The Homeless Shelter

[Lainey]

Volunteered to do a dinner service at a homeless shelter this past week. They serve a population of small families and single women (single men are at another shelter), about 180 total people. Food was decent enough and the recipients were grateful for our help.

Afterwards we got a tour, and I saw how shabby and grim the place was. In what looks like a former gym there were rows of cots for the single women, and then two small seating areas on either end with TVs. Bedding is provided but is pretty worn out. On the other side of the building are office-type cubicles for the families. In the middle is a kitchen and a fenced area where they store donated clothing, shoes, and kitchenware to give to those who transition to an apt. The whole place could do with being refreshed with paint and everything else, but it still would be pretty dispiriting to stay there.

It's located in an industrial part of town behind a barbed-wire fence and gate. There's a parking area on one side and a paved lot on the other. There's not a single green living thing anywhere on the property: no trees, bushes, plants outside and nothing green inside. There are no pets, no computers, no radios, no communal coffee or tea pot, and almost all of the lighting I saw was fluorescent overhead lighting.

Single residents must leave by 6 AM, and can't return til I think around 4 pm or so. Families are allowed to stay indoors.
The staff were friendly and thankful for us volunteers, but also seemed a little worn out.

It was eye-opening to see this behind the scenes look, and also made me want to at least sort through my kitchenware and linens to see if I could donate anything. As we left one of the volunteers said she does this because she thinks "There but for the grace of god ..."

[awakenedsoul]

That's for sure. I've been thinking the same thing lately. I met a really nice woman on the bus a few years ago. She was working for Princess Cruises and had saved up $20,000. She was at the top in sales with the company. We'd sit together and talk on our ride home. She took art classes at the Senior Center and enjoyed writing. Fast forward to about a month ago. After losing her job, and not finding another one for over a year, her savings ran out. She was homeless. She's about 60 years old. I was very concerned about her. We don't have a shelter here. The closest one is in downtown LA. I ran into her on the bus the other day. She looked much better. I asked her if her situation had improved. "Yes," she answered. "I'm living in a friend's backyard and am taking care of her horses." I pointed out that it looked like she was wearing new hiking boots and clothing. She nodded. She told me that she is going on interviews for elder care. She seemed like her old self again. It seems that older single women are especially vulnerable to running out of money. I meet a lot of people on the bus who just make enough money to pay their bills. They rent rooms. It really makes me see how fortunate I am...

That's great that you are volunteering there. We have people here living in campers that they park along the highway. They move them every couple of days. It's very stressful for them, because they don't have a place to park. So sad...

[Lainey]

If I could be a philanthropist my charity of choice would be housing, especially as you point out for these older singles. I agree there's a lot of people right on the edge money-wise, but having decent stable housing makes a huge difference.

I guess my takeaway from the shelter tour was to wish that it could be more pretty - fresh paint in nice colors, plants, books, maybe a cat or dog as the "shelter pet", a kitchen and/or flower garden, etc. - anything so it would not be so prison-like. That by itself could give people the emotional boost that I'm sure they need to get to the next step.

[catherine]

We have friends who have been homeless, and they would not go to shelters. They chose to pitch tents "down by the river" as Chris Farley's Matt Foley would say. Even in the winter, it was more desirable than the homeless shelters.

[Tussiemussies]

How sad thread shelters are and I can imagine that a lot of germs float around due to the old bedding and the lack of medical care for people. Too back an organization couldn't be started. In my old neighborhood people would volunteer to fix up and paint a few houses in town that really needed it. It would be nice if every town had a group like this...chris