On Thursday, May 12, students from our class traveled to the Franciscan Outreach Marquard Center to assist the full-time volunteers and staff with various tasks around the center. To support their ministries, which include a 365-day-a-year soup kitchen, shower and laundry facilities, and social work/case management, students pitched in with maintenance, cleaning, clerical work, and more. Since students are entering the big stretch to prepare our final papers, they were exempted from writing reflections for this experience, so pictures are included at the end of this post.
Antonio Diaz
This week in our Catholic Social Teaching class we took a trip down to a senior center. When we got there we had to participate in an exercise with some of the people there. We had to communicate with one of the people living there and ask them what their hobbies were. After that, we grabbed poster board and some magazines and started cutting out pictures that resembled the person's interests. The people who come to this place live in the apartments above and come downstairs to have a good time and relax.
The people being marginalized are the senior citizens in society. And it isn’t just happening here in Chicago it is happening all over the world. I don’t know the answer to why this is happening but I think it happens because older people are seen as fragile and not interesting and instead of communicating with them we just push them to the side.
At first when the people living in the facility came in, it was a little uncomfortable because I thought maybe they wouldn’t want to communicate with us. But a couple minutes in me and and one of my classmates, Brittany, started talking to a woman named Gladys, and she started talking to us about her past, about how she was a public school teacher and how she used to travel to all types of places. She is an amazing human being, but she was a little older and couldn’t walk too well and couldn’t hear too good either. As I was talking to her, it dawned on me that one day my parents are going to be this woman's age, and it terrified me to see my father or my mother living in that home. I can’t imagine myself putting my parents in that place because it seems lonely, and I would feel like I have betrayed my parents because they went through the trouble to raise me when I couldn’t. (Editor's note: Wesley Place is a nursing home, intended for elderly people who need more significant nursing care around the clock. Some residents must live in a facility like this due to their medical condition, but many nonetheless are not visited by family members and friends with regularity.)
Who do you blame for how these people are being marginalized? Do we blame the children or the caretakers of the people living there, or do we blame the people who take care of them in the facility, or do we blame society for putting these people to the side? I understand that there are some people who don’t have anybody to take care of them and they have to be put in these facilities. But what about the people with children, how do they feel about being there? I understand that there are people who can’t afford to take care of their parents, but the feeling of being in that facility and your loved ones are outside I would imagine that it makes them feel upset. I don’t think that there is much that society can do for these people because I think that these people aren’t too worried about making new friends but would rather want to get back in touch with their family and friends.
Andrew Pendergast
The greatest thing about Wesley Place is that it was non-profit, which makes all the things they do out of love for that person. It helps out many people who require assistance when they get older which then in return makes a comfortable life for them. Socially it makes things a lot easier because they are then able to socialize with people around them rather than be neglected in their own homes. The staff there were also pretty kind and considerate which was really nice to see. As for history, I believe that by having these facilities it makes it easier on the families to be able to live their lives and not worry about their family which could distract them.
I feel that what we did would be considered Solidarity, because we are always stepping out of our comfort zone to help spend time with people who normally have no one. Christ calls us to love and act as if we are brothers and sisters to those in need because that is a love that is very deep and hard to break. Also it could be considered part of the Call to Family, Community, and Participation. I believe this because we are able to spend time in different communities and help them realize they are loved and deserve not to be ignored.
I personally feel that I am very aware of this naturally, and I believe that it should be solved. I have grandparents who are getting old, and it's hard to think about what might happen to them when they get checked into a home like that. I don’t want them to turn into vegetables. I believe that I can use the CST teachings later to help support me in my spiritual journey of trying to find out who I am as a person while loving people for who they are and now how they look.
This is an issue that will continue, so we should all work together to find a way to make sure that everyone can feel equal when they get older. No one wants to die alone. There's always many ways to make people feel included so there should always be something available. Overall, love is life, and everyone should know how it feels to always have someone there and to be mindful of the people who actually live in those situations. Since they know more, it’s easier to make them a place to stay where it actually feels like home.
Note: Minor grammar/style edits have been made to each post not affecting the content or perspective of these students.
Instagrams from Marquard Center:
