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| Khadijah Rivera - Tampa, Florida |
| MWA WRITER SPOTLIGHT |
As the dinner hour approached, I joined my fellow teammates at a
pre-designated deployment site.
Volunteers were equipped with a list of soup kitchens, forms, pens, and
instructions for conducting interviews and looking out for one another's safety.
Initial Observations
The 'New Life' community, a church with urine soaked carpeting and bedding.
There were three coolers filled with food that looked like they had been set
out for stray animals. 'New Life' community members actually paid money to
stay there, under the guise that food was free. Personally, I would have opted
for a park bench.
One of the men I interviewed told me that he had slept in a cardboard box the
night before, and had come to the church to warm up and get some free
bread. The man had been living in the streets for over six months and was thin
and worn down by life.
What amazed me most throughout the night was hearing about the length of
time many interviewees had been homeless. The majority had been in the
streets for roughly a year-and-a-half. One interviewee, from Detroit, had been
homeless for less than a week.
Deeper Into the Night
With the passage of the dinner hour, the homeless disbanded and the census
taking process became a little more difficult.
As my team passed along its charted course between Fowler and Fletcher
streets, we ferreted out the homeless along railroad tracks, in boarded-up
buildings and alleys, using flashlights and blankets to coax them into being
interviewed.
We found a couple sleeping in a wooded area who, with the promise of free
toiletries, came out to be interviewed.
Just past eleven we found a group of six men bundled up against a
warehouse. They were too cold to accept our invitation for an interview. One
of the men finally blinked at me and I motioned for a teammate to step in as I
approached a motionless, round bundle curled-up against a doorway. The
bundle turned out to be a man so cold that he seemed frozen in time.
I found myself making a silent prayer that he would not die like that -
abandoned by mankind and lost within himself.
Final Thoughts
The seven hours spent with my teammates experiencing the isolation,
embarrassment, and destitution of Tampa's homeless community has given me
much to reflect on.
The bitter taste of the reality of homelessness expressed in this story may not
move some, but it has made me all the more grateful to know that as a Muslim,
I have a pillar of strength and hope for a future of untold treasures. My life
has purpose, and my heart is full of love for God.
The experience of being part of the Tampa community's homeless census
taking process has made me all the more appreciative for the compassion God
has put in my heart.
The census results will be used to help determine the housing, mental
healthcare and employment training needs of the Tampa homeless community.
With the help of area newspaper affiliates and local television stations like
Tampa Ten, perhaps those more fortunate will feel compelled to lend a helping
hand.
Copyright © Khadijah Rivera 2007
pre-designated deployment site.
Volunteers were equipped with a list of soup kitchens, forms, pens, and
instructions for conducting interviews and looking out for one another's safety.
Initial Observations
The 'New Life' community, a church with urine soaked carpeting and bedding.
There were three coolers filled with food that looked like they had been set
out for stray animals. 'New Life' community members actually paid money to
stay there, under the guise that food was free. Personally, I would have opted
for a park bench.
One of the men I interviewed told me that he had slept in a cardboard box the
night before, and had come to the church to warm up and get some free
bread. The man had been living in the streets for over six months and was thin
and worn down by life.
What amazed me most throughout the night was hearing about the length of
time many interviewees had been homeless. The majority had been in the
streets for roughly a year-and-a-half. One interviewee, from Detroit, had been
homeless for less than a week.
Deeper Into the Night
With the passage of the dinner hour, the homeless disbanded and the census
taking process became a little more difficult.
As my team passed along its charted course between Fowler and Fletcher
streets, we ferreted out the homeless along railroad tracks, in boarded-up
buildings and alleys, using flashlights and blankets to coax them into being
interviewed.
We found a couple sleeping in a wooded area who, with the promise of free
toiletries, came out to be interviewed.
Just past eleven we found a group of six men bundled up against a
warehouse. They were too cold to accept our invitation for an interview. One
of the men finally blinked at me and I motioned for a teammate to step in as I
approached a motionless, round bundle curled-up against a doorway. The
bundle turned out to be a man so cold that he seemed frozen in time.
I found myself making a silent prayer that he would not die like that -
abandoned by mankind and lost within himself.
Final Thoughts
The seven hours spent with my teammates experiencing the isolation,
embarrassment, and destitution of Tampa's homeless community has given me
much to reflect on.
The bitter taste of the reality of homelessness expressed in this story may not
move some, but it has made me all the more grateful to know that as a Muslim,
I have a pillar of strength and hope for a future of untold treasures. My life
has purpose, and my heart is full of love for God.
The experience of being part of the Tampa community's homeless census
taking process has made me all the more appreciative for the compassion God
has put in my heart.
The census results will be used to help determine the housing, mental
healthcare and employment training needs of the Tampa homeless community.
With the help of area newspaper affiliates and local television stations like
Tampa Ten, perhaps those more fortunate will feel compelled to lend a helping
hand.
Copyright © Khadijah Rivera 2007
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