New Experiences

We love it when volunteers share their experiences of volunteering at LPCS.  We recently received an article written about a Wisconsin youth group's trip to Chicago and wanted to share it with you.  Enjoy!

If you walked into the Lincoln Park Community Shelter in Chicago, IL on July 31, you would have seen 15 people from Menomonie's First Congregational United Church of Christ.  Kids and adults alike would be found playing games, preparing a supper, and laughing with the guests in the homeless shelter. 

The group of 6 adults and 9 youth left on Friday, July 29, for a long, long drive down to the Windy City.  Upon arriving, the group stayed at St. Pauls United Church of Christ in the Lincoln Park area.  Three teams prepared tow breakfasts, two dinners, and three bunches of sack lunches over the course of three days.  The preparation entailed planning, shoppiung for, cooking, and plating and serving each meal.

This was the first mission trip for many of the youth, and it really showed them that not everybody has a place to come home to every night.  The Lincoln Park Community Shelter is a facility in the Lincoln Park neighborhood that provides housing and meals for 35 homeless people.  Because it's privately funded, the guests, as they are called, can stay as long as they need to.  Some of the men and women staying at the shelter have jobs or are going to school and are making the transition into permanent housing, which is the goal of the program.  When they leave, a spot opens up and a new person comes into the shelter.  Alumni of LPCS (Graduates) often volunteer once they have left, creating a cycle of good-deed doing. 

The experience was a new one for the youth.  "It really made me realize that people on the street sometimes have good skills and just need some help to get into a shelter and have a better life," saus Sean Williams who went on the trip with his father Todd and his younger brother Max.  Rachel Ropella says, "Going to Chicago truly opened my eyes about how I see poverty and how much of a difference serving them with a smile makes."

Fifteen adults and youth returned Tuesday, August 2, with a new way pf perceiving the world.  Everyone had a great time, as is evidenced by their blog: uccchicagomissiontrip.blogspot.com.  For more information about the trip, contact First Congregational UCC at 715-235-5838.

--Emily Billingsley, First Congregational UCC

What are you doing for World Homeless Action Day?

Monday, October 10th will be the second annual World Homeless Action Day. In Chicago alone there are over 21,000 homeless individuals on a given night. Anyone can become homeless and stereotypes need to be replaced with accurate information. Most guests at the shelter never expected to be homeless. They previously had jobs and housing and just need assistance accessing resources so they can get back on their feet.

With millions of people around the world dealing with homelessness, it is clear that this is an issue that needs attention and that is exactly what the day was created to do. One of the co-founders, Brianna Karp, was in her early twenties when she lost her job and became homeless. While still homeless she became an advocate for other homeless people and started World Homeless Action Day as an opportunity for members of all communities to get involved. Hers is truly an inspirational story.

How can you observe World Homeless Action Day? You can respond to homelessness locally, by getting involved at a community shelter or outreach center and by using the day as a platform to speak out about the needs of the homeless. Since it is only the second year of this day of observance, its existence is not yet widely known. For this reason, it is more important than ever for us to share this information with others to allow for continued expansion of participation from organizations and community members. It also means we need to be creative in developing collaborative methods for observing this day. Homelessness can end, but only with community-wide involvement.

Experiencing a "Point in Time"

On a clear, chilly, January night, we piled into cars, armed with clipboards, flashlights, boxes of hats and gloves, and questions. Questions for homeless folks we would find on the street about demographics and their various needs.We drove around Chicago, peering out the car windows, searching for people to count and survey for the biannual “Point In Time” info gathering. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requires all cities seeking federal funding for homeless programs to conduct a count of the homeless population. This will estimate needed allocations for homeless services. Though counterintuitive, we had an incentive to find as many currently homeless people as possible. We wanted to gather the most accurate number, so that homeless folks aren’t “short changed” when it comes to allocating funding for our city. 

I was assigned to a portion of the Lincoln Park neighborhood, along with two other Point In Time volunteers. Dozens of volunteers gathered at headquarters around Chicago, and were dispatched all over the city, with the intent of surveying every square inch. My group and I weaved carefully through the pristine streets of Lincoln Park, filling our map with highlighter marks as we turned each corner. It felt ridiculous to be searching for homeless folks down streets lined with fancy cars perched in front of million dollar homes. I doubted that there would be much tolerance for people to be “loitering” on these streets, and I doubted that people who are homeless would feel comfortable on these streets anyway. Not surprisingly, we found one person; he was speedily wheeling a shopping cart down a busy street and preferred not to be surveyed.

Our count after 4 hours of searching: 1.  

Demographic info collected and warm winter clothing distributed: 0.

This was not what any of us novice Point In Time volunteers expected when we signed up weeks earlier. I had envisioned being on a street such as Lower Wacker, having worthwhile conversations with maybe 25 homeless individuals, collecting valuable info, distributing needed supplies. You know, like how it would be in a movie.

As we are constantly reminded in social service work: there is always more to the story. Are there a number of individuals sleeping outside in Lincoln Park who we missed? When other Northside counting groups reported similarly low numbers, can we be sure that our tally is anywhere near accurate? What made the man we encountered on Clybourn wary of interacting with us? Can he be reached with services? Does he want services? A most interesting question: does he need services? Can it be deduced that folks staying outside on a below zero night in January (presumed to be a time when only the “truly” homeless are out), are challenged with a mental illness? Is enough being done to care for our homeless neighbors? Should we care?

As we drove back to headquarters at 2am, we surmised whether or not we had just done a service or a disservice to the currently and future homeless. This was the major take-away for me. There are people currently feeling snug and secure in their houses who will become homeless. Will Chicago be prepared to serve them? 

 --Katie McNamara, Case Management Intern

This is shelter life!

In today's changed and changing economy I meet people everyday who are looking for employment or working in a field that has nothing to do with their formal education, but everything to do with their passion for life.  In America, a lot of people are in the same boat.  Some seemingly are more blessed or have a  less rocky adventure to live.  When things happens in such a big nation as ours, and an individual has no real family at hand, or does not want to impose, the individual can, for the first time in their life, end up living in a shelter.  I knew of a sweet, elderly woman who had been swindled.  The swindler began a domino effect of debt.  This lady today is in a shelter in America.  I know of a man who was hit by an uninsured car.  The system treated his immediate and visible physical wounds and then left him to recover.  The man had retrograde amnesia.   This man today is in a shelter in America.  In this large country of ours, the outcome of the rocks on our road of life seem to be linked to the location of where we stumble.  

I am one such person that stumbled on a rock thrown on my road.   The rock caused a detour which has been bittersweet.  I have learned from the bitter, but focus on the sweet.  Thus the detour has led me to  the beauty of my former stomping grounds of Lincoln Park.  In Lincoln Park  you'll find the diversity of DePaul, a worldclass park, zoo, conservatory, quaint cafes, boutiques and charming shops.  And, if you walk down one treelined street with grand greystones you just might see me or my mates climbing down the stairs to the church basement where I currently live.  This scene goes on all across America.  For me,  I have been blessed with a great location.  And from this location have come great volunteers.  This is shelter life!

--Alicia, LPCS Guest

Working with LPCS Volunteers

I think that I am one of the luckiest people I know. I get to go to work every day and know that I am making a difference in someone's life. And on top of that, I get to work with volunteers! LPCS volunteers are some of the most dedicated people I have had the chance to work with. Everyone is so passionate and committed to helping out. In the past few months, we have had more and more people come to us and want to volunteer. They all have different reasons, but many of them have said that they want to volunteer because they feel lucky that they still have thier jobs and want to help out those who have been affected by the bad economy. It has been moving to see the outpouring of support. People may not be able to support us financially, but they are more than willing to spend some of thier time with our guests.

--Heather Reynolds, Volunteer & Community Relations Coordinator

Welcome to Voices from LPCS!

Welcome to the new and fun way to learn more about LPCS, its guests and supporters, our community, and other burning thoughts. Each week you will have the opportunity to learn about the goings on at LPCS and hear from a different LPCS voice. Enjoy!


Please join us on Thursday, January 22nd from 6pm-9pm at Moxie in Wrigleyville for a fun Happy Hour Fundraiser. Tickets are $30 and are available at the door. Moxie is located at 3517 N Clark St. See you there! For more information, visit our website: http://www.lpcsonline.org/.