The face
Rmli4. &tech 40A,
1 4/twi.gditw, shy B4eakf
by Robin Clarke
and John Miller
Contributing Writers
What you are about to
read may shock you, might
seem unbelievable to you,
but--if you keep reading--will
be the best story you hear
today. Before we start,
take a moment and ponder
over a few words; form the
most accurate images for
these words that you can.
Homeless, drug addict,
unemployed. Soup
kitchen, homeless
shelter, drug rehab
center. Father, mother,
child.
Now let us tell you what
we saw when poverty,
homelessness and addiction
showed us Its face. Or,
should we say faces? A
group from Behrend's service
organization, Reality Check,
spent Spring Break with
Baltimore, Maryland's
homeless population, and
saw the many faces that
live with poverty day in and
day out.
Ten students, along with
Chris Rizzo, Director of
Student Activities, went to
Baltimore to live with 14
"drug users, thieves, and
bull-shitters," as one of the
residents of the shelter
described all of them. W e
stayed at Christopher Place,
a revolutionary homeless
shelter in Baltimore's inner
city--revolutionary because it
literally transforms the most
destitute and poverty
stricken into self-sufficient
members of society.
One of the only ways one
can understand the
magnitude of the project
underway in Baltimore is to
experience it first hand, as
everyone who went on the
trip will testify. Let us, then,
offer you a sample of what
we saw and heard.
Christopher Place was more
than a shelter; it was a
home. Entering the building,
which was secured with
barbed wire fencing, one
encounters a large living
room with television, lounge
area, magazines and a chess
board. This is where the
men relax, and also where a
drug counselor meets with
them during the week.
Christopher Place is not a
drop in shelter with a row of
cots, a shower, and maybe a
laundry facility if you are
lucky. It is not what you
envisioned when you
thought of the word
homeless shelter. It is very
much a home, and the men
who live there are members
Feeding the hungry: Participants in the Alternative Spring Break outside of Our Daily Bread, a soup kitchen like
no other.
of a class which teaches
them job skills, math and
writing, offers them help
with interviewing, and re
orients them toward getting
a permanent home. Most
importantly, the program
requires that a resident be
drug-free and sober
throughout their stay.
We have described the
elements of Christopher
Place, but what makes it
amazing for all of us is the
men we were fortunate to
meet there. These men--
their honesty, kindness, and
commitment to reclaiming
control over their lives--
astonished us. Here are
some of their stories:
"George": Like all of the
men, George spoke to us
about why he came to be at
Christopher Place. "This is
gonna be a lifelong struggle
for me," he said. "That drug, in our opinion. We will
it doesn't Just want me...it always remember Stan
wanted everything about playing Uno with us and,
me." A father, like many of with a grin and oh so
the men, George remembers considerately, dealing out
stealing toys from his another's cards for her or
children, "all for the drug," him after receiving a draw
because addiction for him four wild or a draw two,
was a loss of control. "That (This is not a gift, by the
little boy inside me when I way, if you have never
have my addiction...he played Uno.) "I didn't come
doesn't always do what from what you would call a
George wants to do." dysfunctional family," Stan
Perhaps this man best told us. "I was a good
captured the essence of Catholic school kid." A gifted
homelessness and what it athlete, Stan graduated
does to the human spirit, from Grambling University,
when he said, "this was no and was invited to play for
way to live, for any human the USFL. "I went from
bein9 : "_ _ making $78,000/yr. to
• .•Ring," he said because
children, Ron(like heft it orris addiction. With
men) said he "grew up in a remarkable power and
productive family. M
y candor, Stan looked us
straight in the eye and said
parents worked - and' I hid
what I needed." Behind the "that ain't no proud stuff for
scenes of this productivity, me to talk about, but that's
however, "my father was an real."
alcoholic...l thought I wanted "Pete": Pete is a middle
to be like my father, but aged man, one of only two
what I really wanted was white males at Christopher
attention." Ron did very well Place. In college, he tried
in school, namely because acid, marijuana, you name it.
that was one way to get He suffered a stroke a couple
noticed. When this notice of years ago as a result. W e
didn't come, however, Ron called him nickname man. He
found other ways. "When
he(the father] would have to
come get me in jail, I got
that attention." Also like
every single resident of
Christopher Place, Ron
associates his recovery with
finding God. "My biggest
problem," he asserts, "was
faith that God would take
care of me when I couldn't
take care of myself."
"Stanley": Stanley, though
he might not want you to
know this, was truly a
teddy-bear Inside a football
player's body. He Is also the
big dog of Christopher Place,
Courtesy Robin Clarke/John Wier
The faces of homelessness: Members of Behrend's Reality Check with residents of Christopher Place in Baltimore, MD during spring break.
Members stayed at the homeless shelter for a week as part of Alternative Spring Break.
called us: Pittsburgh, Big
Boy, Tall Girl, Hands-on-Hips,
and Hippie-Chick,
"Jack': John Miler
describes Jack as the nicest
old man he's ever met
besides his own grandfather,
we all agree. He was the
quiet guy when we got
there, but he really enjoyed
us and by Thursday he was
talking to everyone. He
went outside and waved to
us as the Penn State van
pulled away Friday morning.
"Jake'": Also an older
gentleman, Jake became
addicted during his term in
homelessness
Vietnam. "When I went in I
was just an alcoholic, but
when I came out I'd been
introduced to marijuana,
LSD, mescaline, cocaine...you
name it, we did it." In all
those years since, this is the
first time he's ever been in
treatment. He is now 6
months clean and sober, and
going strong.
"Harold": "Jails, death, or
institutions"--these are the
only options left for a crack
or heroin addict, Harold
knew. "My life was a
revolving door" from jail to
institution, he said. "I only
had one other thing left:
death." Harold spoke with
the hortatory voice of
preacher or a politician, when
he described the drug as a
demon—lnsidious, cunning
and baffling."
Some of the other
testimonies included
"Daron," a Jamaican man,
who said that "everything I
ever worked for was lost"
because of addiction. Let us
not that Christopher Place is
a homeless shelter, not
STUDENTS ARE ONLY AS LOUD AS THEY SPEAK
VOICES NEEDED -- RUN FOR SGA!
PICK UP A
OR
strictly a drug rehab center,
and therefore what w e
realized is that homelessness
and drug addiction are often
in complicity with one
another. That is to say, w e
saw a cycle of addiction and
poverty to which anyone,
especially a college student
as the men emphasized, can
fall victim. Two men,
"Freddie" and Reggie", work
in the shelter and are former
graduates of the Christopher
Place program. Reggie began
his talk by grabbing a chair
and pushing it a few feet'
behind him. "That's my
past," he said. "That's
where it stays--behind me."
Both Reggie and Freddie
were the epitome of positive
change. Freddie told one of
us that he has a twelve year
old daughter, and that--by
working days and nights,
saving all his pennies--he
plans to take her to Disney
World. He wants her to see
that he is not just some man
who worries and broods over
money; he wants her to
enjoy time with him and for
'a'o - a ' a '
Iliii
SGA ELECTIONS ARE NOW IN PROGRESS
POSITIONS UP FOR ELECTION ARE:
PRESIDENT
VICE PRESIDENT
SECRETARY
SENATORS
THERE ARE NO PREVIOUS REQUIREMENTS FOR THESE POSITIONS
ALL APPLICANTS MUST BE FULL TIME STUDENTS
PETITION TODAY IN THE OFFICE OF STUDENT ACTIVITIES
THE RUB DESK AND LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD!
PETITIONS ARE DUE BY APRIL 4
ELECTIONS: APRIL 22-23
Thursday, March 27, /997 The Behrend College Collegian - Page 3
poen
eget
her to have something he
never got.
Students spent the
nights playing Ping-Pong,
pool, chess and of course,
Uno with the guys, whom
we came to know by name
and by personality(wow
were they full of
personality!). We slept in
one room at the shelter, and
shared an excellent dinner
each night with the guys.
During the day some of us
worked at our Daily Bread, a
soup kitchen Ilke no other.
Imagine Wintergreen
Cafe. Ninety-five people
enter at 10:30 a.m. and sit
down for lunch. The guests--
you are always referred to
as a guest--are served. You
receive either a regular meal,
or a veggie plate--both
include a good mix of the
food groups, plus dessert.
You are permitted only one
cup of hot tea, because
between the hours of
10:30-12:30, around 800
see HOMELESS page 7