Natalia Kieta
Within the world, there are many individuals struggling daily to eat a good meal, let alone find a place to live. As a society, we try to support these people by volunteering to help cook meals and/or provide shelter for them. One place that helps care for the poor is an organization called Habitat for Humanity. This organization finds a way to get money donations which they later use to build a house. Being able to help build a house for a family in need brought me great joy, and it felt good to know that I was going to make a difference for a family in need.On this service trip, I had the privilege to work with and converse with one of the workers who helped me understand who is exactly included or excluded and the types of relationships that are involved at this service site. What I came to understand was that the reason the workers work every day in all weather conditions is because they want to provide a house for a family in need as fast as they can. Building a house is a long process on its own, but the workers try to speed up the work and get as much done as quick as they can. Although the workers don’t get to work with the poor on a daily basis, they do get to meet the family that moves into the houses, which the worker at the site said is the greatest feeling.
Through this service trip, I was able to connect my experience to a Bible verse found in Psalms 82:3 which states, “Defend the poor and fatherless; do justice to the afflicted and needy.” The reason this Bible verse reminds me of my experience at Habitat for Humanity is because we are called to advocate for and protect the poor. God isn’t expecting us to perform miracles; He just wants us to contribute to aiding the poor who can’t provide for themselves. In the end, this is what Jesus calls us to do through opting for the poor. Christ wants to ensure that we consider the poor in every decision we make individually, communally and socially, which is what I, along with my classmates, were doing on this service trip.
Finally, through this experience I came to realize that there is a way to help advocate for the poor. It is simply through volunteering. Sacrificing our time and work to help serve others is a way we can help avoid marginalizing this group of people. Once again, Christ calls us to opt for the poor and to keep them in mind with every decision we make. If we decide to follow Christ and consider the needs of the poor, we can truly help advocate for the homeless.
Bryan Padilla
On the trip I took with my class, we had the chance to help build houses for Habitat for Humanity. This organization helps lower income families get affordable housing. Whether unemployed or underemployed, many people face extreme difficulty in providing a home for their family. Many consider the home as the base from which all community is formed, so it is important to help our fellow brothers and sisters in getting suitable and affordable housing. Owning or renting a place to call your own can be very pricey. This price of housing can be raised when you talk about owning an actual house in the city of Chicago. When you are single and have nowhere to live, you at least do not have to worry about your dependents. Poor families have to worry about providing shelter to their family. The cost of housing for a family can be prohibitively expensive for many, and that does not even account for other living expenses such as food and clothing. Families that already struggle to pay for living expenses can greatly benefit from a reduced payment affordable housing, such as the kind that Habitat for Humanity offers.
I would like to connect the Catholic Social Teaching of the Dignity of Work and the Value of Workers. In an ideal world we would all work hard, we would all make a fair amount of money, and we would all enjoy this life. Sadly, there is often a lack of the dignity of workers when people are paid a wage not great enough to live on. Christ calls us to recognize the dignity of work and the value that each worker has. Now, is not paying a wage high enough for hard working people to afford housing really upholding the dignity of these workers?
I feel that the issue of housing is very important. The base for all communities starts in the home. How can you have a good society if everyone cannot even afford a room to sleep in? I am very fortunate to be able to sleep in my own bed, in my own room, in my own house. Using my blessings, I wish to be able to help those who do not have such luxuries.To do some actual good, Habitat for Humanity is a very good start. Habitat for Humanity helps to make the issue of no housing apparent. They also allow the average person to get involved in a very direct way by literally helping to build homes for those without.
Liz Ramos
For this week, we participated in building homes for Habitat for Humanity. As our class was there, we were divided into two groups, and then, each group focused on a house. My group had a one-floor, family house. Since it was mostly composed of the wooden frame, our task was to place the drywood around the frame. Thus, my group had to work together to carry the drywood outside from the garage, cut it into the right measurements, together hold it up, and hammer nails into the drywood, so it could be stable. We did this for one side of the house as well as for the back side. Then, from the inside of the house, we had to cut out drywood that stood in the way of the door frame or the window frame. Although this all seemed like a quick task, it took about six of us to finish this task in about seven hours. Those seven hours seemed to go by slowly since it was so windy and chilly that we couldn’t feel our hands, making the task seem complicated. Despite the mixed emotions and obstacles we faced due to the weather, I felt a sense of gratitude and happiness since I knew that all our efforts were for a good cause: to help those in need.On our drive back home, some of my classmates argued that this was a cruel punishment to work in the harsh, cold weather. Although I somewhat agreed, I also began to feel as is this trip helped me immensely. For one, I was able to experience the cold weather that those who do not have homes experience, allowing me to appreciate even more my cozy home. Secondly, I was able to do God’s work. The Scripture and the Church teaches us that in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, we must help those in need. For example, one of the Catholic Social Teaching Themes is to opt for the poor, and one of the corporal works of mercy is to shelter the homeless, which I was able to do through this exercise. Thus, this experience made me feel spiritually healthy and enabled me to open my mind to value my life.
Now, as I continue to reflect, I try to connect myself with these people through any similar experiences. I have never been homeless, but as I previously mentioned on another reflection, there was a point in my life when my family had a low income. During this period, my family had a mortgage to pay. At the same time, the Great Recession occurred, causing my mother to became unemployed, and my father's income wasn't a lot. With this income, my father could barely afford to pay bills and feed us. Thus, my parents became late on their mortgage payments. After a year of not being able to pay the mortgage on time, the bank had sent my parents an evacuation notice. During this time, I panicked because I loved my home. This was the home I lived in for almost six years, and my ten-year-old mind could not comprehend what would happen to us. Where would we live? How would we pay off that home, or did it mean that we would have to move into an apartment? Would I adjust to living in a small apartment after years of living in a spacious two-story house? This was the closest I ever got to feeling homeless; nonetheless. thanks to my mother’s plans, we were able to afford another cheaper home, and now, we are happily living in it. Because of that experience, I somewhat understand their concerns as they start out this experience, but I do not fully understand the struggles homeless people face. Thus, I can identify myself partially with these marginalized group.
I somewhat feel implicated in marginalizing these people because society does not push them off to the edge like other groups. This group is pushed to the edge socially since people will not take time of their day to communicate with them, business owners will not allow them into their homes, or because civilians reject them as they ask for change. However, I believe these people receive much help compared to other groups. For example, Franciscan Outreach gives homeless people in Chicago a place to stay for a night as well as providing for them a nice, warm meal. Similarly, Habitat for Humanity helps low-income persons receive a home with no interest payments. In addition, the government tries to help these people. For example, when my parents were at the verge of losing their homes, they were able to become bankrupt which meant that they could eliminate all or some of their debts such as their house debts, proving to show that the government tried to help those in need financially. Because of the help homeless people receive, but the way society pushes them off, I am implicated somewhat in marginalizing this group.
Even though I feel as if this group is somewhat marginalized, I still believe that we should help them in every way we can, since Christ asks us to shelter those who are homeless, and he emphasizes on helping those in need which is seen through the story of the rich son. We can help those who are homeless by volunteering at a pantry, helping construct a home for those who need it, or by incorporating these people in our lives by talking to them as we approach the train.
