03.30.08
Posted in AV 2007-08 Domestic at 5:44 pm by kp254513
Behold
In your midst has come a
New Life
This Child of the Universe
These words are engraved on a statue in front of Siena House, a shelter in the Bronx for women who are pregnant or have children under three years old. The statue is a moving image of a Native American mother presenting her newborn child to the Earth, asking the community for their blessing. The truth is, the 27 children that live here at a time, born and unborn, are homeless and brought forth into a society that places incredible odds against them. In my daily universe, I see mothers who have been let down by families, baby’s fathers, deteriorating school systems, the promise of a chance. The wealthiest city in the world produces a cycle of people trapped in a system of poverty and inferiority. Most of the mothers at Siena, the average age being 22, did not complete high school, have limited job skills, and feel very isolated and hopeless. Having a baby is one thing that these women can take control over and therefore gives purpose and direction to their lives. The presence of new life brings positivity to a seemingly negative situation.
It’s easy to become homeless in New York City if you live in an impoverished borough like the Bronx. Right now in New York City there are over 9,000 homeless families living in city shelters - that includes 16,000 homeless children. That does not include the thousands of people, including children that sleep in the streets or live invisibly underground. In order to reside in a city shelter you have to be found eligible by the Department of Homeless Services. DHS workers have told some of my women that they can sleep on a relative’s couch and their baby can sleep in a drawer. They have been told that they should have had an abortion if they could not afford their child. These women have left negative situations to seek a better life, to escape mental and physical violence, and they are being told to go back because it will lower the city’s staggering numbers.
As the “Activities and Educational Coordinator” I do a little bit of everything to meet the shelter’s needs. Yet, I do have a unique relationship with the residents - more of a mentor than an authority figure. There is one woman here that I have built a lasting relationship with - her name is Marina. She stood in line at the main DHS Center called PATH (Prevention Assistance and Temporary Housing) every night from the time her son Isaiah was two to nine months old, seeking temporary overnight placements. She was finally placed at Siena House and found eligible after seven months of hellish conditions and subhuman treatment.
In my short time here I have realized that American poverty is just as much about a mentality as it is about the lack of resources and absence of civil rights like affordable housing and living wages. Thus, I do what I can to restore a mentality of worth rather than tackling the solution to equally distributing wealth. Marina had expressed an interest in going to college but was terrified. One day I slipped a quote taped to a cardboard square under her door. It read, “What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?” She hung it on her wall. Marina is now a Culinary Arts major at a nearby community college and is scheduled to move into semi-permanent housing this week. Yet, even when someone in this situation can find motivation from within, the system is often against them and they are likely to end up back in a shelter.
My personal hero, Dr. Martin Luther King, said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” This reflects the idea of what it means to be a community, to serve one another and act as one human family. We all live in the same universe, but are divided by worlds of race, class, gender, culture and many more. It is so simple to live in Manhattan and be completely unaware of the crisis of homelessness in New York City. This paradox rings true everywhere. Injustices in the Bronx threaten the true freedom of all of us, not just the women and children I have met. Siena House serves as a safe place to lift the babies above injustice, like the statue, and try to create a better future for them through allowing mothers to empower themselves with education, skills, and finding a place to call home.
I am blessed to be a witness to this plight and to have the opportunity to be a life-giving presence to women experiencing single motherhood and homelessness. The strength and unconditional love that comes with being a mother leaves me in awe at the end of each day. I am so lucky to live in the Bronx, where beauty is moving us forward. My AV community keeps me sane in this insanity, and for them I am forever grateful. Seven months ago I was scared of babies, new to the Bronx, and worried that the women at Siena would not confide in me. This proves that change is possible. Every day becomes a renewed spiritual journey: along Fordham road, on the 4 train, on Ogden Ave, at Siena House, and here on Andrews Ave.
Behold, in your midst, new life is happening but the universe continues to oppress the poor of our society and countries around the world. When you think of my homeless moms and babies don’t feel sad; feel threatened by the injustice that we perpetuate. Let’s create a better universe based on the freedom of our children.
Katie Porter
Bronx, NY
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03.06.08
Posted in AV 2007-08 Domestic at 11:59 am by Pat O'Brien
..and they dropped their nets and followed Him. This is how the call of the first disciples of Jesus is recounted in the Gospels. The account of the disciples is sometimes how I feel during this volunteer year. I had no idea what was going to happen or what was not going to happen. Just like the disciples, I was scared of the unknown but also knew that it was something I had to do.
I cannot tell you the reasons why I decided to volunteer definitely while on a train from Rome to Assisi. I can tell you what I thought were the reasons, like giving back for what I had been blessed with, finding out who I am, and living out my Catholic faith. However, over halfway through this year, I know that it will not be until the end of this year and perhaps many years after that that I will truly know why I did this year. Fr. Tom McCarthy, the president of St. Rita of Cascia High School where I work, said on a Lenten mission, “You want to know how to make God laugh, tell him your plans”. I chuckle at this because it is so true.
My experience at St. Rita as a campus minister has been challenging as well as rewarding. I thought I was ready to leave my family and friends but again, how wrong I was. I thought I knew exactly what I was going to do after this year, but I still haven’t heard back from any graduate schools or companies. Perhaps it is the world that I grew up in, the world that says its all about me, that has blinded me into thinking I knew everything or had the confidence to handle every situation.
There is a real challenge in trying to tell someone who just lost their brother that everything is going to be OK or knowing that one of the students is going to go home with only his mother and his step brother around. These are just a few of the “problems” that go unnoticed at a school where everyone wears the same uniform, is clean shaved, and has books to carry around to classes. The stories and lives that these students have would surprise many people and many times are ones that I cannot relate to. When I first started this year, I wanted to give the best advice to every student I met, but I have slowly learned that I will not be able to do that. Instead I have learned to be with the student through this year and let my presence give them answers. A presence which builds with every volunteer that passes through Rita. It is a challenge to be of ministry for these people, with often unnoticeable rewards.
However, in my short stay at St. Rita, I have been lucky enough to see a glimpse of promise in the minds of these young men. Although, I have direct interaction with all four classes through retreats, coaching, the dining hall,or liturgies, it is the senior class that fascinates me the most. Perhaps it is because I get to know them on a much deeper level through the Kairos retreat. The seniors are at a special moment in their lives where their values and foundations will be tested as they move on after graduation. Seeing these young men challenge their faith and sometimes even restore their beliefs in God gives me much support and reassurance with the work that I do. I know that I will never really see how they have changed, but sometimes knowing that there is hope is enough for me.
What has been very unique in my volunteer year has been the joy that my job brings to me but also the community that has shaped me. Together, Amanda, Brett, Claire, Jeannie, Susan, and myself have formed such a strong bond over this past year that it sometimes feels to good to be true. In my commitment statement at the beginning of the year, I stated that I wanted to better understand myself through my community. My community has challenged me to think about what I believe in and who I think I am.
As of today, I am starting to understand why I decided to do this volunteer year, but I wont ever fully understand until a couple years from now when I see myself in the “real” world where different challenges arrive everyday. Challenges that will test how this year has shaped me. I look forward to what the future has for me, even though it feels like I drop my net just to follow a gut instinct.
Patrick J. O’Brien
Chicago 2007-2008
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03.05.08
Posted in AV 2007-08 Domestic at 9:27 pm by BeckyCoyle
When one thinks of San Diego, it is easy to associate it with sunshine, beaches, surfing, and the southern California state of mind. But here’s one for you: did you know that San Diego is notorious for having one of the largest homeless populations in the US due to the nice weather, high cost of living, and high number of war veterans who have been stationed here? This is often kept out of the news and the tourist commercials, so when I arrived in San Diego to partake in a year of volunteer service, I was shocked.
After graduating this past May from Villanova with a degree in Nursing and beginning this adventure with the Augustinian Volunteers, I have been so blessed to experience working as the “village health nurse” at St. Vincent DePaul Village in San Diego. The Village incorporates a gamut of empowering programs, and as the village health nurse, I work in the Family Medical clinic attached to the shelter. We serve residents of the village, as well as homeless and those in the community without health insurance. It has been an eye-opening experience getting to serve the less fortunate.
I went into this experience with a “save the world” attitude and to be perfectly honest, I found myself, in early September, somewhat uneasy during my first encounters with the homeless. They were afflicted with so many issues: substance abuse, mental illness, poor hygiene, physical illness, criminal conviction, and even child predator charges. There were also the shocking moments, when my middle-class naiveness was almost embarrassing. I’ll never forget the feeling I got the first day I had a man fill out his medical form and write that his address was “the canyon near 30th street.” Additionally, there were certain men who informed me what dumpsters guarantee the best meals, and where you can find a high volume of cans to go recycle, as this serves as the income for most homeless people.
I have to say, however, that it only took about a week or two for me to get past any lurking social stigmas I had for the homeless in SD. I found myself developing a love for my patients and for my work. I go to work looking forward to seeing familiar faces, and on a given day, I work in the clinic doing assessments and having many therapeutic encounters. I’ve really gotten to know so many residents on a personal level, and on an average day, when I’m leaving work for the day at 5pm, I’ll often get stopped by residents/patients who want to share with me how they are feeling, how their last appointment went, or just how their day went. I’ve experienced the sorrows of a recent cancer diagnosis, and I’ve experienced the amazing feeling of letting children use my stethoscope to hear their very own heart beating. I have truly learned that they are real people with real feelings, and taking the time to listen to a story or share a smile can make one’s day. An interaction that I had with one man was a life changing experience, as he told me that I made him smile for the first time in months–he just wanted to be around people who cared about one another.
This whole enlightening experience parallels a passage from 1st Samuel when the Lord tells Samuel “Do not consider his appearance, or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” My love for the residents at the village hasn’t arisen because they’ve suddenly become more “desirable” sorts of people - instead, I’ve allowed myself to follow God’s lead and look past their facades and peer deeper into their hearts. I’ve dissociated myself with the “wants” and “wishes” about the way I think my patients are supposed to be, and have just decided to love them. I love them by giving them something they need. And in return, they have given me all that I need. It seems that God, once again, is choosing the most unlikely of candidates to be instruments of his love. I have truly seen the many faces of God in the poor.
I’m still enjoying that sunshine, the beaches, the surfing, and southern California state of mind, but I have truly learned the definition of caring for one another. From my experiences at St. Vincent DePaul Village to the amazing experiences I have each and everyday with my 5 roommates, I am learning that love heals all aches and pains. I pray that all of us become able to let go of our personal expectations and any selfish desires, and cherish the things that are most important: our relationships with others. First John says that if “God so loved us, we ought to love one another.” I couldn’t have said it better myself.
Becky Coyle
San Diego 2007-2008 
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