Hope for Recovery

Today's Valley Breeze highlighted Project Hope's new substance abuse recovery coach program.
Click to read.

Tis free and open to anyone in need of support!

Oh SNAP!

Easy to swipe. Looks like every other bank card. No one knows. The EBT card - a stigma free way to fill an empty pantry when purses are bare.

Photo Cred: RI Food Stamp Outreach Project

Soaring unemployment rates in RI and beyond have made the federal government's food stamp program a increasingly popular resource. As an easily accessible benefit involving limited hoop-jumping, SNAP (supplemental nutrition assistance program) is often the one saving grace that struggling families and individuals can rely on. A large number of the clients I talk to everyday are jobless and receive no income from the state - their extended benefits have expired, SSI is still in application, or they're still stumbling through paperwork and bureaucratic potholes. However, when asked if they receive food stamps, most of these individuals do answer a resounding and sigh-filled YES. The average RI household receives $216 a month.

In 2009, Rhode Island SNAP recipients increased by 31%. One in 10 households now use food stamps to help towards groceries. (Thanks to RI Community Food Bank for these STATS) A large part of this has to do with increasing need of course, but also with increased outreach. The SNAP Outreach Project out of URI creatively infiltrates communities around the state, even sending reps to the farmer's markets. This past fall I paid for a weekly farmer's basket from the Armory market with my EBT benefit. The tastiest/freshest/ local produce exploded out of my fridge all season - thanks SNAP.

Nutrition Assistance is available to anyone who meets eligibility requirements. SNAP offers a continuous funding stream, sending more and more people to the grocery market every day it operates. As more Americans trickle through the produce section and peruse the bread aisle, more and more Americans are employed to replace the empty loaf shelves and vegetable coolers. As more Americans hit the registers, more dollars float into the economic wind-stream. SNAP takes on a cyclical role with these cause-effect scenarios. The program proves to be more than a bottomless cup of joe...it's a brilliant social creation that carries potential to provide our economy just the caffeinated jump-start it requires.

An interesting story recently appeared in the NY Times re: SNAP. Definitely worth a read. Check it out. Thanks to Mary for sharing!

Giving Thanks

I was sitting on a stoop this past August with some friends, and a older man sauntered by. He toted a frayed duffel bag holding all his possessions. Nestled on top rested a 40 of beer wrapped in a paper bag. I'll call him T. We sang some Al Green tunes together, and he told us he slept in the car lot around the corner. T was a cheery, kind man. Unfortunately, most people would quicken their pace to walk by him. Try to get away. Avert their eyes.

During this season of gratitude, I want to give thanks for T. He reminded me that there are victims of "chronic" homelessness that most would deem lost causes. I believe T would fit into this category. I'm thankful for the fleeting moment we shared, that I could glimpse his humanity and remember not to give up. T's been on the street for years, most likely as a result of poor decisions and some un-asked-for circumstances. That's the past, he's developed his own status quo, but there is still hope for him. I'm not giving up. As Al green sings, "Everything's gunna be all right." I will never deny the idealist feelings that bubble below my epidermis, and I encourage you to search for similar sentiments dwelling within your person.

In the spirit of thanksgiving for T, I'd like to share some words I scratched out this year. A little holiday thank you note if you will, read to my family before the food disappeared.


here we are, family
each with our spot
plates brimming with harvest's best

here we are, family
each with our hearts
full of love, making pain seem small

here we are, family
each giving thanks
that we have each other

we have our mothers
we have our fathers
we have memories of moments gone by
cherished, remembered forever

we have our brothers
we have our sisters
we have memories of moments gone by
cherished, remembered forever

we have our daughters
we have our sons
we have memories of moments gone by
cherished, remembered forever

we have our aunts, uncles
we have our grams, grampies
we have memories of moments gone by
cherished, remembered forever

we have Haley
a true gift of thanks
we have memories of moments gone by
cherished, remembered forever

how lucky we are
to have each other
to have reason for thanks

today we remember the ones whose tummy's are empty
the ones society has forgotten to care for
the older man who spent last night in a car lot
and now clutches his paper bag, the only friend he thinks he has

we remember the young mother and her little boy
who spend tonight in a shelter
and smile, because yes, they have each other

most of all, we remember the ones who've forgotten
forgotten that there are things to be thankful for

i'm thankful for each one of you
our times together may be few
but they remind us that our family
is built on love and undying commitment
undying faith in one another

so as we eat this meal,
let us be thankful when
matt cracks his usual hilarious joke
let us be thankful
when gram's still moving food with her fork...two hours later
let us be thankful
when we all topple on the couch, typical tryptophan victims

let us be thankful
and finally, let us eat!

Ideas for Social Change

Americorps VISTA Gathering. 11.03.09.

Thoughts on critical issues facing Rhode Island and how we can be change-makers.

Food for Thought

Turkeys in Pawtucket, Project Hope in the news...

"Too young to rent a hotel room..."

Photo Cred: Dave White - News 1130

Unable to access healthcare without a guardian's signature..

Too young to apply for a job...

Anxious, cold, roofless...

Dirty socks and no tub to take a bath...

Sleeping through school because dozing only feels safe in sunlight...

According to an article by New York Times writer Michael Urbina, we shouldn't be surprised to see an increase in amber alerts as our nation cyclones through its current financial turmoil.


Read it: Recession Drives Surge in Youth Runaways - New York Times

The chart below shows the rise of homeless youth in Rhode Island between 1999 and 2007. The figures jumped from 75 to 330 in just under ten years. With our current rocky economy, my guess is that numbers have only skyrocketed since then. The Rhode Island Emergency Shelter system denies entry to youth between the ages of 13-17 if not accompanied by an adult.

Source: Rhode Island Emergency Shelter Information Project, Annual Reports 1999-2007

Where do these young people turn?

YES WE WILL

photo cred: http://yeswewill.eventbrite.com/




Yes we will grow healthy communities!

Yes we will build affordable housing!

Yes we will end homelessness!




Join Project Hope/Proyecto Esperanza at the YES WE WILL conference this Monday, sponsored by the Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless out of Pawtucket.

Click for more details...

¡Feliz Compleaños!

Luis, a student in our ESL I (English as a Second Language) class, surprises his fellow student Luz with a delicious birthday treat this past Friday. Fran, our ESL teacher, waits with his sweet tooth in the background.


Luis and Luz are two students in Fran's morning class. The group is currently reviewing vowel sounds. I can hear them all morning long sounding out their ooo's and aahhh's, short O's and long A's.


Luz and Osmundo prepare to slice the cake.

The students, already a few weeks into class, sang Happy Birthday in perfect English. Brushing up on my Spanish, I tried my best to ask Luz how old she was. "Quantos Anos Tienes?," I managed. She laughed, and responded, "Sweet Sixteen!"


The entire class posing with large cake-anticipating smiles,waiting eagerly for Oz to cut into the chocolate confection. Most members of the class work together in a cleaning crew, and practice their english on the job! From left to right: Osmundo, Blanca, Luis, Liliana, Fran, Luz, and Gloria.

Playing for Change

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xjPODksI08

Thanks to Nicole for sharing this video!

A Roof Over My Head: The Homeless Perspective

Providence Journal / Bob Thayer

A client of Project Hope/Proyecto Esperanza currently living at Harrington Hall in Cranston shares the following words:

Picture a typical New England winter day, 6:00 am, dark, cold, and you're being asked to leave a dormitory room which housed you and over a hundred other men.

If you're fortunate enough to have a bus pass or automobile, you head to find the next meal, or warm place of refuge; otherwise it's bundle-up and trudge through the elements, destination unknown.

You may know the old adage "walk a mile in my shoes." I would simply ask, "walk around the block" in mine. So the next time you step out into one of the unpleasant days of deluge, darkness, and cold; know that there are members of our society for whatever reason, without a roof over their heads.

In a desperate attempt to remedy the homeless dilemma, countless programs, etc. direct us to jump through hoops, spin wheels, and otherwise exhaust what little (if any) resources we may have, simply to find that carrot and stick has once again been used to provide philanthropic hope.

How many lives will it cost until something is done? We know all the facts and figures (don't we)? Or, do we need to delegate further research and dispense more funds to make sure of the facts and figures.

For those of us who receive the minimum income on SSI, we are simply priced out of the apartment market. Further, why should those of us be forced to exhaust our entire income to have a roof over our heads? How is this even conceivably considered SOCIALLY SECURE. There is nothing remotely close to the definition SOCIALLY SECURE for those of us condemned to this quagmire. And it is condemned, as if a sentence had been handed down.

And what of those who have paid a social debt for whatever past transgression(s) and now have been re-admitted back into society? Though their debt is paid (in full), they are still being asked to suffer yet - denied housing for their past, their history. How will they ever be able to respect society or function therein if they are not allowed to participate. The present formula does not work and for most in this situation, will only result in recidivism and disaster.

I have suggestions, perhaps even some answers; however without immediate action on the part of responsible society, the cycle will continue - an inevitable fact.

I only hope that I do not become a statistic or martyr as the days roll on and my health deteriorates, exposed to the hardships that is homeless in Rhode Island, and beyond.

Please put a roof over our heads! PLEASE!!!!

Nuestra Casa Abierta, un éxito!

Project Hope/Proyecto Esperanza opened its doors to fellow social warriors and clients last night. Representatives from agencies, community centers, and non-profits all over the greater Pawtucket area filed through the front entrance at 474 Broadway to chat about how we can help each other achieve the same goal. Clients learned about how to gain access to food stamps, and what other services are provided right in their own neighborhood. Little children chewed on cookies from Kafe Lila. Adults sipped their fine tasting coffee. Hispanic Elder Outreach worker Luis Jusino spoke about the Price of Silence - elders in our communities, in the house next door, who have no family and no one to advocate for them. One woman he visited only qualified for $16 from SNAP (food stamps). When he opened her fridge, he found only part of a rotting plantain. These are realities, and challenges for all of us in the human services field.

As winter approaches, and homeless shelters are already overflowing, this collaboration in the community will help to best address the needs of each person who walks through any agency's doors. Violence, among youth especially, dots the covers of the Pawtucket times daily. Single mothers walk the streets with their small children, struggling to make it to the food pantry a mile away. It's the coldest night this autumn, and an elderly man calls to see if we can help him get his heat back on.

These kinds of problem plague our community. They are everywhere. Our neighbors are struggling. Let's work together, avoid recreating the wheel, and keep the spokes moving down a united path.

We call for peace: on the streets, in our hearts, for our bodies, in our minds. We want full stomachs, roofs over our heads, warm boots on our feet, and a job to effectively engage us in society.

Thanks to everyone who came out to Proyecto Esperanza last night! We HOPE to see you again.


And a special thank you to Kafe Lila for donating refreshments. There's no match for Lila's finely brewed coffee and vegan pumpkin chocolate chunk cookies. Visit 250 Main Street in Pawtucket for a fine treat!

Agencies and organizations present:

Feinstein Center for a Hunger Free America
Institute for the Study and Practice of Non-Violence
Coalition for the Homeless
Children's Friend and Services
Blackstone Valley Community Action
Woodlawn Community Development Corporation
Diocese of Providence Social Ministry Secretariat
Pawtucket Prevention Coalition
Rhode Island Campus Compact
Blackstone Academy
Corporation for National and Community Service
Gateway Healthcare
New Hope Faith Center/East Side Recovery House

St. Matthias Recovery Coach Ministry announced...

Click. Read.

http://thericatholic.com/news/detail.html?sub_id=2462

Images of Hope.

Taken at the Wall of Hope Wash Up in Waterplace Park. 09.11.2009.

Rhode Islanders, Americorps, youth, musicians, grieving families, pastors, rabbis, workers scrubbed away grime so that hope could shine anew in the city. We remember, we look to the future, and hold onto these images as fuel for our journey.

Tiles installed in Waterplace Park shortly after the events eight years ago. 1,200 people. 1,200 perspectives.

Potatoes a Plenty! Spud Heaven.

A couple photos from Project Hope/Proyecto Esperanza's most recent potato harvesting adventure. Friends Emily and Henry joined forces on an afternoon road trip to Chepachet, where we met the Chepachet Union Church garden coordinator. This Baptist iglesia sits on a plot of green land, overflowing with veggies and wild flowers. The church donates all of their veggies to community members in need or missions collecting food for the hungry. Our mission: Harvest as many little tubers as possible and bring 'em back to Blackstone Valley. THREE hours and THREE sunburns later the THREE of us had harvested THREE giant boxes of potatoes (notice the theme). Our box tops were brimming with fresh cabbage, celery and squash. My friends Emily and Henry, spotted above recovering from the farming experience, helped me load the potatoes into my trunk and backseat. The potatoes buckled up, under mama farmer's orders of course. We took off for Pawtucket, after a pit stop for an A&W root beer float of course(Smithfield has a clever stand still within my Americorps stipend budget - you gotta splurge every once in a while). One box of potatoes and fresh veggies found a nice home in the stewpot at St. John the Baptist Hospitality House Soup Kitchen. The others were adopted by the Pawtucket Soup Kitchen at St. Joseph's on Walcott. High thanks to the folks at Chepachet Union Church. Many Pawtucket tummy's are full with the flavors of latke, smashed potato, and leek soup. Project Hope/Proyecto Esperanza is delighted to have a relationship with this local farm. We are all integretated on this globe, humans who inhabit a beautiful planet. Let's continue to work together to make sure nature's resources continue to foster a healthy and hearty lifestyle for as many people as possible.

Recovery Month: It's time to speak up

“Join the Voices for Recovery: Together We Learn, Together We Heal”

This September, the Diocese of Providence, Office of Social Ministry, will join voices from around the country to celebrate the 20th anniversary of National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month. This annual celebration inspires members of the community to raise awareness about addiction, bear witness to personal success with treatment, and help each other walk the road to recovery.

According to a recent study by Department of Health and Human Services, Rhode Island falls into a group of nine states demonstrating the highest percentage of binge alcohol and illicit drug use in the country. Based on annual averages from 2006-2007, 12.47 percent of Rhode Islanders over 12 years of age used an illicit drug during the previous month and 27.92 percent admitted to recent binge alcohol consumption.

The tremors of addiction are felt in the family, at the workplace, in our communities and parishes.

- The little girl who looks on as her mother rummages through the liquor cabinet.
- The office manager who watches a once super star employee decline in producivity.
- The parish priest who offers spiritual guidance to the devastated parents of a drug addicted teen.


In solidarity with those in recovery we are pleased to announce The Saint Matthias Ministry. This new ministry, based out of Project Hope in Pawtucket, will provide a safety net for those struggling with addiction offering them one to one support and mentoring along the journey to recovery.

Stay tuned for more information on the St. Matthias Ministry in coming entries...