Brother's Caretaker

                I’ve been an outreach worker for about a month and a half now—I spend my days walking around downtown New Orleans seeking out the homeless people and trying to help them with whatever they need help with. I try to help them find direction, find motivation, find resources, find anything. I’ve seen terrible things (thing I can’t unsee) and wonderful things (things I don’t want to unsee). I’ve seen people at their lowest eating out of garbage cans and smoking cigarette butts they find on the ground, and I’ve seen people at their happiest when they receive the phone call that they got the job they would’ve done anything to get.

                I’ve heard stories of struggles that shaped lives that are also shaping my life. I’ve made genuine friendships with clients, and struggle to get others to talk to me even after daily contact. I’ve been cursed out and I’ve been proposed to. I’ve been told to leave and I’ve been begged to stay. I’ve been cried to and I’ve been laughed to. I’ve experienced days I can’t put into words—both negative and positive. And despite the rollercoaster of emotions this job has delivered, I’ve loved every single second of it.

                Today was an example of a good day. About three weeks ago I was walking around the ferry landing on the Mississippi River and I approached a cardboard box under a bush. There was a man asleep inside and I woke him up (as nicely as possible because I know I absolutely hate being woken up). He was sleeping in his McDonald’s uniform after a 12 hour shift and was getting a little bit of rest before his next shift started.

                I asked him a few standard questions and learned a lot about him. He lives in the box with his brother whom he takes care of. His brother is mentally ill and he has been watching out for him for several years now. He doesn’t look at it as his responsibility though; he looks at it as more of a privilege. He and his brother have been homeless for 1.5 years, relying solely on his income (the brother is not able to work due to his disability). He had been unemployed for a while though and had just landed the job at McDonald’s a week prior. Boy was he happy. And I’m sure his managers were happy too, because right from the get-go he was working 45+ hours per week. But despite his work ethic, he couldn’t afford to feed both himself and his brother while saving up for a deposit and first month’s rent for an apartment.

                Today, I watched these boys sign their new apartment lease. My client works hard (really hard), and he is also a wonderful caretaker. Bad luck brought them to the streets and I couldn’t stand that they were sleeping together in a box. I got them into our Rapid Rehousing program (where we pay their deposit and first three months of rent) and within a day I helped them find an apartment they loved.

                It isn’t much: It is a studio apartment, consisting of one bathroom, a closet-sized kitchen, and a living room. But it is their apartment. Their names are on the lease. They have a bed, and a rocking chair, and a shower, and an air conditioning unit, and most importantly, a door to lock. My client’s brother had picked out a sailboat painting at our warehouse to hang on their wall (which had some marker doodles from a previous owner’s toddler), and he walked it through the front door proudly. Although my client hates the painting and said it’s too loud, his brother responded, “you’ll learn to love it, it brightens up the place.”

                As my client was signing the lease I looked over at his brother: He had found a broom in the closet and was already sweeping. He swept all three rooms and moved all the furniture to get to the difficult spots. He looked at me and said, “This is our place now, people are going to have to take their shoes off at the door.” You could see the pride beaming from him, and when we returned to doing our paperwork I kept my eyes on his brother as he walked outside and began to dance.

Gators galore

Louisiana definitely has spectacular wildlife, and on Presidents' Day we decided to go explore! We went on the Cajun Pride Swamp Tour in the outskirts of New Orleans. Now I've seen plenty of gators, turtles, snakes, and creepy crawlies since I've been here, but never while floating down a swamp. The open air, the ease of the boat, the sound of wildlife, the picturesque backdrops and the ridiculously awesome Cajun tour guide all made for a memorable day. If you're ever in Louisiana PLEASE do one of these tours. Yes, you can see some gators and wildlife yourself while walking along nature paths, but there was just something about having someone else escort you and spot all the interesting sites with a trained eye (some that I definitely would have missed if I was by myself) that made it all the more enjoyable.

Also, I know raccoons aren't really what comes to mind first when you think about the back road swamps, but these little guys followed our boat all the way down the waterway--they even risked their lives next to the gator in order to snatch up a good marshmallow.

Here are some of my favorite shots from the day:

Love is not stupid

I've recently realized that when people say "Valentine's Day is a stupid holiday" or "We don't celebrate Valentine's Day," it really irks me. I understand that you should show your love for people every day, and believe me I support that, but that's true for many other holidays. We have a holiday for mothers and fathers, even though we should celebrate them every day. We have a holiday remembering those who served our country, even though we should remember them every day. We have birthdays even though we should celebrate life every day. We have a holiday for giving thanks, even though we should definitely be giving it daily.

So why are people so opposed to celebrating love? It's one of the most important components of life, however so many people are against actively celebrating it. This doesn't mean that you need to celebrate with your boyfriend/girlfriend or husband/wife. There should be so many people you love, whether it be your family, your friends, your co-workers, or yourself. There are so many people that you can make feel loved, however everyone just focuses on the Hallmark aspect of the holiday filled with cute teddy bears and heart-shaped boxes of chocolate.

Valentine's Day shouldn't be about getting the biggest bear or the most chocolate. It should be about making a person you love (or all the people you love) feel special. It should be about saying an extra "I love you" or giving a prolonged hug. It should be about reconnecting with someone you miss. It should be about cooking a homemade dinner and spending quality time together without the hustles and bustles of your regular schedule. It should be about postponing your to-do list in order to sit down with someone who means so much to you. It should be about writing a meaningful letter to someone important just to let them know you're thinking about them.

There's so many things that this holiday is about, but sadly that has been lost in translation. A holiday that should be centered around celebrating your love for the world around you and the people around you has been manufactured as cheesy or "stupid." When really, genuine love is neither of those things. It's beautiful, and it should be spread. Because I know when someone tells me they love me, it means the world, and I think that's something that should be celebrated.

I received a valentine card today from the children of the Salvation Army saying "Happy Valentine's Day! Thank you for your service and may God bless you!" It was signed by one of the homeless children who's lives I try so hard to improve. To me, this is a symbol of what the holiday should be about: changing someone's day and adding an extra smile. It made me feel loved and it made me feel appreciated and there are arguably no greater feelings than those two.

I hope everyone makes someone else feel special today. Anyone. It could be a stranger or someone very close to you. Spread love. Make someone smile. Do a random act of kindness. Leave a love note for your boyfriend, call your parents, visit a children's shelter and spend time with them, or visit a nursing home and play games. It doesn't matter what you do, just make someone's day better.

+1 For Optimism

If there's one thing I need to be everyday, it's optimistic. People come and talk to me and tell me their saddest stories and their toughest situations every single day and what they want out of me is of course advice and help, but also a beacon of hope that things can get better.

It's hard to stay positive when you hear what some people are going through. It's hard to tell them that things will get better when you're not quite sure if things will. But nevertheless, that's what I'm here for. I'm here to offer every resource I can that will assist them, I'm here to map out their goals with them, and I'm here to help them achieve those goals.

Today I was reassured that being positive pays off. One of my clients who I hadn't seen in months stopped in to say "hello." He initially came to me following some difficulties with a long, drawn out divorce. He was married for twenty-something years and following the divorce she came away with everything--the house, the money, etc. He actually wanted her to have everything because he's the kind of man to put other's needs before his own.

So he packed his things in his truck and headed to New Orleans from Mississippi. For about a month he was sleeping and living in his truck trying to figure out how to get out of his slump. At 64 years old with a bad hip, he had no business sleeping in his car (not that anyone does).

We talked for about an hour and a half, about everything from odd jobs to his love for ping pong. His job status was pretty much nonexistent as he was a construction worker and his bad hip was causing him excruciating pain to the point where he couldn't hold a steady job.

I wanted him to find a place to live. He had the sweetest heart and the kindest soul and knowing that he didn't have a place to comfortably sleep was tearing me up inside. I recommended a few programs, a few senior homes, and he was on his way. I spoke to him once since then when I called and checked up on him in December (he initially came in early November) but he was still searching for a place to stay.

Today he came into my office, clean shaven and well dressed, with a big smile on his face. He updated me on his new apartment in his senior home. He spoke with pride about his new neighbors and friends--all the while beaming with joy. He also informed me that he's getting a hip replacement next week, as it was visibly obvious that his limping had worsened.

He came to thank me for being the light that kept him going, for being the motivation that told him that he could do it. "When you have someone who believes in you, you believe in yourself. I come to you with a gracious heart," he said. And right then I knew, it's OK not to have the ability to change everyone's lives, but for those that I do change, I'll carry those with me.

Christmas in Colorado

This is the first year I spent Christmas away from home and although it took some getting used to, it was definitely one for the books. I ventured to Colorado to surprise my dad and to spend time with Steve's family. Coincidentally they only live about an hour apart, so that's lucky. My dad has been begging me to come to Colorado for three years now, and I can see why. The open space, the mountains, the wildlife, oh my! Such a beautiful state with such beautiful people.

We packed so much into two weeks from skiing (definitely not my sport) to visiting a zoo on the mountain to snow tubing to birthday parties to holiday celebrations to fireworks to ahhhhhhh too much to name. But the best feeling of all was being welcomed into someone else's family to celebrate such a personal holiday. When the man you love invites you to share in traditions with all of the people he loves, it's sort of an indescribable happiness.

I also got to spend time with my father and his family, whom I don't get to see very often. Here's a tip: If you want to see a grown man cry, surprise your dad on his birthday after not seeing him for an entire year. It really does the trick. Just kidding, love you dad (but really not kidding at all).

The hospitality and love I received from both my family and Steve's family has reenforced why I love Christmas so much: The spirit of giving (both presents and love) is infectious and contagious. It's a holiday where you celebrate Christ, but also where you celebrate your blessings. And boy have I been blessed this year.

I may have gotten carried away taking pictures in Colorado, however here is a small percentage of my favorites:

 See you next time!