New Perspective

I have been feeling really "disatisfied" with life lately.  A little envious of people with bigger and better things, house, cars, etc.  I know that I have a nice house and a nice car.  I have a great family.  I am (trying) to look better everyday.  I shouldn't be disatisfied with anything.  So, I am trying to adopt a new perspective on life.  I don't have to keep up with the Jones' to be happy.  I need to do what I need to be happy. 

I am not entirely sure what will help to make my perspective different.  As much as I want it to be different it is hard to change wanting to keep up... but, I will keep trying.

I did have a little bit of an eye opener today.  We toured another branch of my organization today.  The branch we toured was IHYC- Iowa Homeless Youth Center.  The first place we went was the Outreach center.  We were told about a boy- Reggie Kelsey, whom "Reggie's Sleep-out" is named for, and his story of aging out of the system and becoming homeless which led to his being fished from the river. 

From there we toured the Lighthouse which is a home for 16-21 year old mothers.  While at this house 6 women can be educated and learn life skills to help them function in a permanent home and in safe relationships.  They are allowed to stay in this home for up to 2 years.  They also can have 2 children live there with them as long as they are under 5 years old.  When we toured this home (which is a former convent) we got to see one of the girls' rooms.  There was a twin bed, dresser, sink and closet.  In this particular room there was also a toddler bed and a potty chair for the 2 year old she had.  This room was smaller than my dorm room in college.  It was really only made ofr a twin bed and a dresser at most.  To think that some of these girls have a crib, toddler bed or two in there with them is crazy!  The rooms were all pretty small and cramped.  Even the common rooms where the children could play and the girls could relax and watch tv were small.  Even small for a regular sized family let alone 6! 

Then next house we visited was Buchanan.  This house is where young men and women who were homeless could live.  They could get education, life skills and employment help.  The purpose of this house is to simulate living on their own.  Any income they receive is budgeted and 60% of it is taken, so they realize what it is like to pay bills.  They get the money back when they leave the center.  The rooms there are tiny, too.

We then met with a man named Howard Crow Eagle.  He took us to the river where we got to see where homeless camps are.  He took us down to meet a man who built his "shanti" from pallets and tarps.  He had a very neat and tidy camp.  There was a rake and several shovels.  You could tell he had just raked the area around his shanti right before we got there.  He had done a walk for homeless and walked 88.5 miles!  He is very motivated, clean and helpful.  He spoke to us about why he was homeless and what he does to help toher homeless out.  He helps build camps for others, etc.  Sidenote- he has a facebook account!!  After that we went to Central Iowa Shelter Services.  This is a homeless shelter for central Iowa.  They have 68 beds for men, 34 for women, and 14 for veterans.  We were able to look into the men's room sice during the day they have to be gone.  There were 68 beds in a room no larger than a regular classroom.  They were all bunkbeds and each bed was full.  The beds were all made and underneath each blanket was the persons entire life.  All of their possessions fit underneath a blanket on a twin matress. 

For this retreat my committee made survival kits for the programs.  We were able to score towels, wash clothes, shampoo/conditioner, lotion, and bars of soap from a hotel.  We also included, granola bars, juice boxes, water, combs, chap stick, pens and hair ties.  We had lots of extra shampoos from the hotel so we donated the rest of those supplies to the shelter.  We had made 50 survival kits for the outreach program.

The day was really educational.  I really appreciate all the people that work hard and love their job helping these youth and other homeless.  I want to learn more about the lighthouse progam.  I could see myself doing something in that line of work...

Today's experiences helped to put things in perspective for me.  I just hope it sticks. 

To learn more about our progams visit http://www.yss.org/ or http://www.iowahomelessyouth.org/.  They should have a list of ways to help if you are interested.