On Thursday, March 17, students traveled to Lakeview to undertake an urban immersion exercise, centered on Clark & Belmont. This activity is inspired by The Night Ministry, who have found that homeless teens use this neighborhood and intersection as a frequent meeting point and try to fend for themselves from there.
Students had the following information:
Starting from this meeting point (Clark & Belmont), your group will explore an area of Lakeview (your adult will follow behind you and let you know if you need to turn around). You have 45 minutes to answer the following questions that face homeless teens every day:
- Where/what am I going to eat?
- Where am I going to go to the bathroom?
- Where/how am I going to warm up?
- Where/how am I going to sleep?
- Also, as you explore Lakeview, look around and take in the neighborhood: why do you think it is an attractive environment for homeless teenagers?
Representing our class this week on our blog, here are the thoughts of Andrew Pendergast and Gabe LaBoy...
Andrew Pendergast
During this trip we learned about homeless teenagers in Lakeview. This happens everywhere, but in the Chicago Lakeview area, the Clark and Belmont stop is where most teens will go to meet. The area is pretty modern and friendly. It is a welcoming community.
In the case of money, we are talking about teenagers that have nowhere to go because maybe they ran away or got kicked out for other reasons. They are excluded because they have nowhere to go, so they have to find a way to survive with the resources around them. During all of this, teens struggle to find places to eat and drink and just survive in general. This community of people are very welcoming because some of the teens are part of the LGBTQ community and so is the Lakeview neighborhood.
In this situation, I believe that the related Catholic Social Teaching theme would be Call to Family, Community, and Participation. In this theme, it talks about how we push marginalized people away so that we look good. This theme says that public goods should be maintained by all. If people actually followed this then it would give homeless people a chance to live lives that would be more comfortable. Also, it says that Christ calls us to uphold the family as the domestic church and the basis for fostering community and active participation in society. By following this, we are upholding the teaching that we should participate in society while giving people chances to learn and grow.
For me this experience has opened my eyes and it makes me feel sad that people are going though this all the time. One of my best friends was homeless and gay, and we became buddies. I feel that this issue is always overlooked because no one really understands the impacts that it has. Even while volunteering at different places in Chicago, you can see poor teens everywhere suffering. I feel that even though I’m not Christian, I believe that Jesus would have called us to act with love and faith to help those who are less fortunate to be able to make something of themselves and be satisfied.
As for taking action, you could do many things. You could volunteer at shelters or even fundraise. We could easily make sandwiches and food for the homeless teens so that way they have a meal to eat because even the smallest things will go along way. Like the story with Jesus and the loaves of bread and the fish, if we give back to the community, there is always great benefits. You are helping people who have been marginalized and need help to make sure that they can have a comfortable life.
Overall, this experience was great to be able to see the things that God calls us to do in action. I am very happy to have been able to participate and be able to be part of something that will change my viewpoint on these current situations so I can try to be helpful to others.
Gabe LaBoy
My group and I were asked to put ourselves in the place of homeless teens; we had to find a place to eat, sleep, stay warm, and use the bathroom. My group consisted of a few other students and myself. We first started out by figuring out what homeless teens liked the Lakeview area. The area around there and within Lakeview is safer than the other parts of the city around there. We also made predictions on the type of kids that might be homeless teens that might be around there, and we guessed that a lot are probably LGBTQ and feel safer in a community where people accepted it more than others. But this so much bigger than just our city or state or country; this is on a global scale. There are millions of homeless teens all over the world, and I think they want to find a place they know can handle a lot of their needs all in one. I don't know why there are so many teens that are homeless, and it is really sad to think about because I guess there can be a host of reasons why someone can be homeless. That's the scary part - that this can happen to anyone at anytime and it shows you that anything can happen in life.
Being homeless you have a need for food, water, and shelter, so things like phones and going to the movies fade away. It comes down to surviving, to getting things you need, and Lakeview has a lot of money coming in to it where it is easier to ask more people for it. On the other hand, because there is a lot of money coming into the 44th Ward, others are trying to push homeless people out of Lakeview and put them on the lakefront so the people in the neighborhood don't have to see homeless kids everywhere. But there are places trying to help these kids out, like shelters and the church and even the public library.
In the Gospel of Matthew (25:35-36). Jesus says that we need to support the poor and homeless. He says that the way we treat the homeless should be the same as how you treat Him. Jesus tells you to always to help out everyone that needs it, and that doesn't always happen in this day and age.
This activity showed me how hard it is to be homeless. You have to worry about everything around you. I don't know how anyone can survive in this situation, and I feel bad for everyone that has to do it. I do not think I could do it. It would be very hard for anyone to become homeless. I understand what it feels like to be marginalized because of being a minority myself. but at the same time, I could never think of how I would make in that position. I personally feel like as a society we should do more to help kids and anyone that is homeless and I would stand with anyone that does. As a response I feel like there should be more shelter and places for people to get jobs and people to stay and live.
The people should be more aware of the things going on. People may see homeless on the streets and feel bad, but they don't see the people trying to make a difference out there. Anyone can help with donations, service, and volunteering. I can say this activity has made me look forward to going out and helping people out on our future field trips. That's how we help them - we show that we care and are here to help share time and compassion because sometimes that's just what someone needs.
Note: Minor grammar/style edits have been made to each post not affecting the content or perspective of these students.
Andrew Pendergast
During this trip we learned about homeless teenagers in Lakeview. This happens everywhere, but in the Chicago Lakeview area, the Clark and Belmont stop is where most teens will go to meet. The area is pretty modern and friendly. It is a welcoming community.
In the case of money, we are talking about teenagers that have nowhere to go because maybe they ran away or got kicked out for other reasons. They are excluded because they have nowhere to go, so they have to find a way to survive with the resources around them. During all of this, teens struggle to find places to eat and drink and just survive in general. This community of people are very welcoming because some of the teens are part of the LGBTQ community and so is the Lakeview neighborhood.
In this situation, I believe that the related Catholic Social Teaching theme would be Call to Family, Community, and Participation. In this theme, it talks about how we push marginalized people away so that we look good. This theme says that public goods should be maintained by all. If people actually followed this then it would give homeless people a chance to live lives that would be more comfortable. Also, it says that Christ calls us to uphold the family as the domestic church and the basis for fostering community and active participation in society. By following this, we are upholding the teaching that we should participate in society while giving people chances to learn and grow.
For me this experience has opened my eyes and it makes me feel sad that people are going though this all the time. One of my best friends was homeless and gay, and we became buddies. I feel that this issue is always overlooked because no one really understands the impacts that it has. Even while volunteering at different places in Chicago, you can see poor teens everywhere suffering. I feel that even though I’m not Christian, I believe that Jesus would have called us to act with love and faith to help those who are less fortunate to be able to make something of themselves and be satisfied.
As for taking action, you could do many things. You could volunteer at shelters or even fundraise. We could easily make sandwiches and food for the homeless teens so that way they have a meal to eat because even the smallest things will go along way. Like the story with Jesus and the loaves of bread and the fish, if we give back to the community, there is always great benefits. You are helping people who have been marginalized and need help to make sure that they can have a comfortable life.
Overall, this experience was great to be able to see the things that God calls us to do in action. I am very happy to have been able to participate and be able to be part of something that will change my viewpoint on these current situations so I can try to be helpful to others.
Gabe LaBoy
My group and I were asked to put ourselves in the place of homeless teens; we had to find a place to eat, sleep, stay warm, and use the bathroom. My group consisted of a few other students and myself. We first started out by figuring out what homeless teens liked the Lakeview area. The area around there and within Lakeview is safer than the other parts of the city around there. We also made predictions on the type of kids that might be homeless teens that might be around there, and we guessed that a lot are probably LGBTQ and feel safer in a community where people accepted it more than others. But this so much bigger than just our city or state or country; this is on a global scale. There are millions of homeless teens all over the world, and I think they want to find a place they know can handle a lot of their needs all in one. I don't know why there are so many teens that are homeless, and it is really sad to think about because I guess there can be a host of reasons why someone can be homeless. That's the scary part - that this can happen to anyone at anytime and it shows you that anything can happen in life.
Being homeless you have a need for food, water, and shelter, so things like phones and going to the movies fade away. It comes down to surviving, to getting things you need, and Lakeview has a lot of money coming in to it where it is easier to ask more people for it. On the other hand, because there is a lot of money coming into the 44th Ward, others are trying to push homeless people out of Lakeview and put them on the lakefront so the people in the neighborhood don't have to see homeless kids everywhere. But there are places trying to help these kids out, like shelters and the church and even the public library.
In the Gospel of Matthew (25:35-36). Jesus says that we need to support the poor and homeless. He says that the way we treat the homeless should be the same as how you treat Him. Jesus tells you to always to help out everyone that needs it, and that doesn't always happen in this day and age.
This activity showed me how hard it is to be homeless. You have to worry about everything around you. I don't know how anyone can survive in this situation, and I feel bad for everyone that has to do it. I do not think I could do it. It would be very hard for anyone to become homeless. I understand what it feels like to be marginalized because of being a minority myself. but at the same time, I could never think of how I would make in that position. I personally feel like as a society we should do more to help kids and anyone that is homeless and I would stand with anyone that does. As a response I feel like there should be more shelter and places for people to get jobs and people to stay and live.
The people should be more aware of the things going on. People may see homeless on the streets and feel bad, but they don't see the people trying to make a difference out there. Anyone can help with donations, service, and volunteering. I can say this activity has made me look forward to going out and helping people out on our future field trips. That's how we help them - we show that we care and are here to help share time and compassion because sometimes that's just what someone needs.
Note: Minor grammar/style edits have been made to each post not affecting the content or perspective of these students.
