A Pay It Forward service club for the homeless was a blog post idea on my mind as I was driving over to the Food and Care Coalition yesterday. The Pay It Forward service club provides an opportunity for the homeless to work on a project that will benefit others, an opportunity for them to give back and feel needed. Giving back is not the first picture that pops into my head when I think about the homeless. The thought sparked my interest when it was suggested to me a few days ago and I was wondering how I was going to take it from being a human interest type story to a blog post with a more personal point of view. I work for the mental health center as a Grants and Development Specialist, not a news reporter, and was hoping to find a real purpose to justify my time other than my own curiosity. I never expected to have a personal experience that not only lifted my spirits and compassion, but helped me to focus on a purpose for writing a blog and using social media in general in a public mental health care setting.
Ryan P, a gentle giant of an individual in both heart and stature, has been a case manager working with the homeless program at WMH since 2003. I have to give myself a little pat on the back because I hired him back in the day… and he has been making a difference in the lives of the homeless ever since. He is the one out on the streets early in the morning, when it’s dark and cold…looking for individuals when not too many people are around because that’s how to find people who need help. After the WATCH program (WMH Homeless Outreach Program) co-located to the Food and Care Coalition building, Ryan heard about a Pay It Forward service club that was being run there periodically, and volunteered to take it over and run it with his young daughter who was four at the time. Ryan and Olivia (now 11) have been running it on a monthly basis ever since and it isn’t unusual for one or two of Olivia’s friends to join in on the monthly projects.
In speaking of the program, Ryan talks about how important it is for everyone to feel that they are needed, and to give back, and this is apparent among the homeless population as well. Thirty to forty homeless (or previously homeless) individuals attend each month and are eager to work on projects to help others and give back. Some examples of previous projects include a book drive where participants donated books they had or were given to help others who needed them. While working on that project, Ryan was driving around and he noticed one of the participants with a panhandling sign asking for money so he could buy a book to donate. Ryan wasn’t sure whether to talk with the man about inappropriate behaviors or positively reinforce his desire to participate and help others! Many of those attending the club report that it “feels so good to come and work and know that someone else will benefit from this”.
One of Olivia’s ideas was to have a “Seussical” Service Project based on the quote by Dr. Seuss:
“A person’s a person no matter how small”.
Service club members were challenged to build someone else up by telling them something great about themselves. They made coupons and then went to work building others up. After redeeming the coupon, they made a note on the back of what they had done and how they felt doing it. Coupons were then turned in, a drawing was held from all of the redeemed coupons, and the winner got cupcakes donated by a local bakery. As I was talking with Ryan, the thought that struck me over and over was the personal caring and investment that he personally makes and also about a child who is making a difference by helping to lead the program. Olivia has grown up meeting, talking, and getting to know individuals who probably are the neediest of the needy and she has grown in both comfort and compassion towards them and towards mental illness. She has stopped by an abandoned campsite with her dad, picked up a piece of cardboard, and found two baby bottles underneath and has had to struggle to make sense of how that could happen to someone and how that could happen to a baby or child. That’s a question that I struggle with as an adult and wonder how that could happen and why it keeps happening and we can’t seem to prevent it. I don’t have an answer but I feel hope that the younger generation is considering these questions and may find solutions that our generation has not been able, or willing, to find. Olivia also has a special compassion and awareness of mental illness and is not afraid. After talking to an adult male who was very psychotic (and angry, maybe a little scary) at an activity, she was able to recognize that he had a mental illness and was exhibiting symptoms and tell her dad that “so and so” is sick and needs to be checked on. She recognizes symptoms, and knows that the individual is more important than the symptoms or differences displayed.
These stories touched me and I started thinking about a society where people felt more comfortable and accepting towards mental illness- where stigma and fear don’t exist. Where people can recognize signs that someone is struggling and confidently reach out to either provide or get them the needed help without fear and avoidance. Individuals that I have met with mental illness have the same basic dreams and needs of everyone else, despite their illness or homelessness—a safe place to live, a job or means to feel useful, and meaningful relationships. Far more similarities than differences. Writing a blog post about a dream for decreasing stigma and increasing awareness of mental illness isn’t going to change the world… but did result in a lot of continuing thought and pondering for me. A lot of “what if’s?” and dreams… and ideas for how I can be more accepting and compassionate. I hope it raises some thoughts for you too.
(For those who are interested, the Pay It Forward service club will be meeting at the Food and Care Coalition on Wednesday, December 16th at 1:30. They will be making gingerbread houses and decorations for the Food and Care Coalition building. Anyone is invited to attend).
by Lisa Schumacher, LMFT
Note- The thoughts/ideas expressed in this article are those of the author and may or may not reflect the official views of WMH or any of its other employees.