Raising Hope For Homeless!

Dylan: My New Journey

Some of the Teen Press (Lili, Maisie, and myself) at 4:30 in the morning about to interview some volunteers for the census questionnaire.

After an exiting and interesting interview with Michael Pollan (author of Food Rules, In Defense of Food, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, and many more) three weeks ago, Sophie and I both say at the same time “I think we should do a segment on the homeless.” And that is when it started. Those ten words have completely changed my life, for the better. It was just forty-five minutes ago that Maisie asked a homeless person “What gives you hope?” The man who has been homeless for only four weeks replies back “Jesus.” Now, I’m not a very religious person but that word really spoke to me. I think the reason why this simple two-syllable word spoke to me in such a loud voice was that no matter how far off the track this man has gone, he still has something to rely on, religion. 

Today was such a meaningful day for me that I actually decided to do something that I normally don’t like to do, write. But, hearing a tall homeless man, who looks like he could really use some help, sing in Spanish about love and life in a booming opera voice made me want to dig deeper and really find out what happens “Behind the Scenes” of a homeless life. And, as I type, I am informed that the eighth homeless person died this year, which keeps the average going of one death per week. As sad as this is, the City of Santa Barbara is doing everything in their power to reduce the number of homeless deaths. Survival Santa Barbara is a great, new organization that takes in homeless people on cold, and rainy nights (these conditions are the ones where most people lose their life to). Another organization that does a great deal of helping is Casa Esperanza, where I was today, interviewing people ranging from the nurse that helps the people with physical and mental health issues to the people who actually have these issues. And as always, who is right beside me helping me on my journey? You would think I would say my mom or my dad but no, my old Social Studies teacher John Seigel Boettner.

I have a feeling that this isn’t going to be just another segment for the SBMS Teen Press.

Stay tuned for more.

Thanks
Dylan

Tuesday evening: 4:30-6 CASA ESPERANZA!

Team: Maisie, Dylan, John, and Myself

Mission: To speak with some of the contributers at Casa Esperanza, one of the Homeless Shelters, and find out some more information on how our team can help! I would love to get some footage of some of the guests at CasaEsperanza, and speak to them personally. 

Achieved: Is it really only Tuesday, and we have gotten so much accomplished? This story that we where invited by Robin Himovitz was truly a history that will be cemented in my mind forever. At around half past four, I was dropped off at Casa Esperanza thinking it was just another organization that just does research about underprivileged people on the streets, but by all means this was the opposite! I was faced with a challenge of walking through about 6 homeless men who were gathered on the side walk in front of the shelter. I wasn’t quite sure how to go about this situation and how to acknowledge them, but as they did everyday, they just looked at their feet. From that moment on, my whole vision of the stereotypical homeless person changed instantly. 

After literally confronting a hurdle in the road, we gathered outside of the shelter to stir up some questions to ask the volunteers and the homeless. As always, I just observed my surroundings and noticed multiple homeless standing in line to get checked into the shelter. What a sight! I couldn’t help but snap some pictures of this incredible moment. At around five we were let into the shelter, and greeted by the appearance of the homeless scattered around couches. Honestly I was a bit afraid at first, but after speaking to some amazing people, I was so blessed to have been there. Dylan and Maisie surprised some of the nurses, volunteers, and homeless with their warm welcomes and questions! Ian, one of the mental health volunteers and former UCSB alum, spoke with us about what his job isall about and how each day of his life is different, but ’ all about putting in the effort and work work work! Debra, a rape and domestic violence volenteer for women, chatted with us about how lucky we are to be safe and with people who love us, and to really acknowledge those who are dealing with these issues. You are a strong woman Debra, and have an awesome job that makes a huge difference in our community!

We were still eager to score an interview with someone who is currently homeless. Fortunately a volunteer granted our wish with a fellow named Noah. He is a newcomer to the streets of Santa Barbara and is extremely articulate and blessed by his soul.  We asked him to tell us a bit about his story and how homelessness affected him, and also how he hopes to get back on his feet. He shared with us that he is 4 weeks new to being homeless, and this is because he was in need of a train ticket to say good bye to his former father that was homeless. What he did was, he sold all his belongings to just barely raise enough money to buy a ticket to Santa Barbara, to visit his dad in Cottage Hospital who was dying from pancreatic cancer. When Noah arrived, his father had passed away, and he was left on the streets with no money or food to get him back home to Oklahoma. He came across Casa Esperanza and has been living there for about 3 weeks now. In Oklahoma, he was a teacher at a film school because his passion was to be a film maker! Over the course of time he had put together a documentary  about homelessness becuasehis father was homeless, and his film is hope for jumpstarting his life and getting back on his feet. WOW what a voice, story, and life this young man had and has! Meanwhile, when we were getting wrapped up with our interviews, a homeless old man nearby was singing to himself. I couldn’t help but compliment him on his voice because it sounded like something from the streets of Italy!! I was dying to have it on film, so I asked the brave question to see if I could film him singing. He agreedvand sang his heart out!

Something that I learned today, and something that I can take home with me is that every homeless human wants to know that they do exist … and whether it be money, food, or even a warm smile any such recognition lightens their day and makes them feel a hundred times better! Make it simple, and just acknowledge those on the streets :)

Tuesday: 6:30-8 Day 2 OF FOLLOW UP ON SURVEYS!

(“When in doubt go with gratitude”)

Team: Mischievous Maisie, detective Dylan, John the friendly giant and myself. Lili home sick with 103 degrees.

Mission: Meet up with the survey team we talked to yesterday, and ask them about how their early morning on the street went this time. After we got some footage of the interview with them at The Old Mission, we hope to head down to the survey count building, to see the chart of homeless hopefully grow!

Achieved: My body trembled when the brutal alarm rang at 6 in the morning. I hopped in Dylan’s car and headed out to meet with the team of surveyors we met yesterday at the Santa Barbara Mission. It was an amazing site and my favorite part of this morning was watching the sleepy sun peer over all of Santa Barbara! I felt so fortunate and blessed to live here, and living in a warm house. Excitingly, the team met two people that lived on the streets and were able to interview them! Their mission has started to come true, one life at a time, and they hope to save more as the week goes on. 

Monday 4:30-7 AM: First Homeless Surveys!

Team: Lili, Dylan, Maisie, John and myself

Mission: Catch some interviews and footage of one of the Common Ground SB’s Vulnerability Survey teams at 4 AM, before they start their action packed day of surveying the homeless. We hope to ask some questions about what they hope to achieve and what emotions they are feeling as they set foot to meet a stranger. When they have finished their surveys for the day, we anticipate rallying up with the team again and asking some follow-up questions.

Achieved: As my sleepless eyes gained consciousness, I glimpsed at the clock to see that it was 3:30 in the morning! I hurled my limp body out of bed, and headed to the kitchen, soon to be greeted by the eerie sound of silence. Our day started with sweet hot chocolate and homemade coffee cake at Maisie’s house. Our brains hadn’t clicked in, until we felt the bitter cold of early morning sting our cheeks. We were soon on our way to Denny’s Café on upper State Street to meet up with the team. As we stiffed up some general questions to ask about the survey, Lilli, one of the survey team members, slyly opened my van door and welcomed us. I was taken off guard, but greeted by her warm presence. Teen Press fellow reporters Lili, Dylan, Maisie, and I formed a fast intro to our interviews that included the words vulnerability, senses, and teen press. Shortly after the crew started to arrive — Crister, Jim, Lilli, Taylor, Natalie and one other member. We got some awesome footage of how they were planning to approach the homeless, and what they hoped to achieve by doing this. Jim warmed our bellies with his famous chocolate bricks, as we said our goodbyes and good lucks to the team.

Part two: Survey results! As we awake from our 45 minute cat nap, we shiver and moan when we see that the clock says 6 in the morning…Maisie and Dylan sang in unison while they played Robot Unicorn on the computer. Silly Willys! John’s hoarse voice with a camera in his hand startled us awake. Sooner than we thought, we were on the road again, but only this time the day grew a little brighter and gained some degrees. There we were again, good’ole Denny’s Diner watching the team we interviewed earlier come back from their morning of surveying. We asked them how their surveying went and got some disappointing, but good news. They did not find any homeless in the area they covered, but hope to find some tomorrow morning. Maisie, an avid  and agile interviewer, dodges bird poop while we wrap up our interview with the survey team. WAY TO GO MAISIE! When we arrived at the CommonGround Command Center we found some amazing news and people! We came across Dan again, and talked with him for a bit about how his day went, and he enthusiastically shared that he met two homeless people and was able to ask them some questions. Way to go Dan, keep on rocking in the free world! 

Sunday 12-1:30 THE SURVEY TRAINING!

Beth’s Story from TakePart on Vimeo.

Team: Myself, my fellow colleagues Lili, Maisie, and mentor John 

Mission: To interview the trainers, doctors, and public about the upcoming expedition that surveys the homeless, and motivates them to get them on their soon to be healthy feet. 
Achieved: WOW! What a crowd, I did not expect 500+ people to volunteer with this homelessness expedition. A naive, bloodthirsty gaggle of girls that came from the glamorous Santa Barbara Film Festival, to now cover a crisis about the homelessness here in our small, beautiful town of Santa Barbara. We learned so much about this mission already, and why these volunteers are supporting this cause. Our second interview, with a fellow named Dan, brought up so many emotions because Dan himself lived on the streets for about 15 years of his life, and fought with so much will power to be healthy and under a warm roof again. To see what he has achieved in the past 6 years of his life is truly a miracle! Stay strong Dan, and we hope to check back with you when you have more stories to tell about the next few days. Aside from interviewing some of our amazing teachers and SBMS faculty, we came across Robin Himovitz who is a former alum parent, and is now a volunteer on a team for the Common Grounds Homeless Mission. Miraculously, her team has invited us on Tuesday afternoon to follow them at the Esperanza Shelter, where some of the homeless gather. Thank you so much Robin, and we hope to achieve some great footage and possibly some interviews with the homeless themselves! Crister Brady, Jim’s son, is a trainer with the organization Doctors with out Walls. Not only did we gain some interesting answers and info on how we can help, but he invited us to follow in his footsteps on Wednesday, while he does his weekly Wednesday checkups on the homeless. Awesome news for us because interviewing people who help the homeless is one thing, but actually going out and talking with the homeless is off the charts!!! Well, I better be heading off the bed because we have a 4 AM wake up call. See you guys bright eyed and bushy tailed tomorrow morning!