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Program gives students a taste of homeless life on the street
Program gives students a taste of homeless life on the street
By Laurel Rosenhall - Bee Staff Writer Published 12:00 am PDT Sunday, July 1, 2007 Story appeared in METRO section, Page B1 http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/250771.html Moms and Dads pulled up in sport-utility vehicles and station wagons. Teenagers jumped out with backpacks and sleeping bags. It looked like a typical summer camp drop-off, the kind of scene playing out across the region. But these kids weren't heading into a week of tennis matches, campfire songs or swimming in cool mountain lakes. They were diving into a week of homelessness on the streets of Sacramento. As part of a Jesuit High School program intended to foster compassion for the poor, eight boys signed up to experience a life that most people avoid. Over the course of the last week, they slept in parks, ate at soup kitchens, panhandled for money and collected cans and bottles. They also brought dinner to people who live in camps along the American River and prepared meals for the hundreds who eat at Loaves & Fishes. The students were accompanied all week by two Jesuit teachers and Garren Bratcher, the co-director of Loaves & Fishes, an organization that provides services to the homeless. Bratcher planned a series of activities to expose students to the hardships of poverty -- there was a mock sign-up for general assistance and a staged run-in with police, who hassled the boys for sleeping in a downtown park. But the reality of street life also crept up in ways that weren't planned. A few of the boys were confronted by a man inviting them back to his house. Students reported him to their teachers, who in turn alerted police. The man turned out to be a registered sex offender. He was violating parole by talking to the minors. Police arrested him and told teachers that he is returning to jail. Because of that incident, The Bee is identifying only by their first names the students who participated in the program, which ended Friday. The unscripted encounter provided another valuable lesson on what teens face when they live on the streets, some Jesuit parents said. Others said they were upset knowing their kids were exposed to a potential danger. But students were always under the watchful eye of Bratcher and their teachers -- they weren't allowed to leave the Loaves & Fishes complex without them. So Jesuit won't stop sending students to the homeless immersion program in the future, said Hal Turner, the school's chief financial officer. "In the reality of life, the boys reacted as we would expect them to, and the faculty did the same," Turner said. "That's really an indicator that we're well prepared." Jesuit students have done 24-hour immersions at Loaves & Fishes in years past, but this was the first time the school sent students for five consecutive nights. Loaves & Fishes has hosted similar programs for students from a Catholic high school in San Francisco and a Catholic college out of state, Bratcher said. For the schools, it's a way to teach students the importance their religion places on social justice. The Jesuit boys spent their days chatting with homeless people and figuring out how to get a shower, a bus pass or a plate of food. At night, they slept on Loaves & Fishes property -- three nights outside, two nights inside -- in areas where the homeless are not allowed to camp. Even though they were somewhat protected, the students experienced the physical consequences of roughing it: Poor sleep from the noise of passing traffic. Aching backs and hip bones from curling up on the concrete. They said the program known as "the plunge" taught them a new way of looking at the world. Drew said he learned to see the homeless as people with lives and quirks and feelings -- and would stop his friends from making fun of them in the future. Nick said he realized he wants to incorporate service to the poor into his normal routine. Andrew came to appreciate his stable family life because so many of the homeless he encountered had troubled pasts. Anthony gained gratitude for his comfortable upbringing when he saw how much some people appreciate a meal and a sleeping bag. "They don't have cell phones or iPods or anything," he said. "It's amazing they can be so thankful for so little." The students also became thankful for small things -- like a fresh pair of socks or a stick of deodorant. They spent most of the week with a sleeping bag as their only possession. Though they brought backpacks full of clothes, toiletries and bottled water, Bratcher confiscated them when the program began last Sunday. "All your cosmetics and stuff? You can pick them up when you leave," he said. "I want you to have the experience of trying to find stuff." Like a toothbrush. A pair of pants. A book to read. Sell It Yourself Those were some of the items Bratcher told the kids they'd have to find during their week on the streets. The boys welcomed the challenge. "I kind of just wanted to leave my nice rich environment in El Dorado Hills and get to spend a week in a different environment to see how people live," Bryan said. Bratcher showed them. It started with a long walk Sunday evening as the sun fell low in the sky. To get to the railroad tracks just north of downtown, the group climbed through holes in fences and over piles of toilet paper soiled with feces. They walked along the tracks, then stopped at a bed made of cardboard and blankets that was tucked in a clearing in a bush. Some of the boys sat down on the bed. "Close your eyes," Bratcher told them. "Think about your bedroom. Think about the door being locked. Think about your air conditioning. Think about looking in your refrigerator." The walk continued on city streets where people pushed shopping carts and carried huge bags on their backs. The boys wearing clean T-shirts and stylish sneakers stuck out. At one point, someone called out to them: "Hey Garren, if they want to go on vacation, why not Bermuda? Why Loaves & Fishes?" The students faced similar questions during the week, with some homeless people asking why they were hanging out with the homeless, and others admonishing them to go home. Sometimes the boys made up stories and pretended to be homeless. Other times they explained they were on a Christian service project with their school. But for the most part, students said they felt welcomed in their temporary environment. "It's okay to make that bridge between poor people and rich people," Drew said. "We should be one community." Students paid $500 each to participate in the program, which went toward stipends for the chaperones and donations to the social service agencies that hosted the group. At the end of the week, Bratcher gave each boy a medallion with images of bread and fishes. The group prayed together, asking God to grant them "a hunger for justice." And then it was over. SUVs and station wagons were waiting outside. Soft beds and hot meals were waiting at home. "I'm proud of him," John's mother said as she hugged her son. "He's not in Hawaii like a lot of his friends." |
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Program gives students a taste of homeless life on the street
On Jul 2, 10:22 pm, Ablang wrote:
Program gives students a taste of homeless life on the street By Laurel Rosenhall - Bee Staff Writer Published 12:00 am PDT Sunday, July 1, 2007 Story appeared in METRO section, Page B1 http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/250771.html Moms and Dads pulled up in sport-utility vehicles and station wagons. Teenagers jumped out with backpacks and sleeping bags. It looked like a typical summer camp drop-off, the kind of scene playing out across the region. But these kids weren't heading into a week of tennis matches, campfire songs or swimming in cool mountain lakes. They were diving into a week of homelessness on the streets of Sacramento. I am amazed that parents will actually pay for such nonsense. Instead of making public nuisances of their children and putting them at risk, simply telling them to get a job and encouraging them to donate some of their earnings to charity would do much more good. Alternatively, kids could further their educations over the summer, so that can start working earlier and become productive members of society. I guess having the kids play at being bums for a week satisfies the parents' and teachers' tastes for moral exhibitionism. The kids would probably learn about the homeless by reading the book "The Homeless" by sociologist Christopher Jencks, Harvard University Press (2005). |
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Program gives students a taste of homeless life on the street
On Jul 3, 12:07 pm, Beliavsky wrote:
On Jul 2, 10:22 pm, Ablang wrote: Program gives students a taste of homeless life on the street By Laurel Rosenhall - Bee Staff Writer Published 12:00 am PDT Sunday, July 1, 2007 Story appeared in METRO section, Page B1 http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/250771.html Moms and Dads pulled up in sport-utility vehicles and station wagons. Teenagers jumped out with backpacks and sleeping bags. It looked like a typical summer camp drop-off, the kind of scene playing out across the region. But these kids weren't heading into a week of tennis matches, campfire songs or swimming in cool mountain lakes. They were diving into a week of homelessness on the streets of Sacramento. I am amazed that parents will actually pay for such nonsense. Instead of making public nuisances of their children and putting them at risk, simply telling them to get a job and encouraging them to donate some of their earnings to charity would do much more good. Alternatively, kids could further their educations over the summer, so that can start working earlier and become productive members of society. I guess having the kids play at being bums for a week satisfies the parents' and teachers' tastes for moral exhibitionism. The kids would probably learn about the homeless by reading the book "The Homeless" by sociologist Christopher Jencks, Harvard University Press (2005). I agree, this program is a bunch of dangerous nonsense! Good luck! Tom www.itspuresoap.com www.seo9oneone.com |
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