¡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