November 20, 2006

  • it's saturday night and a cold front has been moving in.  up to now, new york city has been like much of the northeast, fairly mild for november, with days averaging in the upper teens (celsius).  now, however, you can feel the air dipping dramatically, and the sky is way overcast. i'm volunteering for this saturday night shift at the shelter for homeless LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) teens run out of the church where i'm doing field placement.

    the shelter opens at 9:00pm, and they begin to arrive singly, then in groups of 2 or 3.  eve is the first, and (as i was to learn) drama arrived with her.  eve has lost the key to her locker that holds all of her possessions > the teens each have a foot locker kept permanently at the church since it would be impossible for them to carry all of their stuff around, and possessions make you a target on the street... there are calls made to the permanent shelter staffer who is on vaca, but max cannot be reached... it's suggested that we might have to break into her locker since her meds are in there... finally, kemo arrives, and proves to be the white knight since he had seen her drop her key and picked it up for her (why didn't he tell her sooner, like when she dropped it?)  then comes alex and his friend jz (who, i am informed, is not allowed to stay the night), along with jill.  kimmy follows soon after, and everyone is in > this is a good thing because curfew isn't until 1AM on saturday nights, and i really didn't want to have to stay up until they all got settled... but then they go out to smoke, or to buy mcdonald's... and then there are the video games ... and kimmy just sets up his cot and lies down, warning all away from him...

    and i realize that these are kids like any other kids, and my heart breaks for them... jill looks so butch (she is lesbian), but is really sweet, and when she sets up her sleeping area, pulls out a ruffled, pink pillow and a matching comforter, just as if she were any other adolescent teen in a white french provincial suburban bed, and not a cot in a drafty old church hall... kimmy is tall and lean and has long black hair, and is beautiful, which might not be such a good combo for a young man on the streets; his mannerisms are very effeminate, but i believe that if you crossed him, he could take you down.  no one messes with his space.... kemo loves video games as does alex... alex is the bad boy, with a smile that could charm the angels out of heaven (as my gran used to say), a buzz cut and wire rimmed glasses > out of this context you would think he was the kid in high school that was way popular and smart without being nerdy... kemo is more guarded, and keeps up a 'street cred' front while being the one who looks out for everyone else, and made sure the lights went out in their accustomed order and at their accustomed times...

    it was so easy being their overnight monitor... why did they have to be on the streets?  i can't know their stories, but i did feel their need.  they were concerned because it was sunday and most of the places they hung out in (primarily work) were not open on that day... i'm glad they have a place to stay where it is almost warm... and that has a working hot shower (that they are really good about keeping clean)... where there is a refrigerator just for them, and a kitchen where they can cook...

    i just wish all of these were in their own homes, and not in a church shelter... but then, at least they have that....

    when they left the shelter on sunday, the sky was bleak and almost felt like snow... the temperature was about 4 celsius, and the wind was blowing hard...

Comments (8)

  • Wow. I didn't know you helped at a shelter.

    Anyway, It is done if you are interested.

  • thanks for stopping by.  i should consider therapy more seriously, but i haven't had much satisfaction with it in the past.  since i'm introverted by nature, it's pretty easy to say it doesn't matter.  if i don't want to talk to someone, it doesn't make much difference if i can't talk to them.  that's my lazt justification anyway.  not healthy, i know.  :)   i hope this comment nade sense.  i'm using someone els's laptop, and it's a bear.  normally i would check for srrors and correct..  :)

  • *lazy *made *else's *errors

  • That is so beautiful and inspiring and at the same time heartbreaking.  I can only imagine their stories are ones of unacceptance.  By the very people who should love them unconditionally.

    RYC ~ running screaming from that choice is one i may actually be faced with.  and i concur.  no heroic measures.  I have no fear of going *home.*

  • RYC---i was making today's post before i read your comment and find the whole Kramer thing amusing:lol:  OF COURSE today's post is about how niggers have become complacent since all the PC clowns are sending out the message that WE have overcome:eek:

    It's great to see a CHURCH that has a LGBT programme...obviously you're not at Westboro Baptist:sunny:

  • ryc: tehehe, i'll tell him you called him a "sex god" when he calls me tonight :lol:

  • There is a big population of homeless kids in the downtown East side here in Vancouver, it saddens me that things are apparently staying that way. Sheltering homeless kids is a solution to the immediate problem, but the bigger challenge is to prevent kids from becoming homeless in the first place. Perhaps there should be an agency dedicated to educating them and giving them job opportunities. We are not doing enough to reach out to them.

  • RYC: thanks for such a detailed comment. The more so on a post like that, the better I feel about writing it. And thanks for calling off the Daleks.

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