy in our group, Jake, was also with me. Joe is waiting to go back to live in Alaska, and has been homeless here for 8 months. We never talked about the Gospel, but we gave him a lunch, and spent the time talking about things he was interested in. He basically carried the conversation. We talked about camping, fishing, and the bears that are in Alaska. He really enjoys the scenery of Alaska, and if anyone knows me they know I'm OBSESSED with Alaska and really need to go someday.
We aren't going to talk about Jesus with every homeless person we talked to, which is TOTALLY fine. Yes, it's great if you can talk about God, but really all these people want is to be recognized, not ignored, spoken to, and not looked over. They just need human interaction, and communication. I learn so much about so many walks of life just by listening. I'm really grateful for the opportunity to do this because not many people do. They seriously impact me way more than I do for them. I also want to mention the guys on our trip. They are such unbelievable gentleman. They really have the standards of what I'd look for in a husband. They are just Godly men that protect us like sisters. I'm especially thankful for them while we're downtown with the homeless.
I'm basically just waiting for dinner now, and we have DNA groups later to just debrief about our day. I'm really starting to like my group, and we're all just growing closer. It's only been a week and a half and I love it here. Tomorrow we are going to a mental hospital, and I'm STOKED!!! I think we're just talking to employees, touring the hospital, and seeing what types of people/programs they have there. I'll be blogging the details of what went down tomorrow night.
Monday, June 24, 2013
Street Lovin'
Today was just an incredible day. I'm trying to figure out how to put my feelings into words, but it was just amazing. I loved going out, and talking to random people on the streets. I was worried at first because of Saturday, but this time I was going into it was a stronger heart, mind, and had God's spirit in my head. In the morning we had training to help us interact with the homeless better, and that helped me a lot. During the training our staff leader talked about the book, When Helping Hurts, which is a book I read last summer for the Dominican Republic. It was a nice refresher, and good reminder of how to respond to poverty, and treat those that are homeless. On Saturday when I went into my anxious mode I couldn't get God into my head, and I didn't pray or anything. Today I wanted to make the afternoon worth it, and I feel really good about everything that happened.
The group I went with today was me, three other girls, and one guy, named Jordan. He was really awesome about conversing with the homeless about anything. It was insane how well he could keep a conversation going. He was actually one of the "white shirts" from the homeless stimulation, but thankfully, none of us are mad at him anymore haha. We all packed two lunches to take downtown, one for us, and one to offer to a homeless person. The guy I ended up talking to one-on-one was a man named, Jeff, and he was out by the waterfront with a sign about needing money, and holding a cup. He also had a 2 year old pit bull with him named, Moose. I approached him, and asked him if he knew anyone who might need this lunch, and he said, "me", so I asked if I could sit down and eat with him. The rest of my group kinda went off to the side and let me do my own thing. It wasn't really hard at all to keep a conversation with him. He is from California and has been homeless for two years, and without a job for 1. Moose, and him live in a tent. We just had small talk for awhile, and he shared with me about how there are different types of homeless people in Seattle. He was one that didn't pity himself. He knows that he made choices along the way in his life that landed him here. He told me that he didn't feel stuck here, and that if a job comes along then good, but if not that it's okay too. He doesn't mind living the way he does. He just really cares about keeping Moose healthy. I kept trying to think of ways that I could bring up God to see if he was a Christian when he somewhere along the line decided to disclose that he had been in prison for 32 years. I figured this was a way I could steer the conversation towards God because I know a lot of people find Him while they're there. He really didn't seem to want to talk about himself all that much. He more like wanted to talk about what I was doing, and give me the wisdom he has gathered throughout his life. He was really knowledgeable about random things. He said he was taking classes, like college courses while in prison, and had a 3.9 GPA. I really want to trust everything he told me, and he seemed legit. When I asked if the prison offered him a chance to have a religion if he wanted to practice one, he shared with me that he is a Seventh Day Adventist Christian. I didn't even know what that was, but one of the huge differences is, is that they recognize Saturday as the Sabbath. So even if it wasn't "Christianity" at least he was practicing a religion. I really respect people who aren't afraid to search things out for themselves. He mentioned God a few times, and the things he said sounded Christian to me, so I don't really see a huge difference. He was in his 50's so he has experienced a lot in life. He told me he grew up a lot while in prison. He also said that he is happy with how things are because he has experienced so much. One of the last things he said to me was, when I look in the mirror each morning I need to ask myself, "What goals do I want to accomplish today?" and even if I don't accomplish them, at least I'm striving for something. I was really glad to talk to him. I talked to him for a good half hour, and it was a good first experience. Homeless people are seriously just like us. I also gave him a little money because I believe he would put it to good use. I think he appreciated just a good conversation with somebody.
After I rapped things up with Jeff I headed off with my group again. I just hung out around Jordan until the rest of the girls finished talking with their people they chose. We were out there for about 2 1/2 hours, and it was about time to start heading back to where we were meeting our buses. When we were on our way back, Salzman (a girl named Kayla in my group), ran into a guy named, Michael, that she met on Saturday during the homeless simulation. She had told us all about him on Saturday night, and how much it impacted her. He was SUCH an amazing guy. He was like any other person you'd meet. He had such a contagious laugh, and him and a friend sat on the bench they were sitting on and sang to us a little because his friend had such an amazing voice. He would be goofing around with us, but then get all serious and say something completely inspiring. A few of his quotes are: "But for real, you are all beautiful children of God." "If you remember your treasures are in heaven, and not in this world then it'll all be good" "Positive things come to positive people because of their positive minds." "If you do everything with your heart then you can never lose." "Don't let people steal your dream, make your dream". He literally made me tear up several times. It was just so amazing to me that someone that has nothing can come, and try to impact our lives positively without looking for anything in return.
We talked to a few others randomly as we were walking too. Jordan (the guy in our group) took the lead of the conversations for those random people, and did an outstanding job. Just listening to people's stories, and how open they are just blows my mind. These people just want to be treated like human beings. Yah they might be asking for money, but what most of them really want is someone who is genuinely interested in talking to them.
Tonight we are meeting in our DNA groups to talk about the day, and then tomorrow we are back out to the streets!! And I'm actually really excited about the people I might meet!
The group I went with today was me, three other girls, and one guy, named Jordan. He was really awesome about conversing with the homeless about anything. It was insane how well he could keep a conversation going. He was actually one of the "white shirts" from the homeless stimulation, but thankfully, none of us are mad at him anymore haha. We all packed two lunches to take downtown, one for us, and one to offer to a homeless person. The guy I ended up talking to one-on-one was a man named, Jeff, and he was out by the waterfront with a sign about needing money, and holding a cup. He also had a 2 year old pit bull with him named, Moose. I approached him, and asked him if he knew anyone who might need this lunch, and he said, "me", so I asked if I could sit down and eat with him. The rest of my group kinda went off to the side and let me do my own thing. It wasn't really hard at all to keep a conversation with him. He is from California and has been homeless for two years, and without a job for 1. Moose, and him live in a tent. We just had small talk for awhile, and he shared with me about how there are different types of homeless people in Seattle. He was one that didn't pity himself. He knows that he made choices along the way in his life that landed him here. He told me that he didn't feel stuck here, and that if a job comes along then good, but if not that it's okay too. He doesn't mind living the way he does. He just really cares about keeping Moose healthy. I kept trying to think of ways that I could bring up God to see if he was a Christian when he somewhere along the line decided to disclose that he had been in prison for 32 years. I figured this was a way I could steer the conversation towards God because I know a lot of people find Him while they're there. He really didn't seem to want to talk about himself all that much. He more like wanted to talk about what I was doing, and give me the wisdom he has gathered throughout his life. He was really knowledgeable about random things. He said he was taking classes, like college courses while in prison, and had a 3.9 GPA. I really want to trust everything he told me, and he seemed legit. When I asked if the prison offered him a chance to have a religion if he wanted to practice one, he shared with me that he is a Seventh Day Adventist Christian. I didn't even know what that was, but one of the huge differences is, is that they recognize Saturday as the Sabbath. So even if it wasn't "Christianity" at least he was practicing a religion. I really respect people who aren't afraid to search things out for themselves. He mentioned God a few times, and the things he said sounded Christian to me, so I don't really see a huge difference. He was in his 50's so he has experienced a lot in life. He told me he grew up a lot while in prison. He also said that he is happy with how things are because he has experienced so much. One of the last things he said to me was, when I look in the mirror each morning I need to ask myself, "What goals do I want to accomplish today?" and even if I don't accomplish them, at least I'm striving for something. I was really glad to talk to him. I talked to him for a good half hour, and it was a good first experience. Homeless people are seriously just like us. I also gave him a little money because I believe he would put it to good use. I think he appreciated just a good conversation with somebody.
After I rapped things up with Jeff I headed off with my group again. I just hung out around Jordan until the rest of the girls finished talking with their people they chose. We were out there for about 2 1/2 hours, and it was about time to start heading back to where we were meeting our buses. When we were on our way back, Salzman (a girl named Kayla in my group), ran into a guy named, Michael, that she met on Saturday during the homeless simulation. She had told us all about him on Saturday night, and how much it impacted her. He was SUCH an amazing guy. He was like any other person you'd meet. He had such a contagious laugh, and him and a friend sat on the bench they were sitting on and sang to us a little because his friend had such an amazing voice. He would be goofing around with us, but then get all serious and say something completely inspiring. A few of his quotes are: "But for real, you are all beautiful children of God." "If you remember your treasures are in heaven, and not in this world then it'll all be good" "Positive things come to positive people because of their positive minds." "If you do everything with your heart then you can never lose." "Don't let people steal your dream, make your dream". He literally made me tear up several times. It was just so amazing to me that someone that has nothing can come, and try to impact our lives positively without looking for anything in return.
We talked to a few others randomly as we were walking too. Jordan (the guy in our group) took the lead of the conversations for those random people, and did an outstanding job. Just listening to people's stories, and how open they are just blows my mind. These people just want to be treated like human beings. Yah they might be asking for money, but what most of them really want is someone who is genuinely interested in talking to them.
Tonight we are meeting in our DNA groups to talk about the day, and then tomorrow we are back out to the streets!! And I'm actually really excited about the people I might meet!
A Little Change of Plans
Just a little disclaimer, all the writing that follows this was written in a little journal I have so it sounds like present tense, but this whole post is from Friday-Sunday. It's probs going to be ridiculously long, and boring to some of you, but I wanted to remember every last detail. So without further a-due, here is my little memoir of one of the most insightful weekends of my entire life. Ready, go.
June 21st- Last day with the DOC
Today we woke up the earliest we ever have while on project (5:50 to be exact, after going to bed at 1). We then all left to Tacoma to meet with a state psychologist who specializes in sex and violence. it was basically a big Q&A session. He gave us a lot of statistics, explained why offenses happen, and the best way for treatment. He was a really knowledge, and real person.
For lunch we had a barbecue with all the officers, and others that we've worked with this past week. It was really nice to see them again, and see them outside of the work context. We had a big debriefing before we ate to just talk about our experiences with all the officers, and offenders. It was awesome to share with everyone and get some advice from the officers as well. I respect all the CCO's so much. They were so open and willing to share anything with us. This experience with them will be one of the most beneficial I've had so far to help me in my future career search.
Homeless Simulation Day 1: June 21st ( Friday afternoon)
After we left Tacoma we stopped at a botanical gardens/ship lock place. I wasn't that interested, so a bunch of us basically took pictures, and shared really hilarious stories. After that we thought we were going back to the dorms for a night of relaxing. When we got back to the dorms we had eviction notices on our doors. We had known there was a homeless simulation on this project, but we didn't exactly know when it would occur, and it came as quite a shock. We had 30 mins to choose the clothes we wanted to wear, and 3 personal items to bring. We weren't allowed to bring food, money, or our phones. I was actually pretty pissed right away, but I had to calm down in order to think logically so that I would bring the most useful items possible. I put my glasses on, tennis shoes, shorts under my sweatpants, t-shirt, a light long sleeve shirt, and a sweatshirt. I had honestly no idea where we'd be sleeping, or in what kind of conditions. I was allowed to also bring a pen, journal, Bible, and any medications that I need. My 3 items were a water bottle, a blanket, and a draw string bag to carry it all in.
So all 40ish of us gathered in the lobby where we were suppose to all meet. All of our staff was acting rather rude, like they were better than us (which is obviously part of the simulation). Two people got to keep cell phones on them for emergencies. We then had 45 min to go out, and find any cardboard, or other things we could find for sleeping tonight. There were a lot of people that were upset (including me), but part of me didn't wanna ruin the exercise by complaining the whole time, and the other part just wanted to be a huge brat. We went around to dumpsters, and gas stations seeing if there was any cardboard, or boxes we could take. We ended up finding a lot of cardboard, some floor tile, legit couch cushions (out of a dumpster-disgusting), styrofoam, and this huge plastic covering thing.
When we got back to the outside of our dorm hall with all of our supplies, the students that were running the project (later they deemed the name "white shirts") came out, and they set up the place basically like a free soup kitcken. They had worship, actually they forced us to worship, and pray with them or else we wouldn't be able to eat. It was suppose to portray how Christians might act towards the homeless. They made us listen to a small sermon before they would feed us as well. The sermon made you feel inferior, he really emphasized how we are sinners and that his life is so much better then ours because he wasn't poor--how he did this with bible verses incorporated in it I will never know. We finally got food, but it wasn't a whole lot. It was a tiny bit of pasta from last night, literally 4 grapes, a salad in a little cup with brown lettuce, and a little piece of bread.
Right now I'm actually writing this in a parking garage sitting on a piece of cardboard, and holding my few belongings so that the white shirts don't come and take them. The white shirts randomly come here to try and steal from us because it gives us a better idea of what it's like for the homeless. I'm actually feeling like I'm in the mindset of a homeless person. I feel pissed, down on myself, and legit angry at the staff for acting this way--I know this is obviously just trying to prepare us, and open our eyes to how the homeless feel, especially with Christians trying to invade their lives. We don't know how long we have to do this for, but I'm assuming maybe the rest of the weekened. They had a shower sign-up sheet until Wednesday, but I highly doubt that will actually happen. If it did last that long there would be problems. I'm assuming we will be in the streets tomorrow, and we will have to figure out how to find food. It's actually been a real eye opener so far. This will definitely help me watch the way I act towards homeless people this coming week for homeless ministry. This is like some crazy Milgram's prison experiment stuff. The white shirts, and staff are really taking on their roles, and almost taking it too far at times (in my opinion). It's making me feel like it's actually real (which I'm sure is the point). Thinking about really all of a sudden losing your house, and having nothing is so so scary, but unfortunately it is a scary reality for a lot of people. I'm really tired, but I have no idea how I'm going to sleep on this cement floor. We are definitely in for an interesting night...
Homeless Simulation Day 2: June 22
Last night we spent the night in the parking garage, but were woken up a few times by the white shirts saying there was complaints of noise, and that they've seen people getting food from vending machines etc. (just to make us mad basically). I actually was able to get some sleep after 1 o clock hit though. At 4 a.m. people woke up for showers that signed up, but the white shirts never showed so I'm definitely not getting up for a shower at 4 in the morning if we don't get it. They woke us up around 8 I think. For breakfast we had oranges, and a little cereal in a plastic bag. They were also upset cause they think somebody has money. We think they are basically just trying to mess with our emotions, and turn us against each other because that's what can happen if you literally are homeless. They then said we were free until 10:30 a.m.. We then went exploring by the lake, and a group of us ended up walking across a bridge and walking through the fair that was going on. We ended up getting free samples of some Starbucks coffee called, Tanzanian Tea, and this awesome tea called, Honest Tea, that you could get for giving each other compliments on a white board. It was actually pretty sweet.
At 10:30 we ended up back at the parking garage, and were picked up by our buses. We were then all brought to the downtown area, like the super sketch part where all the homeless live, and drug deals happen simultaneously( I actually witnessed 2). I was a little nervous, but I figured we'd be okay. We were put in groups of 6, with one guy. We then had a sheet of paper for a scavenger hunt, and we had until 4 o clock to complete it. Some of the things on there were to: find a free lunch, talk to a homeless person, get information about resources that the homeless have here for food, housing etc, find 100 aluminum cans, average the amount of money that we think our groups have in our bedroom at home, and find a useable item from a dumpster. Obviously this part of the simulation was to get us in the real area of the homeless, and experience a taste of what it is like for them everyday. We went into several places asking if they had food in the back that they could give us for free that was still edible, but we got all no's and a lot of weird looks. I couldn't decide whether they pitied us, or wondered why we were asking for free food (considering we don't look that homeless).
One person had a cell phone in case of emergencies, and if anyone felt like they couldn't handle what was going on around them they could call to be picked up, unfortunately, I ended up being that person. I was doing just fine until we were walking around a park area strictly full of homeless people sleeping, or dealing drugs. I just didn't feel safe. We were by a mission house that takes people in, we ended up talking to a homeless guy that was really nice when this other guy started yelling, and being really angry towards everywhere, and another guy was nagging him on. I was honestly fearful of what was going to happen. I kept looking to see if he was carrying a gun, or a knife or something. I just couldn't handle it. We got away from that area, and were standing sorta by a police guy directing traffic because there was a marathon going on, but that was the only area I felt safe. I finally decided I couldn't do it, I was just really anxious, and short of breath.
I'm really down on myself right now for backing out of that part of the simulation, but I'm just not the type of person that can handle it. I'm fine working with those people when there's authority around, but we were seriously just dropped off. I kept thinking, "If I quit, then I obviously don't trust God enough to keep me safe.", but if something were to happen then it would just be really really bad, and I didn't come on this trip to put my life in danger. Right now I'm back in my room temporarily waiting for the others to get done with the scavenger hunt. I will be going back with them once they get back. I'm trying not to call myself a quitter, but it's hard. I know this experience will definitely alter our perspectives, and the way we act in this coming up week of homeless ministry. And hopefully I'm able to stick with it, I don't think I'd let myself quit again. I'm just really glad that we got most of the things off our list before I left. Kathleen, my DNA group leader, came and talked to me in my room, and she helped me A LOT. She's an extraordinarily kind-hearted person. I really feel like God did really well with planning me into her group.
We got to eat once everyone came back from being down town, but they didn't make enough food for everyone so we all started splitting up our food, and didn't eat until we knew everyone had some. After we ate we had to go find more cardboard to sleep on tonight because the white shirts poured pickle juice, water, and whatever else nasty stuff on our stuff from the night before. We had less than an hour to find anything that we could. When we got back to the parking garage they had us line up on the wall, and take off our socks and shoes (which was disgusting considering we were on the concrete floor of a parking garage). The white shirts then suddenly left us, and our DNA group leaders came and let us put our shoes and socks back on. We got to talk about our day, and different experiences down town.
Now we are sitting here and chilling, singing worship songs, and gospel music, which is actually amazing. One of the girls had an outstanding voice, and I think she should seriously be on American Idol, or something! I'm assuming the white shirts will be coming back for us tonight, and it's around 10 o clock right now. They probably think they have to come, and try to break the group up again like last night (they had half of us on one floor of the garage, and the other half on a different floor). We aren't really mad anymore. The DNA groups helped us release our feelings, and we are realizing we are in this together, and that it won't like forever. It has made us all so much more grateful for what we have. Even things like control, and knowing what it's going on in the next few hours is something we take for granted. Everything was stripped from us, but we have each other, and they can try to break out spirits all they want, but I won't let them get to me again.
I'm feeling much better than I did earlier this afternoon. I'm going into homeless ministry week remembering that they are just like us. We are all broken too. If we treat them like normal people, then we will be able to have a good conversation with most of them. I'm still trying to figure out where I am with God, but this is helping me a lot being here. I'm assuming we will end up going to church in the morning, but everyone's getting pretty stanky. Worshipping right now is just refreshing, despite our circumstances. I hope the white shirts come back while we are singing so they can see they aren't getting to us. Hopefully I can sleep good tonight. Last night wasn't as bad I thought it would be. I'm incredibly blessed and lucky that this is just a simulation because after this is done I will have way more than I need to survive in my everyday life. I just hope I'm never truly in a homeless situation.
***Later that night****
Debbie and I were playing catch with a football when the white shirts came running in with their whistles, and megaphone. They started to kick us out of the building, and telling us to take all the belongings we had, and our cardboard. It was suppose to represent when the homeless get kicked out of their little "homes" for loitering. They had us walk to this grassy area, and told us this is where we would be sleeping for the night. Some people really didn't like that idea, but I thought the grass was much softer than concrete. We were all finally settled in on the grass when they came back, and said it was time for a "bathroom break". We all got up with our belongings, and headed back towards the parking garage. When we got there the white shirts left us outside, and started opening the garage door, and they were all staring at us super intimidatingly. They then said, "It's over", and of course there was a bunch of clapping, and yelling.
We all then went further into the garage, and all our staff was there too. They also had foot washing stations set up for us, and there were a lot of tears going on (both from students and the white shirts). They wanted to show us that they were here to serve us like Jesus did, and all the anger we had building towards them basically evaporated. The feeling of finally be free was amazing. My DNA group leader washed my feet, and she said some amazing things to me. She is such an encouraging person. We then got to go back to our dorms for the night, and SHOWER!!!!! The white shirts also volunteered to go pick up all the cardboard, and stuff we left on the grass. We were no longer homeless (:
Free at Last: June 23rd
I definitely had one of the best sleeps of my life last night. I didn't go to bed until 1:30, but I felt so well rested this morning. We left for church at 9:15, so we even got to sleep in a little bit more than normal. We went to an inner city church called, Body of Christ church (formally known as The Cross church). It's a church for the homeless, ex-offenders, drug addicts, and basically anyone who is looking for some place to be accepted. It was with out a doubt, in complete honesty, the most beautiful church I've ever been to. The building was nothing special, but it was the people inside that made it beautiful. Watching people that came from such dark walks of life constantly brought tears to my eyes. I mean, I want to work WITH these people, THEY are the reason I have hope for change, and hope for people who are completely lost in this world, and are just looking for a way to survive. I want to be a part of that hope, and change for those still suffering. Right away a women that looked a little rough came up, and asked us to pray for her. In the beginning of the sermon they did announcements and one of them was to pray for a mother that is trying to get her children back. That definitely isn't a prayer you hear everyday at a church service. These are real people just trying to get their lives back together by coming to Jesus, and it is beyond words how touching it is. All the members of the church referred to each other as "brother" and "sister". They are all family. It seems to me that they have the "love" aspect of things down pack more than we do. The worship band was small, but had some incredible talent. There was just a bass guitar, piano player/singer, and another vocalist. They could seriously have an album. After the service we all got to go and mingle with the members of the church. One of my friend's, Kelly, and I went over to talk to two men. Ones name was Johnny, and the other was Vince. They both immediately opened up to us and shared about their lives. They both use to be alcoholics, and abuse drugs. Somehow along the way they stumbled upon what a life with Jesus could be like, and left their old life styles. They are still working through their issues, but they are completely different people. It was so humbling, and amazing to be face-to-face with a changed heart. It's definitely encouraging to me, especially in my future career, that people CAN change and better their lives. I also need to note that their were a couple DOGS at the service!!! Any church that allows dogs in it is definitely the church for me.
After church we got to chill for awhile. I did laundry, which was great, since I had a lot of nasty stuff to wash from the homeless simulation. We had a late lunch of TACOS, and it was great!! After we ate we all put short skits together to portray our feelings about the simulation. They were all hilarious, and it was just a way for us to cope with something that originally was hurting us. We then watched a movie called, God Bless the Child. It's a movie about this homeless women and her daughter. It aired originally in 1985, but only showed once. People thought that it was so horrible that it didn't need to be seen. So CRU (the organization I'm here with) bought the rights to eat. It was actually a really good, realistic movie on homeless people, but it had a very tragic ending. I think people need to see stuff like this because it's the hard, cold truth. There was nothing sugar coated about it. After the movie we had a debriefing about the homeless simulation with the white shirts. They let us ask questions, give our opinions, and share the different experiences each of us had. One thing that I didn't realize during the simulation was that it was really hard for the white shirts to treat us that way. They were all crying after it was over because it was so hard for them. They are all super nice people, and to have to take on the role they did was super difficult. I respect them for being able to do it, and kinda feel bad for temporarily hating them.
So this blog post is finally coming to an end, and congrats if you made it through the whole thing. Kudos for you! I'm heading to bed because we have training in the morning, then going out in the streets in the afternoon!
June 21st- Last day with the DOC
Today we woke up the earliest we ever have while on project (5:50 to be exact, after going to bed at 1). We then all left to Tacoma to meet with a state psychologist who specializes in sex and violence. it was basically a big Q&A session. He gave us a lot of statistics, explained why offenses happen, and the best way for treatment. He was a really knowledge, and real person.
For lunch we had a barbecue with all the officers, and others that we've worked with this past week. It was really nice to see them again, and see them outside of the work context. We had a big debriefing before we ate to just talk about our experiences with all the officers, and offenders. It was awesome to share with everyone and get some advice from the officers as well. I respect all the CCO's so much. They were so open and willing to share anything with us. This experience with them will be one of the most beneficial I've had so far to help me in my future career search.
Homeless Simulation Day 1: June 21st ( Friday afternoon)
After we left Tacoma we stopped at a botanical gardens/ship lock place. I wasn't that interested, so a bunch of us basically took pictures, and shared really hilarious stories. After that we thought we were going back to the dorms for a night of relaxing. When we got back to the dorms we had eviction notices on our doors. We had known there was a homeless simulation on this project, but we didn't exactly know when it would occur, and it came as quite a shock. We had 30 mins to choose the clothes we wanted to wear, and 3 personal items to bring. We weren't allowed to bring food, money, or our phones. I was actually pretty pissed right away, but I had to calm down in order to think logically so that I would bring the most useful items possible. I put my glasses on, tennis shoes, shorts under my sweatpants, t-shirt, a light long sleeve shirt, and a sweatshirt. I had honestly no idea where we'd be sleeping, or in what kind of conditions. I was allowed to also bring a pen, journal, Bible, and any medications that I need. My 3 items were a water bottle, a blanket, and a draw string bag to carry it all in.
So all 40ish of us gathered in the lobby where we were suppose to all meet. All of our staff was acting rather rude, like they were better than us (which is obviously part of the simulation). Two people got to keep cell phones on them for emergencies. We then had 45 min to go out, and find any cardboard, or other things we could find for sleeping tonight. There were a lot of people that were upset (including me), but part of me didn't wanna ruin the exercise by complaining the whole time, and the other part just wanted to be a huge brat. We went around to dumpsters, and gas stations seeing if there was any cardboard, or boxes we could take. We ended up finding a lot of cardboard, some floor tile, legit couch cushions (out of a dumpster-disgusting), styrofoam, and this huge plastic covering thing.
When we got back to the outside of our dorm hall with all of our supplies, the students that were running the project (later they deemed the name "white shirts") came out, and they set up the place basically like a free soup kitcken. They had worship, actually they forced us to worship, and pray with them or else we wouldn't be able to eat. It was suppose to portray how Christians might act towards the homeless. They made us listen to a small sermon before they would feed us as well. The sermon made you feel inferior, he really emphasized how we are sinners and that his life is so much better then ours because he wasn't poor--how he did this with bible verses incorporated in it I will never know. We finally got food, but it wasn't a whole lot. It was a tiny bit of pasta from last night, literally 4 grapes, a salad in a little cup with brown lettuce, and a little piece of bread.
Right now I'm actually writing this in a parking garage sitting on a piece of cardboard, and holding my few belongings so that the white shirts don't come and take them. The white shirts randomly come here to try and steal from us because it gives us a better idea of what it's like for the homeless. I'm actually feeling like I'm in the mindset of a homeless person. I feel pissed, down on myself, and legit angry at the staff for acting this way--I know this is obviously just trying to prepare us, and open our eyes to how the homeless feel, especially with Christians trying to invade their lives. We don't know how long we have to do this for, but I'm assuming maybe the rest of the weekened. They had a shower sign-up sheet until Wednesday, but I highly doubt that will actually happen. If it did last that long there would be problems. I'm assuming we will be in the streets tomorrow, and we will have to figure out how to find food. It's actually been a real eye opener so far. This will definitely help me watch the way I act towards homeless people this coming week for homeless ministry. This is like some crazy Milgram's prison experiment stuff. The white shirts, and staff are really taking on their roles, and almost taking it too far at times (in my opinion). It's making me feel like it's actually real (which I'm sure is the point). Thinking about really all of a sudden losing your house, and having nothing is so so scary, but unfortunately it is a scary reality for a lot of people. I'm really tired, but I have no idea how I'm going to sleep on this cement floor. We are definitely in for an interesting night...
Homeless Simulation Day 2: June 22
Last night we spent the night in the parking garage, but were woken up a few times by the white shirts saying there was complaints of noise, and that they've seen people getting food from vending machines etc. (just to make us mad basically). I actually was able to get some sleep after 1 o clock hit though. At 4 a.m. people woke up for showers that signed up, but the white shirts never showed so I'm definitely not getting up for a shower at 4 in the morning if we don't get it. They woke us up around 8 I think. For breakfast we had oranges, and a little cereal in a plastic bag. They were also upset cause they think somebody has money. We think they are basically just trying to mess with our emotions, and turn us against each other because that's what can happen if you literally are homeless. They then said we were free until 10:30 a.m.. We then went exploring by the lake, and a group of us ended up walking across a bridge and walking through the fair that was going on. We ended up getting free samples of some Starbucks coffee called, Tanzanian Tea, and this awesome tea called, Honest Tea, that you could get for giving each other compliments on a white board. It was actually pretty sweet.
At 10:30 we ended up back at the parking garage, and were picked up by our buses. We were then all brought to the downtown area, like the super sketch part where all the homeless live, and drug deals happen simultaneously( I actually witnessed 2). I was a little nervous, but I figured we'd be okay. We were put in groups of 6, with one guy. We then had a sheet of paper for a scavenger hunt, and we had until 4 o clock to complete it. Some of the things on there were to: find a free lunch, talk to a homeless person, get information about resources that the homeless have here for food, housing etc, find 100 aluminum cans, average the amount of money that we think our groups have in our bedroom at home, and find a useable item from a dumpster. Obviously this part of the simulation was to get us in the real area of the homeless, and experience a taste of what it is like for them everyday. We went into several places asking if they had food in the back that they could give us for free that was still edible, but we got all no's and a lot of weird looks. I couldn't decide whether they pitied us, or wondered why we were asking for free food (considering we don't look that homeless).
One person had a cell phone in case of emergencies, and if anyone felt like they couldn't handle what was going on around them they could call to be picked up, unfortunately, I ended up being that person. I was doing just fine until we were walking around a park area strictly full of homeless people sleeping, or dealing drugs. I just didn't feel safe. We were by a mission house that takes people in, we ended up talking to a homeless guy that was really nice when this other guy started yelling, and being really angry towards everywhere, and another guy was nagging him on. I was honestly fearful of what was going to happen. I kept looking to see if he was carrying a gun, or a knife or something. I just couldn't handle it. We got away from that area, and were standing sorta by a police guy directing traffic because there was a marathon going on, but that was the only area I felt safe. I finally decided I couldn't do it, I was just really anxious, and short of breath.
I'm really down on myself right now for backing out of that part of the simulation, but I'm just not the type of person that can handle it. I'm fine working with those people when there's authority around, but we were seriously just dropped off. I kept thinking, "If I quit, then I obviously don't trust God enough to keep me safe.", but if something were to happen then it would just be really really bad, and I didn't come on this trip to put my life in danger. Right now I'm back in my room temporarily waiting for the others to get done with the scavenger hunt. I will be going back with them once they get back. I'm trying not to call myself a quitter, but it's hard. I know this experience will definitely alter our perspectives, and the way we act in this coming up week of homeless ministry. And hopefully I'm able to stick with it, I don't think I'd let myself quit again. I'm just really glad that we got most of the things off our list before I left. Kathleen, my DNA group leader, came and talked to me in my room, and she helped me A LOT. She's an extraordinarily kind-hearted person. I really feel like God did really well with planning me into her group.
We got to eat once everyone came back from being down town, but they didn't make enough food for everyone so we all started splitting up our food, and didn't eat until we knew everyone had some. After we ate we had to go find more cardboard to sleep on tonight because the white shirts poured pickle juice, water, and whatever else nasty stuff on our stuff from the night before. We had less than an hour to find anything that we could. When we got back to the parking garage they had us line up on the wall, and take off our socks and shoes (which was disgusting considering we were on the concrete floor of a parking garage). The white shirts then suddenly left us, and our DNA group leaders came and let us put our shoes and socks back on. We got to talk about our day, and different experiences down town.
Now we are sitting here and chilling, singing worship songs, and gospel music, which is actually amazing. One of the girls had an outstanding voice, and I think she should seriously be on American Idol, or something! I'm assuming the white shirts will be coming back for us tonight, and it's around 10 o clock right now. They probably think they have to come, and try to break the group up again like last night (they had half of us on one floor of the garage, and the other half on a different floor). We aren't really mad anymore. The DNA groups helped us release our feelings, and we are realizing we are in this together, and that it won't like forever. It has made us all so much more grateful for what we have. Even things like control, and knowing what it's going on in the next few hours is something we take for granted. Everything was stripped from us, but we have each other, and they can try to break out spirits all they want, but I won't let them get to me again.
I'm feeling much better than I did earlier this afternoon. I'm going into homeless ministry week remembering that they are just like us. We are all broken too. If we treat them like normal people, then we will be able to have a good conversation with most of them. I'm still trying to figure out where I am with God, but this is helping me a lot being here. I'm assuming we will end up going to church in the morning, but everyone's getting pretty stanky. Worshipping right now is just refreshing, despite our circumstances. I hope the white shirts come back while we are singing so they can see they aren't getting to us. Hopefully I can sleep good tonight. Last night wasn't as bad I thought it would be. I'm incredibly blessed and lucky that this is just a simulation because after this is done I will have way more than I need to survive in my everyday life. I just hope I'm never truly in a homeless situation.
***Later that night****
Debbie and I were playing catch with a football when the white shirts came running in with their whistles, and megaphone. They started to kick us out of the building, and telling us to take all the belongings we had, and our cardboard. It was suppose to represent when the homeless get kicked out of their little "homes" for loitering. They had us walk to this grassy area, and told us this is where we would be sleeping for the night. Some people really didn't like that idea, but I thought the grass was much softer than concrete. We were all finally settled in on the grass when they came back, and said it was time for a "bathroom break". We all got up with our belongings, and headed back towards the parking garage. When we got there the white shirts left us outside, and started opening the garage door, and they were all staring at us super intimidatingly. They then said, "It's over", and of course there was a bunch of clapping, and yelling.
We all then went further into the garage, and all our staff was there too. They also had foot washing stations set up for us, and there were a lot of tears going on (both from students and the white shirts). They wanted to show us that they were here to serve us like Jesus did, and all the anger we had building towards them basically evaporated. The feeling of finally be free was amazing. My DNA group leader washed my feet, and she said some amazing things to me. She is such an encouraging person. We then got to go back to our dorms for the night, and SHOWER!!!!! The white shirts also volunteered to go pick up all the cardboard, and stuff we left on the grass. We were no longer homeless (:
Free at Last: June 23rd
I definitely had one of the best sleeps of my life last night. I didn't go to bed until 1:30, but I felt so well rested this morning. We left for church at 9:15, so we even got to sleep in a little bit more than normal. We went to an inner city church called, Body of Christ church (formally known as The Cross church). It's a church for the homeless, ex-offenders, drug addicts, and basically anyone who is looking for some place to be accepted. It was with out a doubt, in complete honesty, the most beautiful church I've ever been to. The building was nothing special, but it was the people inside that made it beautiful. Watching people that came from such dark walks of life constantly brought tears to my eyes. I mean, I want to work WITH these people, THEY are the reason I have hope for change, and hope for people who are completely lost in this world, and are just looking for a way to survive. I want to be a part of that hope, and change for those still suffering. Right away a women that looked a little rough came up, and asked us to pray for her. In the beginning of the sermon they did announcements and one of them was to pray for a mother that is trying to get her children back. That definitely isn't a prayer you hear everyday at a church service. These are real people just trying to get their lives back together by coming to Jesus, and it is beyond words how touching it is. All the members of the church referred to each other as "brother" and "sister". They are all family. It seems to me that they have the "love" aspect of things down pack more than we do. The worship band was small, but had some incredible talent. There was just a bass guitar, piano player/singer, and another vocalist. They could seriously have an album. After the service we all got to go and mingle with the members of the church. One of my friend's, Kelly, and I went over to talk to two men. Ones name was Johnny, and the other was Vince. They both immediately opened up to us and shared about their lives. They both use to be alcoholics, and abuse drugs. Somehow along the way they stumbled upon what a life with Jesus could be like, and left their old life styles. They are still working through their issues, but they are completely different people. It was so humbling, and amazing to be face-to-face with a changed heart. It's definitely encouraging to me, especially in my future career, that people CAN change and better their lives. I also need to note that their were a couple DOGS at the service!!! Any church that allows dogs in it is definitely the church for me.
After church we got to chill for awhile. I did laundry, which was great, since I had a lot of nasty stuff to wash from the homeless simulation. We had a late lunch of TACOS, and it was great!! After we ate we all put short skits together to portray our feelings about the simulation. They were all hilarious, and it was just a way for us to cope with something that originally was hurting us. We then watched a movie called, God Bless the Child. It's a movie about this homeless women and her daughter. It aired originally in 1985, but only showed once. People thought that it was so horrible that it didn't need to be seen. So CRU (the organization I'm here with) bought the rights to eat. It was actually a really good, realistic movie on homeless people, but it had a very tragic ending. I think people need to see stuff like this because it's the hard, cold truth. There was nothing sugar coated about it. After the movie we had a debriefing about the homeless simulation with the white shirts. They let us ask questions, give our opinions, and share the different experiences each of us had. One thing that I didn't realize during the simulation was that it was really hard for the white shirts to treat us that way. They were all crying after it was over because it was so hard for them. They are all super nice people, and to have to take on the role they did was super difficult. I respect them for being able to do it, and kinda feel bad for temporarily hating them.
So this blog post is finally coming to an end, and congrats if you made it through the whole thing. Kudos for you! I'm heading to bed because we have training in the morning, then going out in the streets in the afternoon!
Friday, June 21, 2013
Out in the Field: Day 2
So of course I was superrr excited to start another day with the CCO's (Community Correction officers or probation/parole officers where I come from). This time we stayed in Seattle, so we were in King County. My partner in crime, Riley, was paired with me again, and we were put with two correction officers that handled the entire metro area of Seattle. They deal with offenders of all types. Right away we actually sat in on a meeting about new policy that they have to follow for offenders that have violations. Honestly, I dozed off a few times haha, but mostly everything they were talking about was way over my head anyways. By the time the meeting was done it was 10 o'clock, so we then went down to their offices. We sat in on a few office visits from offenders, which I loved. There was a few sex offenders again, some with drug use, or harassment etc. My favorite part was witnessing an arrest. I first sat in on the meeting with the guy that got arrested, and he first had a violation because he failed to report (which basically means he didn't meet with his correction officer when he was suppose to). He claimed that he was at the hospital, and would bring the verification that he was there to the meeting today, but he didn't. He knew the consequences, and basically went pretty calmly.
Around noon we went out in the field with one of the officers, while the other did paper work in her office, but another officer joined us. We were going to see three people on his caseload. One was actually a pretty scary offender, and I was super excited, but unfortunately we couldn't get ahold of any his offenders. So that officer had 3 warrants to write, which kinda sucks. There is just soooooo much documentation to do, but I have already gotten a taste of that with my one semester in my social work program. Even though it's a drag, it'll just be one thing that needs to be done. We didn't get back from trying to find his three guys until two, then we finally got to go eat, and I was starving. We went to this really nice burger place, and we actually took the officers out and paid for their lunch as well as a way to say thanks.
After we ate, we went back out to the field, and had seventeen people to see in two different housing complexes that were right next to each other. Out of those seventeen, we saw three of them. It was crazy to me, but sometimes that's just how things go. Sometimes the offenders will be at work, or searching for work during the day, so sometimes it's hard to come in contact with them. After we finished that up it was around 4:15, and we went back to the offices. Apparently while we were gone there was a really intense arresting where the guy was really resisting, yelling, crying, and swearing. It was SUCH a bummer that we missed it. We also learned about U.A.'s (Urinary Analysis) which is actually really really disgusting. It's not like a pee test from a doctor, but it's a test that has little tabs all over it, and can instantly test for any type of drug use that you could think of. There was a cool little situation where a couple officers were arguing whether or not they could see a line or not (two lines on the test is negative for the drug, and only one means it's positive). It ended up being a faulty test in the end, and the guy ended up being clean. Towards the end of the day we sat in the offices, and looked at the computer system a little bit, and got to search through their files and read offenders paperwork, which was really awesome. I got to read a women's entire file that I had actually saw that day. She was a sex offender, and I got to read the really detailed report. It continues to blow my mind what a nice face is capable of. There were definitely some offenders that you could tell were just trying to follow the rules, and others that were trying to get pity from you so that you wouldn't give them a violation, or arrest them. I really liked being in their offices, and having other officers stop by to talk with us, and to just joke around. It is a lot of fun, and I'm excited to have an office with fellow employees that I enjoy (hopefully) working with.
We had to wait awhile once the offices closed for the other group of our team to get back from Tacoma (the town I was in yesterday) so we got the chance to talk to our student staff on team, and get to know them more. One of them shared their testimony, and it was absolutely amazing. She is an incredibly strong person, and it just reminds you how amazing God's love and mercy is, and how faithful he is to continue to run after your heart even after you repeatedly turn Him down. We are absolutely not perfect, and I don't want to be a Christian that tries to portray that. I really want to enjoy each and everyday of this experience, and not let anything distract me from the work I'm doing here.
Tomorrow we get to have a big barbecue with all the CCO's, and others that have worked with us this week. We will also be meeting with a state psychologist that specializes in sex offenders (EEEK). Apparently he is a huge deal, and I can't wait. Tomorrow is also our last day working with the DOC until we work in the prisons on our 4th week here. It's kinda a bummer, but this week has been an experience like no other. I will be taking back so much knowledge, and insight with me back home. I seriously could shadow the CCO's here everyday, and not get bored. The next two weeks will based more on ministry with the youth and homeless.
Around noon we went out in the field with one of the officers, while the other did paper work in her office, but another officer joined us. We were going to see three people on his caseload. One was actually a pretty scary offender, and I was super excited, but unfortunately we couldn't get ahold of any his offenders. So that officer had 3 warrants to write, which kinda sucks. There is just soooooo much documentation to do, but I have already gotten a taste of that with my one semester in my social work program. Even though it's a drag, it'll just be one thing that needs to be done. We didn't get back from trying to find his three guys until two, then we finally got to go eat, and I was starving. We went to this really nice burger place, and we actually took the officers out and paid for their lunch as well as a way to say thanks.
After we ate, we went back out to the field, and had seventeen people to see in two different housing complexes that were right next to each other. Out of those seventeen, we saw three of them. It was crazy to me, but sometimes that's just how things go. Sometimes the offenders will be at work, or searching for work during the day, so sometimes it's hard to come in contact with them. After we finished that up it was around 4:15, and we went back to the offices. Apparently while we were gone there was a really intense arresting where the guy was really resisting, yelling, crying, and swearing. It was SUCH a bummer that we missed it. We also learned about U.A.'s (Urinary Analysis) which is actually really really disgusting. It's not like a pee test from a doctor, but it's a test that has little tabs all over it, and can instantly test for any type of drug use that you could think of. There was a cool little situation where a couple officers were arguing whether or not they could see a line or not (two lines on the test is negative for the drug, and only one means it's positive). It ended up being a faulty test in the end, and the guy ended up being clean. Towards the end of the day we sat in the offices, and looked at the computer system a little bit, and got to search through their files and read offenders paperwork, which was really awesome. I got to read a women's entire file that I had actually saw that day. She was a sex offender, and I got to read the really detailed report. It continues to blow my mind what a nice face is capable of. There were definitely some offenders that you could tell were just trying to follow the rules, and others that were trying to get pity from you so that you wouldn't give them a violation, or arrest them. I really liked being in their offices, and having other officers stop by to talk with us, and to just joke around. It is a lot of fun, and I'm excited to have an office with fellow employees that I enjoy (hopefully) working with.
We had to wait awhile once the offices closed for the other group of our team to get back from Tacoma (the town I was in yesterday) so we got the chance to talk to our student staff on team, and get to know them more. One of them shared their testimony, and it was absolutely amazing. She is an incredibly strong person, and it just reminds you how amazing God's love and mercy is, and how faithful he is to continue to run after your heart even after you repeatedly turn Him down. We are absolutely not perfect, and I don't want to be a Christian that tries to portray that. I really want to enjoy each and everyday of this experience, and not let anything distract me from the work I'm doing here.
Tomorrow we get to have a big barbecue with all the CCO's, and others that have worked with us this week. We will also be meeting with a state psychologist that specializes in sex offenders (EEEK). Apparently he is a huge deal, and I can't wait. Tomorrow is also our last day working with the DOC until we work in the prisons on our 4th week here. It's kinda a bummer, but this week has been an experience like no other. I will be taking back so much knowledge, and insight with me back home. I seriously could shadow the CCO's here everyday, and not get bored. The next two weeks will based more on ministry with the youth and homeless.
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Out in the Field: Day 1
Today was seriously one of the most amazing, exciting, and educational days of my entire life. A girl named, Riley from my team, and myself got to spend the day with two correctional officers. One of the officers is in the Sex Offender unit, and the other was just a regular CCO (Community Correctional Officer) that works with any type of offender.
I was SO SO excited to be able to see what it would be like to work in the Sex Offender unit, like it's one of the jobs I've considered for myself. So in the beginning of the day we actually had to get up a little earlier to travel to a town called, Tacoma to go to the DOC in Pierce County. It's a little drive, but it was definitely worth it. When we got to the offices we got aquatinted, and assigned to the officers we'd be with for the day. We then got to go to their offices, and get our BULLET PROOF VESTS (yes, you read that right). IT WAS SOOO COOL. I felt like a giddy little child. We also got to look at the GPS systems they put on the higher level sexual offenders, and got to look at what the map looks like from the computer. So basically we watched a little dot (representing one of the offenders), and watched him walk around his house for a few hours-they sped up the time of course. But it was superrrr awesome.
We then left the offices to get out to the offenders that needed to be visited that day. While in the back of the car we got to play with the hand cuffs for awhile, and it was actually a lot of fun haha. I seriously felt like a dork all day, but I really didn't care. We visited at least 5 sexual offenders throughout the day, and a few other offenders that were just regular offenders. It takes a lot of time to drive from place to place though. Before we got to each house the officers filled us in on what the offender did, how long they have been on supervision, and if they have had any violations etc. We also walked around the person's house, and the officers would be looking for any signs of breaking a violation (drug paraphernalia, or something out of the ordinary). The offender also would tell the officers if they were planning on going anywhere, and needed to get permission, and information to the officers in order to be able to go. It was really crazy to hear the stories, then go actually see the person in their homes face-to-face. I can bet you we asked the officers a bazilllion questions throughout the day, but they were really open, and honest about giving us answers. At one residence, which was basically a trailer court with three trailers, the offender actually wasn't home, but we searched around anyway looking for whatever the officers were looking for. There were actually roosters and chickens walking around which was the scariest part of the day. The women CCO actually sprayed pepper spray on a rooster because it scared her, and the spray got into my mouth, and nose. It was SOOO WEIRD. I was actually scared for my life for 5 seconds because I didn't realize she sprayed it. It felt like it wasn't possible for me to breathe air in, and it smelt sooo bad, but it ended up being pretty funny. We also got to take the two officers out to lunch with us, and meet up with another officer and another one of our team members, Debbie, to eat with us.
It's probably best that I don't put all the sexual offenders stories on here, but one thing completely blew my mind throughout the entire day. The offenders looked completely!!!! normal!!!! They were friendly, didn't make me uncomfortable, and didn't scare me whatsoever. One of the guys actually reminded me of the kind of person my dad is. It blows my mind that people who seem like genuinely nice, and good people can be capable of such things. None of the people I met today was like the weird, perverted person that you'd imagine a sex offender would be. It is just so crazy to think that just one mistake can alter a person's life forever, even if they change into a better person. I know a lot of people don't tolerate even thinking about sexual offenders, especially ones that molested children, but I truly believe that people can change, and that we are all human. If people go to treatment, serve their time, and TRULY change I believe that they do deserve to live normal lives without all the rules that a sex offender has, but that is just me. Seeing the offenders also makes you a little eerie of basically everyone you see. The nicest person in the world could actually be holding a huge secret.
When we weren't at a persons' house we were driving around talking, and we also stopped by a few different DOC buildings, and it was really informational. The officers told us about several different offenders, and that some of them you know will end up being on supervision forever because they end up being homeless, and therefore end up committing more crimes which means more violations, and then you have an offender that doesn't ever violate their supervision, and the visits are quick and easy with them. Also, each officer has about 30 offenders on their workload, which sounds pretty overwhelming, but that's just the way it is. We also got to goof around with the officers, and hear some of the bad things that go on in the office, like the little rumors and gossip that can go on about your fellow employees, it was actually pretty humorous. Also, once we got back to the DOC for the day, I had one of the officers pretend to arrest me because I wanted to see what it was like haha AND it was pretty cool :P.....
Tonight we had a pretty amazing D.N.A group (which is our little small group/bible study we do a few times a week). A few of us shared our testimonies, and it was such an amazing reminder to me that Christians don't have it all together. In fact, Christians come to Jesus because they are so broken in their own lives that they have decided they don't want to do it alone anymore. I think that's one thing I've forgotten that has made me fall in my faith. I've forgotten that I don't need to hold it all together. Someone said something tonight that really opened my eyes. They said, "After I decided to put God first over everything else, everything started to fall together." I think it has honestly been a long time since I've actually put God first in my life before my emotions, and the goals that I have for myself. I really think this trip might be a start to getting back into my relationship with God, and actually feeling like I deserve to have a relationship with him.
So tomorrow I'm back in Seattle, and will be assigned to another correctional officer, and I absolutely can't wait to see what's in store for tomorrow. I also don't think that I've mentioned that we get HOME COOKED MEALS EVERY NIGHT, it's sooo goooood...Okay, I think that's all I got for now. Once again I am completely exhausted, but it's all worth it. This has been such a growing experience for me already, and it's not even a week into it. I'm incredibly blessed with the life I have been given.
I was SO SO excited to be able to see what it would be like to work in the Sex Offender unit, like it's one of the jobs I've considered for myself. So in the beginning of the day we actually had to get up a little earlier to travel to a town called, Tacoma to go to the DOC in Pierce County. It's a little drive, but it was definitely worth it. When we got to the offices we got aquatinted, and assigned to the officers we'd be with for the day. We then got to go to their offices, and get our BULLET PROOF VESTS (yes, you read that right). IT WAS SOOO COOL. I felt like a giddy little child. We also got to look at the GPS systems they put on the higher level sexual offenders, and got to look at what the map looks like from the computer. So basically we watched a little dot (representing one of the offenders), and watched him walk around his house for a few hours-they sped up the time of course. But it was superrrr awesome.
We then left the offices to get out to the offenders that needed to be visited that day. While in the back of the car we got to play with the hand cuffs for awhile, and it was actually a lot of fun haha. I seriously felt like a dork all day, but I really didn't care. We visited at least 5 sexual offenders throughout the day, and a few other offenders that were just regular offenders. It takes a lot of time to drive from place to place though. Before we got to each house the officers filled us in on what the offender did, how long they have been on supervision, and if they have had any violations etc. We also walked around the person's house, and the officers would be looking for any signs of breaking a violation (drug paraphernalia, or something out of the ordinary). The offender also would tell the officers if they were planning on going anywhere, and needed to get permission, and information to the officers in order to be able to go. It was really crazy to hear the stories, then go actually see the person in their homes face-to-face. I can bet you we asked the officers a bazilllion questions throughout the day, but they were really open, and honest about giving us answers. At one residence, which was basically a trailer court with three trailers, the offender actually wasn't home, but we searched around anyway looking for whatever the officers were looking for. There were actually roosters and chickens walking around which was the scariest part of the day. The women CCO actually sprayed pepper spray on a rooster because it scared her, and the spray got into my mouth, and nose. It was SOOO WEIRD. I was actually scared for my life for 5 seconds because I didn't realize she sprayed it. It felt like it wasn't possible for me to breathe air in, and it smelt sooo bad, but it ended up being pretty funny. We also got to take the two officers out to lunch with us, and meet up with another officer and another one of our team members, Debbie, to eat with us.
It's probably best that I don't put all the sexual offenders stories on here, but one thing completely blew my mind throughout the entire day. The offenders looked completely!!!! normal!!!! They were friendly, didn't make me uncomfortable, and didn't scare me whatsoever. One of the guys actually reminded me of the kind of person my dad is. It blows my mind that people who seem like genuinely nice, and good people can be capable of such things. None of the people I met today was like the weird, perverted person that you'd imagine a sex offender would be. It is just so crazy to think that just one mistake can alter a person's life forever, even if they change into a better person. I know a lot of people don't tolerate even thinking about sexual offenders, especially ones that molested children, but I truly believe that people can change, and that we are all human. If people go to treatment, serve their time, and TRULY change I believe that they do deserve to live normal lives without all the rules that a sex offender has, but that is just me. Seeing the offenders also makes you a little eerie of basically everyone you see. The nicest person in the world could actually be holding a huge secret.
When we weren't at a persons' house we were driving around talking, and we also stopped by a few different DOC buildings, and it was really informational. The officers told us about several different offenders, and that some of them you know will end up being on supervision forever because they end up being homeless, and therefore end up committing more crimes which means more violations, and then you have an offender that doesn't ever violate their supervision, and the visits are quick and easy with them. Also, each officer has about 30 offenders on their workload, which sounds pretty overwhelming, but that's just the way it is. We also got to goof around with the officers, and hear some of the bad things that go on in the office, like the little rumors and gossip that can go on about your fellow employees, it was actually pretty humorous. Also, once we got back to the DOC for the day, I had one of the officers pretend to arrest me because I wanted to see what it was like haha AND it was pretty cool :P.....
Tonight we had a pretty amazing D.N.A group (which is our little small group/bible study we do a few times a week). A few of us shared our testimonies, and it was such an amazing reminder to me that Christians don't have it all together. In fact, Christians come to Jesus because they are so broken in their own lives that they have decided they don't want to do it alone anymore. I think that's one thing I've forgotten that has made me fall in my faith. I've forgotten that I don't need to hold it all together. Someone said something tonight that really opened my eyes. They said, "After I decided to put God first over everything else, everything started to fall together." I think it has honestly been a long time since I've actually put God first in my life before my emotions, and the goals that I have for myself. I really think this trip might be a start to getting back into my relationship with God, and actually feeling like I deserve to have a relationship with him.
So tomorrow I'm back in Seattle, and will be assigned to another correctional officer, and I absolutely can't wait to see what's in store for tomorrow. I also don't think that I've mentioned that we get HOME COOKED MEALS EVERY NIGHT, it's sooo goooood...Okay, I think that's all I got for now. Once again I am completely exhausted, but it's all worth it. This has been such a growing experience for me already, and it's not even a week into it. I'm incredibly blessed with the life I have been given.
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Once in A Lifetime Experiences
Soooo we are now done with the second day working with the DOC (Department of Corrections) here in Seattle. First off, this is incredibly exhausting, but incredibly awesome at the same time. I get up around 6:45, and our days at the DOC doesn't usually end until about 5:30 (roughly). There is sooo much that goes on that it's pretty hard to process all of it, but hopefully this helps me out. I'm feeling incredibly (apparently I really like that word) blessed and grateful to be able to do what I am doing. The decision I made to come to Seattle this summer was definitely the right one. I'm connecting with so many people, and getting hands on experience in things that I never even thought I would. I'm getting sooo much insight into what the police, correction officers, state patrol, and what other criminal justice fields deal with and see everyday.
So on Monday I was super excited to wear my professional clothing so that I could feel all big girl like. We got to the DOC and just went through a lot of administration information. Then we took pictures for our BADGES!!!!!!!! so that we could walk around the building, and be all official without anyone stopping us. It's seriously one of the coolest things ever. It makes things feel more real. Unfortunately, when we are done we can't bring them home because they belong to the state, poo ):. Then while everyone was going in groups to take pictures, and get out badges, we were watching a film on the dangers of Meth that was based in Portland, Oregon. I really did learn a lot from it; like how 50% of the children that are in foster care in Oregon is because their parents got involved in meth, first time users can be addicted, and the importance of rehabilitating the family as a whole.
We then watched a documentary called, The Iceman. It was about a man obsessed with murder. He wasn't a "mass" murderer, or a serial killer, but they called him a "predator of human beings". The documentary described it as a "conversation with a killer". It was just really bizarre and eye opening. The way he talked about murdering, and how he did it was so non-chalant. He even described how he doesn't have feelings for his killings during or after them.. The crazy part was he lived a completely normal life. He had a wife, and kids, and they had no idea about his double life. It was a really good look into the mind of a murderer.
After we got all the badges done we had the Field Administrator of King County (which is the county Seattle is in, and the biggest county in Washington) come talk to us about his job, and what community correction officers do (another name for probation/parole officers.) My favorite thing he said was that correction officers are the gateways for resources for the offender. I just thought that was really cool, and basically describes the work of a social worker (which is what I'm majoring in). Supervising an offender won't automatically change a person, you need to get them the education, life skills, support systems, rehabilitation, and resources. But ultimately they need to want to change for themselves (which is always the most difficult part). I realize as a social worker (or whatever title I have in my future career) I can only encourage a person to change to a point, the rest they have to do themselves. A key point that can make the biggest impact in correcting an offender is "the immediacy of the response". He then went into talking about the "Swift and Certain" model (you can google that if you'd really like to know). A few more different types of officers, one being the Community Response Unit (CRU) came and talked to us, one being a woman named, Leslie, and she was absolutely amazing. The officers talked a lot about "The Human Condition", and I really like this concept. I love that I get to work in a career field that looks at offenders in a human condition way. Even though they have done horrible things that we can't even comprehend, they are still human, and must be treated like so. The last thing we got to do at the DOC on Monday was come in contact with real, legitimate evidence. It was really crazy to have them in my own hands. It was a veryyyy long day, ending at the DOC at 6:00, but back at our dorms we went into our DNA groups for the first time. D.N.A. stands for discipleship, nurture, and accountability. They are basically a bible study group while we are here so that we can get to know a group of people on a closer level, and stay in the Word.
On Tuesday (that would be today) our group separated in half. My group, which would be all the sociology, social work, psychology, criminology majors etc. first went to what is called, The Work Crew. The Work Crew is the community service that offenders are required to serve. We went under an interstate highway to where a few offenders were cleaning up to see what it was like for them. A lot of offenders really like the benefits of being on the Work Crew, and it enables a lot of them to get their acts together. We got to talk to a state patrol officer that comes a few days before the Work Crew to come and clear out the homeless that are there living under the highway. We got to see the areas where the tents were, and you can definitely tell where they set up housing for themselves. Once thing that stuck out to me was the caps, and cartridges of the needles that the people used for drug purposes. It made everything more real. There actually was a lot of beautiful graffiti everywhere. I felt like some of those people could become famous for their work. We also got the chance to talk with, and hear the story of one of the offenders that was working. She was a drug addict, and has spent a lot of time in and out of jail, and in rehabilitation centers. She is still very young, and has been clean for awhile now. She has a daughter, and just talked a lot about how she is her motivation that keeps her from relapsing. Hearing her story was super inspiring, and has encouraged me into giving more thought into working in chemical dependency. People really can change their lives around and get better, and it would make my life worth so much more if I could help them with that.
After seeing the Work Crew site, we went back to the DOC and has a presentation on Gangs. I had known some of the things from my Human Behavior, and the Social Environment class last spring, but hearing the officers stories of real interactions with the gangs was really cool. My favorite part of the gang presentation was having a former gang member come talk to us, share his story, and answer basically every question we could ever think of. Honestly, it was a really scary idea at first, but he was a really good guy. He is currently on DOC supervision, but is doing a lot for himself to turn his life around. He has a job, and is doing the best he can to stay out of the gang life so he can be a better father for his children. The first time he went to jail was at 11 years old, and he grew up without his father or mother to support him. His story was really humbling, and inspiring to hear. He was a really humorous guy, and if you ever wondered what a "gangster" talked like, it was legit like a movie haha. He was tossin f-bombs everywhere, but it was a good time. He always said "I'm just going to do me." Literally, my little brothers say that all the time hahahah so that was a good laugh. He said if he had a choice he would go back, and change his lifestyle, but he wouldn't change the knowledge he gathered on the street and that "he'd rather die than end up behind bars for the rest of his life." I have so much respect for people like him, and the women for the Work Crew. People who take the initiative to change their life are the inspiration for me to do what I want to do. I firmly believe that all people can create better lives for themselves. The experience of hearing the woman's story from Work Crew, and this man's life story will stick with me forever, and I'm forever honored and grateful for being able to hear them.
Today has touched my heart in sooo many ways. Beyond all the things at the DOC, tonight we had a Team Training meeting for when we minister to homeless and youth for the next two weeks after this. My faith is something I continuously work on, and I learned a lot about myself tonight, and what it truly meant when I gave my heart to God a few years ago. Our director, Tom, started the meeting out by talking about how we can combine our work with the DOC to help us minister just by the way we interact with people while on the job. It is so true that we don't have to be in a Christian situation to be able to be a representation of our faith. We then had a speaker come and talk to us about "How to be Sure you're a Christian". This is something I struggle with because of my self esteem issues of not being good enough, or worth anything seeps into my faith life. To keep it short and sweet for the sake of my blog I'm just going to share one thing that I learned through the speaker tonight: Once you begin your relationship with God you become his child, and once you become his child you can't change that. You might fall out of fellowship with him, but you never lose the relationship. He compared it to the relationship you have with your parents, you may not talk to them for years, but the relation you have to them doesn't change. It's the same thing with God. This concept brought me to tears. It think this might be a new starting point for me to continuing growing without living in complete doubt, and fear. One of the theologians we have with us on project also spoke a little, and one thing he said was, "People can't make permanent changes without God." So all those people in prison who have screwed up? They all need God in order to really change their lives and I have heard story after story of inmates coming to God, and I truly believe that can happen to anyone.
It's getting late so I should probably rap this up, but TOMORROW AND THURSDAY we get to begin job shadowing, and doing ride alongs with Correction officers that might require a bullet proof vest!!! khafkjehfhawjefkanwhkjfhkaj SOO EXCITED!! It's crazy to believe this trip has only just begun....
So on Monday I was super excited to wear my professional clothing so that I could feel all big girl like. We got to the DOC and just went through a lot of administration information. Then we took pictures for our BADGES!!!!!!!! so that we could walk around the building, and be all official without anyone stopping us. It's seriously one of the coolest things ever. It makes things feel more real. Unfortunately, when we are done we can't bring them home because they belong to the state, poo ):. Then while everyone was going in groups to take pictures, and get out badges, we were watching a film on the dangers of Meth that was based in Portland, Oregon. I really did learn a lot from it; like how 50% of the children that are in foster care in Oregon is because their parents got involved in meth, first time users can be addicted, and the importance of rehabilitating the family as a whole.
We then watched a documentary called, The Iceman. It was about a man obsessed with murder. He wasn't a "mass" murderer, or a serial killer, but they called him a "predator of human beings". The documentary described it as a "conversation with a killer". It was just really bizarre and eye opening. The way he talked about murdering, and how he did it was so non-chalant. He even described how he doesn't have feelings for his killings during or after them.. The crazy part was he lived a completely normal life. He had a wife, and kids, and they had no idea about his double life. It was a really good look into the mind of a murderer.
After we got all the badges done we had the Field Administrator of King County (which is the county Seattle is in, and the biggest county in Washington) come talk to us about his job, and what community correction officers do (another name for probation/parole officers.) My favorite thing he said was that correction officers are the gateways for resources for the offender. I just thought that was really cool, and basically describes the work of a social worker (which is what I'm majoring in). Supervising an offender won't automatically change a person, you need to get them the education, life skills, support systems, rehabilitation, and resources. But ultimately they need to want to change for themselves (which is always the most difficult part). I realize as a social worker (or whatever title I have in my future career) I can only encourage a person to change to a point, the rest they have to do themselves. A key point that can make the biggest impact in correcting an offender is "the immediacy of the response". He then went into talking about the "Swift and Certain" model (you can google that if you'd really like to know). A few more different types of officers, one being the Community Response Unit (CRU) came and talked to us, one being a woman named, Leslie, and she was absolutely amazing. The officers talked a lot about "The Human Condition", and I really like this concept. I love that I get to work in a career field that looks at offenders in a human condition way. Even though they have done horrible things that we can't even comprehend, they are still human, and must be treated like so. The last thing we got to do at the DOC on Monday was come in contact with real, legitimate evidence. It was really crazy to have them in my own hands. It was a veryyyy long day, ending at the DOC at 6:00, but back at our dorms we went into our DNA groups for the first time. D.N.A. stands for discipleship, nurture, and accountability. They are basically a bible study group while we are here so that we can get to know a group of people on a closer level, and stay in the Word.
On Tuesday (that would be today) our group separated in half. My group, which would be all the sociology, social work, psychology, criminology majors etc. first went to what is called, The Work Crew. The Work Crew is the community service that offenders are required to serve. We went under an interstate highway to where a few offenders were cleaning up to see what it was like for them. A lot of offenders really like the benefits of being on the Work Crew, and it enables a lot of them to get their acts together. We got to talk to a state patrol officer that comes a few days before the Work Crew to come and clear out the homeless that are there living under the highway. We got to see the areas where the tents were, and you can definitely tell where they set up housing for themselves. Once thing that stuck out to me was the caps, and cartridges of the needles that the people used for drug purposes. It made everything more real. There actually was a lot of beautiful graffiti everywhere. I felt like some of those people could become famous for their work. We also got the chance to talk with, and hear the story of one of the offenders that was working. She was a drug addict, and has spent a lot of time in and out of jail, and in rehabilitation centers. She is still very young, and has been clean for awhile now. She has a daughter, and just talked a lot about how she is her motivation that keeps her from relapsing. Hearing her story was super inspiring, and has encouraged me into giving more thought into working in chemical dependency. People really can change their lives around and get better, and it would make my life worth so much more if I could help them with that.
After seeing the Work Crew site, we went back to the DOC and has a presentation on Gangs. I had known some of the things from my Human Behavior, and the Social Environment class last spring, but hearing the officers stories of real interactions with the gangs was really cool. My favorite part of the gang presentation was having a former gang member come talk to us, share his story, and answer basically every question we could ever think of. Honestly, it was a really scary idea at first, but he was a really good guy. He is currently on DOC supervision, but is doing a lot for himself to turn his life around. He has a job, and is doing the best he can to stay out of the gang life so he can be a better father for his children. The first time he went to jail was at 11 years old, and he grew up without his father or mother to support him. His story was really humbling, and inspiring to hear. He was a really humorous guy, and if you ever wondered what a "gangster" talked like, it was legit like a movie haha. He was tossin f-bombs everywhere, but it was a good time. He always said "I'm just going to do me." Literally, my little brothers say that all the time hahahah so that was a good laugh. He said if he had a choice he would go back, and change his lifestyle, but he wouldn't change the knowledge he gathered on the street and that "he'd rather die than end up behind bars for the rest of his life." I have so much respect for people like him, and the women for the Work Crew. People who take the initiative to change their life are the inspiration for me to do what I want to do. I firmly believe that all people can create better lives for themselves. The experience of hearing the woman's story from Work Crew, and this man's life story will stick with me forever, and I'm forever honored and grateful for being able to hear them.
Today has touched my heart in sooo many ways. Beyond all the things at the DOC, tonight we had a Team Training meeting for when we minister to homeless and youth for the next two weeks after this. My faith is something I continuously work on, and I learned a lot about myself tonight, and what it truly meant when I gave my heart to God a few years ago. Our director, Tom, started the meeting out by talking about how we can combine our work with the DOC to help us minister just by the way we interact with people while on the job. It is so true that we don't have to be in a Christian situation to be able to be a representation of our faith. We then had a speaker come and talk to us about "How to be Sure you're a Christian". This is something I struggle with because of my self esteem issues of not being good enough, or worth anything seeps into my faith life. To keep it short and sweet for the sake of my blog I'm just going to share one thing that I learned through the speaker tonight: Once you begin your relationship with God you become his child, and once you become his child you can't change that. You might fall out of fellowship with him, but you never lose the relationship. He compared it to the relationship you have with your parents, you may not talk to them for years, but the relation you have to them doesn't change. It's the same thing with God. This concept brought me to tears. It think this might be a new starting point for me to continuing growing without living in complete doubt, and fear. One of the theologians we have with us on project also spoke a little, and one thing he said was, "People can't make permanent changes without God." So all those people in prison who have screwed up? They all need God in order to really change their lives and I have heard story after story of inmates coming to God, and I truly believe that can happen to anyone.
It's getting late so I should probably rap this up, but TOMORROW AND THURSDAY we get to begin job shadowing, and doing ride alongs with Correction officers that might require a bullet proof vest!!! khafkjehfhawjefkanwhkjfhkaj SOO EXCITED!! It's crazy to believe this trip has only just begun....
Sunday, June 16, 2013
The Beginning...
So right now I'm currently watching the first new episode of the Pretty Little Liars season with my other PLL fans on team (instant bffs). I was soooo excited when I found out there are others who watch it is well, so this next month shall be amazing (:. We have a couple hour break here until supper. I've only been here for two days, but I love it already. When I was on the plane I got to read over half of book #10 of PLL so that was greatttt, and as we proceeded to land the amazing snow-top mountains came into view. I was in complete and utter awe. I was actually smiling because they were so beautiful, and it got me so excited to be in the beautiful city of Seattle.
The first night here we had a team meeting and got to settle into our dorm rooms (Yes, dorm rooms). They were way bigger than my freshman year dorms in Sheehan at Winona, but it was a huge flash back for me. It gets kinda warm at times, but the closet space is AMAZING!!! I have one roommate and she's pretty awesome. Today we had a little touristic day. We went deeper into downtown, which was absolutely amazing. I felt like I was in New York (coming from a small town girl). We did the Underground Tours, which was sooo interesting. It's a really long story, but basically Seattle used to be under sea level, and a huge fire ended up burning the whole town down so they decided it would be best to build up a level (also to help with the crazy sewage system in the town-not even gunna explain that one). We also went to a park that had an amazing view of a river, mountains, and the Space Needle, which I do believe we get to see during the 3rd week here, or something like that.
Going downtown was really great, but really sad at the same time. There was sooo many homeless people, and a lot of people asking for money. Also people sitting in raggy clothes just drinking alcohol on the sidewalk. It's a reminder of how much hurt there is in our world, and what I want to do to help fix it. I love that I get to blend my faith, and my future career on this trip. I'm really excited to get into Prison Ministry, work with the inner city people, and the homeless of Seattle. This town needs the love of Jesus, and you can see that around every corner. There are some really beautiful parts of the city, but you can definitely see the difference when you get to the slum areas. I can already see some amazing connections with the people on my team, and I'm so excited to get to know these people more for the next four weeks. I feel like it's going to go by so quickly, and that I'm not gunna want to leave once it's over. And trust me, I'll be taking WAYY TOO many pictures, but I'm perfectly fine with that (:
Tomorrow we start our work with the Department of Corrections. I'm not sure what to expect, but I'm SOOO excited. I'll keep you updated as the days go (:
Friday, June 14, 2013
Sleepless in Seattle
Everytime I think of Seattle, the title of the movie Sleepless in Seattle comes to mind so I thought it would be fitting for this post. I have not blogged in a long, long time. I've just been busy with life, and honestly just haven't made time for it. I've also been on my never ending journey of finding, and creating myself. I've been learning a lot lately. I'm a month into my summer break, and I've just really been enjoying making money, and seeing my high school friends, BUT this post isn't suppose to be me rambling. This post is me introducing you guys to my first post (of hopefully many) about my adventure in Seattle, which begins TOMORROW!!!!!GORIHADNLKLAKSLDMLAL AHHHHH (excitement)!!!!!
I will be participating in the Summer in the City/Prison Ministry summer project for 4 weeks in Seattle, WA which includes a Department of Corrections internship. EEEEKKK!!! I'm sooo excited for all the things we will get to do. I'll be updating my blog frequently on what I'll be doing. I'm really excited to work with the poor, and cast down people of Seattle. I'm in love with being a Social Work major, and I'm hoping that this experience will open my eyes to things that I might do with the rest of my life. I really excited to meet some amazing people, and grow in my relationship with God as well. I think the idea of ministry in a prison is UNBELIEVABLE, and I'm so excited to be a part of it!! Going into the prisons, and working with the kind of people I will be working with reminds me of why I've chosen social work as my career. My heart for people in prisons stems from Luke 5:31-32:
I will be participating in the Summer in the City/Prison Ministry summer project for 4 weeks in Seattle, WA which includes a Department of Corrections internship. EEEEKKK!!! I'm sooo excited for all the things we will get to do. I'll be updating my blog frequently on what I'll be doing. I'm really excited to work with the poor, and cast down people of Seattle. I'm in love with being a Social Work major, and I'm hoping that this experience will open my eyes to things that I might do with the rest of my life. I really excited to meet some amazing people, and grow in my relationship with God as well. I think the idea of ministry in a prison is UNBELIEVABLE, and I'm so excited to be a part of it!! Going into the prisons, and working with the kind of people I will be working with reminds me of why I've chosen social work as my career. My heart for people in prisons stems from Luke 5:31-32:
And Jesus answered and said to them, “It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”
I can't wait to spend my life helping those who are burdened, judged, cast-down, and are looked at as the "outsiders". Jesus came for those people, and it is my life mission to do the same. In my next post I will be IN SEATTLE!!! CAN'T WAIT!!!!
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