Day Eleven

Today was a little difficult waking up as some of us our starting to feel the effects of sleeping on the floor. Some ate breakfast while others got a few extra precious minutes of sleep. We arrived at St. Anthony’s right on time and were greeted by Colleen. We played the power chair game where we lined up chairs in ways so one chair had all the power. This game showed us that power can be interpreted in different ways depending on the situation. Katie, Bianca, Sumner, Alessandra, and Shag went to Salvation Army to do Meals that Heal while Rian, Audrey, Jordan, Theresa, and I went to St. Anthony’s clothing store where we hung up clothes that people could then pick through and chose an outfit. We then went back to St. Anthony’s for lunch and put ourselves in line. Today was a great day in terms of St. Anthony’s lunch as it said chef special on the calendar and we were all a little skeptical, but it turned out to be a great mushroom, spinach, and quiche with rice and cole slaw. I met an interesting man at lunch today as he works for a private company that sets up special equipment for private concerts and events. He also turned out to be a huge San Francisco Giants and San Jose Sharks fan that was great for me as I am also a huge fan and was able to have a great conversation about what we thought the future had in store for our favorite teams. We then had an amazing afternoon experience as we had the opportunity to hear Indian Joe’s story, a homeless man who comes to St. Anthony’s and has made connections with students on San Francisco Immersion. His story was very powerful as he told us he came from an Indian reservation in Adam’s Lake, British Columbia and was abused as a child and ended up being adopted by a white couple that treated him well. He has lived in San Francisco for 25 years and did end up with an addiction to heroine, speed, cocaine, and alcohol, as there is such an easy access to these substances that it is hard to stay away. He got sober not by a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program, but by saying no thank you and not associating with people who have drug or alcohol problems as the temptation to fall back he said would be too great. Indian Joe talked about in a way chooses to be homeless as the shelters and single room occupancy’s are filled with drugs and he ended up contacting TB when he stayed at a shelter. He has a deal with a private parking lot where they let him sleep in a safe environment and pay him to clean up the parking lot. Indian Joe demonstrated that government programs rarely work and that the city needs to pay attention to the problems of its citizens instead of its potholes. Team Red went to farmer’s market to get ingredients for their meal while Team Blue went back to St. Agnes to take a nap. Team Red made a delicious stir-fry with cake chocolate chip cookies, cantaloupe, and cookies n cream ice cream for dessert. We are now waiting for Theresa’s roommate to get here for reflection, and we hope to play a rematch game of Charades tonight or tomorrow.
Cristina Fowler