Week 13

A few days ago, I went for a tour around ARCH and got to know some of the members and clients. This was truly an eye opening experience. I have walked pasted this massive structure on 7th and Neches multiple times. I have to admit, I used to be extremely cautious walking around this area. After researching and working closely with ARCH, all of the stereotypes I used to believe have been broken. As soon I was walked toward the building, a kind old man held and door open for me and commented on the beautiful weather. As soon as I walked in, the employees and volunteers were nothing but helpful. An incredibly kind-hearted volunteer, Meredith, showed me around the facility, introduced me to the staff and a few of the clients. I told her I was expecting something entirely different before I walked into ARCH. This massive structure is extremely organized, filled with the most kind-hearted people and offers a multitude of resources for the homeless community. She went on to tell me how many of the clients are filled with compassion, you just have to show them some to get some in return. This was a wonderful and informative experience.

On another note, ARCH is has been promoting an upcoming event they are hosting, a happy hour downtown. The hopes of this event are to educate the community about ARCH and let them know they are there and need there help. After the happy hour, these individuals will get a tour of ARCH. The hopes are, that once these individuals see others trying to turn there lives around, they too will want to help. I believe this will be a very effective strategy in helping raise funds and educate the community. I held stereotypes before I got to work with ARCH and the homeless community, and many individuals hold stereotypes because they haven't interacted with the homeless community. Bringing these individuals and showing them the facility and some of the clients will show how much potential there is, with just a little help. 

Week 12

Have the Homeless Become Invisible?

The link above goes to a video composed by the  New York Rescue Mission called "Have the Homeless Become Invisible?" Front Steps posted this video on their blog earlier this week. After watching the video, the message was very powerful and moving. I believe this video was an effective strategy for Front Steps to advocate for the homeless community. The video consists of a series of social experiments, where normal people were disguised and placed on the street at homeless individuals. Unsuspecting people walked by their relatives pretending to be homeless. The experiment was conducted to see if these people would notice their family members or if they would become invisible, like the majority of homeless individuals today. No one person recognized their family members sitting on the side of the street. It was even more interesting to see their reactions when they were shown videos of themselves walking past their relatives and not even recognizing them. These individuals were filled with shock, awe and even saddened. This video was an effective strategy in helping promote the recognition of homeless individuals as people. This video helps promote the dignity homeless individuals deserve. The point of this video is that every homeless person is someone's sister, brother, mother, father, grandparent, aunt or uncle. This is something we tend to forget, which is evident when we walk past a homeless individual without even giving them any sort of recognition. This video helps place us in the shoes of these individuals and helps create empathy. After watching this video, I envisioned myself walking down the street without noticing my brother sitting on the curb. It truly saddened me. At any one second anything can go wrong and an individual can find themselves homeless. This video reminds us this and reminds us to give these individuals the simple recognition they deserve. I believe this was a successful and ethical strategy. We tend to forget about others as we get caught up in our daily routines. This video helps place ourselves in the shoes of those who are normally forgotten and reminds us that everyone deserves to be heard and seen.

Week 11

On May 22nd, ARCH will be holding a Women's Appreciation Day, a day to support and empower women experiencing homelessness. According to the event poster on Facebook, this event will be an opportunity for women experiencing homelessness to receive mini massages, manicures, donations of toiletry items and food. I think dedicating a day to these women is a wonderful strategy to empower them. Homeless individuals lack basic needs, let alone luxuries such as mini massages and manicures. These individuals struggle to survive on the minimal resources they have. ARCH is making an effort to make these women feel special by give them attention and generosity. These are feelings all individuals deserve but aren't always given. By honoring and showing appreciation to these women, we are giving them the support they need to feel empowered. On such an important day as Mother's Day, I feel that all women need to feel special and unique at some point. 

Week 10

Front Steps posted an interesting status via facebook that read a common misconception of homeless individuals, that all homeless individuals are mentally ill. They then posted the facts that read "a recent report by the National Coalition for the Homeless determined that 20 to 25 percent of people experiencing homelessness were severely mentally ill, compared to 6 percent of the general population." This is a common misconception that many still hold. Front Steps is urging individuals to rethink common stereotypes we hold against homeless individuals by reporting accurate statistics and simply, the truth. This makes me think about encounters I have witnessed throughout Austin with homeless individuals. There is one man in particular my roommate and I see all around Austin. He carries the same bag with him at all times and walks quickly down the Austin streets in a swift place. I remember my roommate saying "this guy has to be to be crazy". I think about it now and these would be the last words I would ever again to describe any individuals. You cannot judge a person and the situation they are in without knowing their past. I think Front Steps strategy of posting statistics and the truth is a wonderful way to advocate for social change. It helps break stereotypes and reform common misconceptions.

Week 9

Am I Invisible is a project started by Roni Chelben, who led a series of video workshops at ARCH, Austin Resource Center for Homeless. In these workshops, Chelben invited people from Austin's homeless community to share personal stories, act out their experiences of homelessness, and practice cinematographic skills. The workshop concluded with a final project where the participants directed and shot a video presenting interviews with people around downtown Austin about how the homeless are viewed in our society today. In August 2013, a group of committed participants (all members of the homeless community) formed and started to work on a performance aimed for the general public. On April 12th, this performance, completely written and played by members of the Austin homeless community, will take place at St. David's Episcopal Church Gym. Am I Invisible will be a theatric performance that has been put together as a powerful tool to promote civiv dialogue and social change. The event is open to the public and free, in hopes of attracting a large crowd, to bring awareness and educate others about the homeless community. I am excited to attend this performance this weekend. It is the perfect opportunity for homeless individuals to speak up and speak out about the issues they face and help the public understand. Participants will be performing short monologues and showing short documentary films they have composed, based on their experiences in the Austin homeless community. I believe these honest interpretations of personal experiences will help educate the community and break stereotypes many hold, merely out of being uninformed. 

Week 8

Last week, Front Steps worked with Amplify Austin to raise community awareness on the issue of homelessness and money for the cause. Amplify Austin is a 24 hour "festival of giving"that provides an easy and fun way for our community to give back and help hundreds of nonprofits that are meeting critical needs. Over 400 nonprofit organization participated in Amplify Austin this year. Front Steps raised an amazing $7,000.00 this year. Front Steps tweeted throughout the event, graciously thanking everyone who offered a donation to the nonprofit. They also notified the public on their progress through Facebook as well. They tried to get their followers to advertise their efforts through their own social media to bring more awareness to the cause. The $7k was a major success and is unique if you glance over the "needs statement" Front Steps put on their section of Amplify Austin.

Needs Statement:

$25.00 --> supports hygiene needs

$50.00 --> supports the creation of a move-in kit of basic supplies

$100.00 --> supports transportation needs

$200.00 --> supports furnishing one apartment

Another aspect of Front Steps page on Amplify Austin that way was very inspiring was their testimonials portion. They included a few quotes from homeless individuals Front Steps has helped. One of the most meaningful quotes I read was from a women named Judy who wrote, " This is my first home in eight years. Front Steps helped me after I had given up on myself and everyone else." I believe this quote embodies everything Front Steps stands for. Front Steps mission statement reads that "Based on the belief that all people deserve the dignity of a safe place to call home, Front Steps mission is to provide a pathway home through shelter, affordable housing, and community education." Front Steps pulled this woman out of a state of hopelessness and brought her back to life. Front Steps utilized the Amplify Austin campaign to bring hope to those experiencing homelessness in our community.

Week 7

ARCH bases itself around the motto is that “everyone deserves the dignity of having a safe place to call home.” I believe that one’s home is symbolic in this case as a place where an individual can go and feel safe and call their . Having a home is something we all take for granted. I am in the process of investigating the value of having a home and why ARCH’s central motto focuses on the importance of an individual have a safe home. Emmanuel Levians has a philosophy that gears toward the possibility of responsibility and hospitality. As described by Levinas, hospitality operates in two distinct realms, the ethical and the political. In the ethical realm, the self is morally compelled to welcome the individual stranger into the private space of the home. In the public realm, the self is politically obligated to welcome the whole of humanity into the public space of the homeland. He emphasizes that an ethical humanity is an universal responsibility. He goes on to say that an inflection toward humanity is fragile, because it is continually absorbed by the rhetoric of political institutions (“History of Political Thought”). Levians philosophy can be applied to ARCH’s motto on the importance of an individual to have a safe place to call home. According to Levians, it is ethically and politically important that one has a home and remains hospitable.