Today, I was up early to take part in Homeless Connect. I had no idea what to expect and honestly I had wondered what the hell I was thinking volunteering all by myself, no organizations, no friends, no colleagues. I just found Homeless Connect several months ago and decided to join. All by myself.
To say the "old me" urge to want to bail and go to the webcast concert that was being held today by my favourite boy band and spend the afternoon with my gals wasn't far from my mind. As a youngen, I may have even done so, bailed on a committment that scared me, overwhelmed me, felt more daunting than I was really willing to acknowledge. I mean really, it's volunteering, you're not getting paid so surely they wouldn't miss me? Don't worry.
I didn't. A little more than a month ago, I got the email saying I was one of the Volunteers for the spring event of Homeless Connect and was asked to come the Saturday before for my assignment and orientation.
So yesterday I went. I was suprised at how many people were there and I was the second shift of orientations for that day. I learned I was going to be one of almost 400 volunteers. Of that number, 100 of us had decided to stay the entire day. My assignment was "breaks".
As I read my job description I near panicked. I was going to be relieving the breaks of every possible position potentially. What if I wasn't comfortable with something? What if I wasn't good at something? I sat there in quiet and wondered again, why had I decided to do this?
On my way to the event his morning, I had my mom drive me so I had next to nothing on me. The less we came with the easier our day would be. There was a room we could lock our stuff in, but I just thought, if I went with just some money and my phone I wouldn't need anything else. And so at 8:30 am I arrived at Salon 4 at the Shaw Conference Centre. I grabbed a muffin and a tea and I went to see how my day would go.
We had an hour orientation through the registration process - the most "intense" position we would work. As part of registration, we were required to ask some pretty personal questions and needed to do so with tact and ease and with most importanly compassion. The guests coming today were not required to answer this questionairre to participate in the day but it does help Homeward Trust the organization running the show compile data on homelessness. I quietly prayed I wouldn't have to relieve a break in registration. Give me anything else but put me in front of people and ask me to ask them super personal questions, no way. That scared the hell out of me. But there was a lot of of us, surely I would sneak through and be assigned a different area to "break".
We got our wrist ribbons that told our leads what our positions were and we headed upstairs to the Halls to see the big event and get familiar with the room and the services. It was unreal. Hall A, B & C were open wide for this entire event. Some of the big and popular services offered today: Optometry, Dentistry, Hairstyling, Foot Care & Pharmacy care, immunizations, Public Library was there with books they could take, BMP Photography was there taking professional portraits, there were different financial agencies like AISH and other services like Alberta Registries to direct our guests on how to obtain ID, Alberta Health Care cards etc. There was Counselling services, tax and legal services, housing agencies and many many many others. And there was lunch.
So we got lined up into the registration area, a bunch of guests had arrived early and preregistered and they were coming in right at 10 am and would be looking for services. Since I was one of the break team volunteers, we wouldn't need to relieve a break for a while so we became "guides".
Our job was to escort the guests as they came in to the area they most wanted to hit first. If they were unsure, we would chat with them and try to suggest some areas. As we moved in our line up and got assigned a guest, we would take them to the area they wanted, leave them on their own if that was their wish and we would get back into the line.
I did this for an hour or so and was quite enjoying it. Every so often after chatting with a guest, I would come back into the guide line and have to keep my emotions in check. What an amazing experience this was becoming. I have so much in my life, I spend nearly $200 to get my hair done, I have a house I know I can sleep comfortably in every night, I never worry when my next meal will be. These people, some didn't know where they would be sleeping tonight, some couldn't wait to get their hair done and some, some hadn't eaten in days and wanted the lunch area to be open NOW!
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| Putting up the TeePee inside "Homeless Connect" |
I was overwhelmed with a million emotions, I had wondered if I had made the right choice deciding to volunteer with Homeless Connect and as I walked these guests to the areas they needed, I couldn't help but think how close we all are to being just like them. And I knew this was one of the best choices I made this year.
At 11 am this morning there was a Smudge Ceremony. I had NO idea what a Smudge ceremony was but we had the option of attending it. So I asked if I could and at the proper time I went outside with a bunch of other folks and saw a couple of gentlemen, one of which was referred to as the Elder.
What is a Smudge?"Our Native elders have taught us that before a person can be healed or heal another, one must be cleansed of any bad feelings, negative thoughts, bad spirits or negative energy - cleansed both physically and spiritually. This helps the healing to come through in a clear way, without being distorted or sidetracked by negative "stuff" in either the healer or the client. The elders say that all ceremonies, tribal or private, must be entered into with a good heart so that we can pray, sing, and walk in a sacred manner, and be helped by the spirits to enter the sacred realm.
Native people throughout the world use herbs to accomplish this. One common ceremony is to burn certain herbs, take the smoke in one's hands and rub or brush it over the body. Today this is commonly called "smudging." In Western North America the three plants most frequently used in smudging are sage, cedar, and sweetgrass."
taken from: http://www.asunam.com/smudge_ceremony.html
So we were invited to get into a line up, one by one we walked up towards these Elders who were burning sweetgrass and had Eagle feathers in their hands. As we stood in front of them, they both said what I would call prayers and we "scooped" the smoke of the sweetgrass over our heads, our heart and our body. We cleansed our body's, our minds and our souls.I was speechless. It was so moving, so beautiful. As I completed my turn, I stood in awe and watched everyone in the line up go up and particpate. I ended up chatting with a fellow volunteer and as she told me how much it meant to her to be able to participate in a Smudge for the first time, tears came to her eyes. She abruptly walked away and left me in near tears.
I composed myself, took a couple of pics and went back in to keep doing "my job". As I was back in line to be a guide, I got pulled out to relieve a break of someone on........registration. Oh my god. The one area I was petrified to do. Introduce myself, ask their names, fill out a form, ask what Gender they identify with, ask how long they've been homeless and where they are now living.
I had to do this with confidence, compassion. I couldn't let my emotions show, I couldn't be shy or nervous. I just had to go.
The lady I was relieving was awesome and she asked if I had ever done registration to which I nervously laughed and said nope, but I'll figure it out. By the time I had gotten to her spot, they had already sent a guest to register and there he was waiting for me. So together, all three of us went through the questionairre and after questions 6, she said to me, "you are fine, I'm going for my break". I registered 7 people before I was told it was my turn for a break. One of the biggest "rules" was to maintain eye contact. If you know me, then you know how hard that can be for me to do. I've never been good with eye contact but today it was almost easy.
Every guest got a wrist band that gave them access to the event the entire time it ran without having to register again and they all got a "swag" bag. I'd call this one a neccessity bag. It was donated by Parlee McLaws and each guest got a reusable lunch bag full of personal toiletries based on their gender. Everyone I saw register lit up when they got this bag. One gentlement I was visiting with said he was just getting possession of his apartment on May 1st and he was going to go and use the little money he had left to buy these items at the dollar store. Now he didn't have to. Little things. They make a HUGE difference.
Is it possible for your heart to swell? I kinda felt like the Grinch must of felt when he heard the Who's in Whoville singing the day Christmas "Didn't arrive". His heart grew and grew and nearly burst with joy and love. It sounds ridiculous but as I watched the faces of these folks as they came in, all I could think was "Thank GOD this service exists and I am a part of it today".
Put yourself in their shoes. No food for days. No idea where you'll sleep tonight, or tomorrow. Doors slammed after doors slammed. But today, they got what they needed or at minimum hopefully they were connected with the services they needed. Today we were all the same, today, we were all connected and helping one another and today, no one was better than anyone else.
One of the men I met at Registration. He said he was 62 and I wouldn't have guessed he was more than 50. He is my dad's age.
He was from England but had become a Canadian Citizen years ago. He decided to move to Thailand and had just returned. He was desperate to find a job. He had even put himself through some courses to upgrade and improve. Took a course on being a Security Guard. His englilsh was perfect. He could read, he was clean cut, dressed smartly and spoke well. He told me he had enough money to maybe allow him two more nights at the YMCA and after that he had no idea where he was going to go.
He was looking for a job, he told me this story with nearly every question I asked him. He was looking, he was doing everything he could to secure work. He had the skills, the ability and the experience. He was getting interviews and once the prospective employers interviewed him and garnered a guess at his age, he knew they wouldn't call him back. Every week he sees the same job postings in the paper. The same postings he's applied for and interviewed for. But he's 62 and they all want someone younger. Those calls backs for him, they aren't happening and in a couple of days, he'll be looking for a shelter to live in. So his first service he wanted access to? A hair cut. This man was clean cut, shaven and clean, but he believed a little less hair than he already had would maybe show the prospective employers he takes impeccible care of himself and maybe a clean cut short haircut would prove he was serious, especially because he was looking at being a Security Guard. I knew exactly what he was hoping for. The fact that he was trying so hard broke my heart. We are nearing a labour shortage and here this more than capable man was getting a shorter hair cut hoping to up his odds and these employers interviewing him, sit without a worker still. Discrimination in one of its worst forms and I was witnessing it first hand.
I didn't for a second doubt him. My own employer has made such comments before about prospective employees and it breaks my heart everytime. He's no liklier to jump ship than any young kid is. In fact, my guess is an employer would get an on time, hard working, grateful and loyal employee out of this guy. Something they may not get from a "young" person who is constantly looking for the next best thing.
We have things very screwed up in our society. The very people who do this hiring, many are the age of the very folks they won't hire because of their age. Makes you think? Or maybe it should!
I saw this gentlemen later in the afternoon with his new super short hair cut and he definately "cleaned up" good. I said a silent prayer for him as I watched him quietly walk out that his luck would change and that he'd find a job soon.
I also met a very shy quiet young lady named Chantel. Her boyfriend Mike was at another table registering. She was pregnant with a little girl they were going to name Angel. I was going to be their guide and take them to their first service. She really really wanted the photo. Mike was hungry. I suggested they go to the photo first and atleast get a number or a ticket to be called for a photo and then hit lunch. But on the way to the photo area we stopped at a table that had a bunch of baby items, socks, penatene cream, baby shampoo, wipes etc. Chantal quietly picked out each item with great care and thought. I stood there and watched her take these items, she appeared humbled, grateful and maybe even a little bit relieved.
I kept thinking about my family and my friends. No one I know would ever need to come to this place to get these items. Not on my watch at least. I couldn't imagine how Chantel felt being at this event.
On my lunch break, I headed to the lunch area where everyone got to have a lunch and sit for a bit. Turkey Chilli, baked potato and a bun. Was delicious. Sat with a couple of guests and fellow volunteers and had great convos. I was humbled. So many volunteers were like me, glowing with enthusiasm and there for their first time. Turns out I wasn't the only one doing this on my own. And for everyone of us "newbies" there was a repeat volunteer. Some I spoke to had done it every time for the past 8 years, others this was their 4th, 5th, 2nd time. It's impressive.
Much like my experience at iHuman (see below blog), I was quickly reminded that these "guests" were just like you and I. They may live in a rough end of town, they may be addicted to drugs and alcohol and be troubled, but they are human. They have hearts and brains and they are PEOPLE who need nothing more than a little compassion, a little love and a little understanding. I knew in the first hour this morning that this would be an event I would volunteer at as many times as I could (it happens twice a year). And I kept thinking about how I could get more people to join me.
After lunch, I wandered around the venue and checked out some of the vendors and booths that were there. Everything was so busy and there were so many smiles, the energy in there was electric. I started to hover around BMP Booths where I watched Trevor Boller and his team work their photography magic taking family portraits or individual shots. You and I have cameras, phones, videorecorders etc. etc. On a recent trip to Mexico I took nearly 5000 photos, several with me in the shots.
Trevor today was taking pictures for people who for many, this was the only portraits of themselves, their families, those important to them they had or have ever had. The stories of these pictures are worth a thousand words. Trevor posted a photo tonight online that he had been given permission to use, it's an incredible photo of a man and his two beautiful young kids. He had just gotten custody of them last year he said, that he was homeless but that Social Services helped him with housing and they struggled but were getting by.
I was drawn to this booth partly because I was going over to say Hi but then I got stuck in the back hovering around just watching people when Trevor caught me and waved me over. I spent a bit of time in their booth talking to both them and the folks getting their pictures, all of them with incredible stories and a huge excitement to share their photos. A couple of people said "I've never had a picture of me". Something so simple, something so common and yet a luxury not allotted to them ever. Until today.
I went back to my post and realized the afternoon crew was in and the registration lines had died down a lot and not nearly as many guides or breaks were needed so after I took one last gentlemen to the lunch area, I bounced back to the BMP Booth and spent the rest of my afternoon with a huge smile on my face watching folks freeze frame who they are today, with as little as they have with HUGE smiles on their faces.
WHAT? do I have to be ungrateful for? Absolutely NOTHING!
So in October, Homeward Trust will be hosting another Homeless Connect. And I? I will be there.
Someone asked me today how I came to be a Volunteer with Homeless Connect. How the HECK did I find out about it? Well at first I couldn't remember and then it slowly came back to me.
Back in the summer of 2011 (so last year) I was restless, those that know me, know that's a feeling I wrestle with a lot. I felt like I needed "to do" something, that I needed to give back, volunteer my time, help somewhere. But what? and where?
So I found a website. It was Volunteer Edmonton if I remember right and it listed a whole bunch of agencies that utilize volunteers. I skimmed the pages and a couple places I made note of and contacted. I never did hear back from them but when I contacted Homeless Connect I did get a response from Sonya Helm. She said that the October event had enough volunteers and didn't need my help but that I should consider April's event. So I signed up for April. And forgot about it. I got the email like I said a little over a month ago that I would be indeed a volunteer this time around and as I stood in the line up this afternoon as a guide, feeling much more confident about being there, I spoke to one of the "lead volunteers" about her role and how I couldn't wait to come back in October. She suggested I sign up as a lead.
I may just do that.
In closing tonight as I was reading through my twitter feed, I saw this post, it sums up my day, my experience and the reason why I am so quickly feeling connected to the issue of homelessness:
People will forget what YOU said, people will forget what YOU did, but people will never forget how YOU made them feel -Maya Angelou
YOU MATTER.....THEY MATTER!!!
