Getting, Not Just Giving, Something Back

by Anthea Page

 

 

 

Truth be told, before I started volunteering for SEARCH (nearly a year ago now), I’m not sure that I thought too much about the homeless, probably like the next person. That’s not to say I had no compassion for people living on the streets. I’m from England and we do have people who live on the streets there too, to be sure, and on the streets of all our towns and cities, not just London. There, Big Issue sellers are a familiar sight. Originally set up by Body Shop founder Anita Roddick, the Big Issue is a national, weekly magazine with high production and editorial values, partly written and produced by homeless and recently homeless people, and sold on the streets by the homeless or those at risk of homelessness for a minimum price of £2.50 [$3.90] (many buyers choose to pay more). A percentage of the profits goes to the seller and the remainder is put towards the publication and distribution costs which, in turn, benefit the community it sets out to serve by providing purpose, jobs and a lifeline to a way off the streets.

Many people – myself included – feel more comfortable donating money to a needy person for something in return, by which I mean not just the magazine itself but in the knowledge that there is some framework supporting that person to be helped out of their situation, and by being able to do so without condescension or judgement.

Of course there are plenty of “tramps” as well. (This is a perjorative and very English term which specifically came about because in the 1930’s the homeless were not allowed to stay in the same shelter for two nights’ running, nor return within a month and were therefore forced to tramp for miles from shelter to shelter. By contrast nowadays, many state-funded shelters require a minimum stay period of several weeks but are only accessible to those who have benefits and therefore many truly destitute and desperate people who have nothing and no ID are not being helped. But I digress.) We see them, on park benches, shop doorways and street corners, just as here, asleep or begging with cardboard signs. But it’s easy to walk by, even to stop and give food or money and then keep going without further thought about that person. So buying the Big Issue, was, before I moved to Houston, my nearest and only direct contact with the homeless.

I’m living in Houston because of my husband’s job. I have older children, a daughter back in the UK at university (who actually introduced me to SEARCH, but that’s another story), and two sons at high school here. I gave up a full time job and found myself, if not exactly at a loose end – there’s plenty to see and do in Houston – then let’s say without a role (I’m not a great ‘homemaker’ – or ‘housewife’ as we’d say back home!). Being in the kitchen at SEARCH has helped to fill that gap for me, and that was initially my main motivation.

I work with Billy Roberson and often other regular ‘fill-in’ volunteers like me who come along on days where there are no church, community or corporate groups on the roster. We prepare the salad, chop the vegetables, rack up the meat, stir the gravy, warm up the bread, serve coffee, breakfast and lunch, wipe tables, wash dishes. And of course we meet the clients. Some work in the kitchen too, or round and about the building, others come back to help out when they’ve been helped on their way by Search. Yet others are at risk, vulnerable, still living on the streets. And we get to hear their stories, their hopes, so often their gratitude, maybe simply what football team they support or how old their kids are, or where they’re from and where they’ve been. I get frequent “I love your accent”, am forever being mistaken for an Australian (we don’t sound the same, honestly, we don’t!) and am always asked about life in the UK, how I like the US, how the two countries compare (I could go on more about this but there isn’t room here…). In short, we interact as human beings, and with this interaction comes empathy and understanding, proper communication and even humour.

For me, giving at SEARCH really isn’t all one way, I genuinely do get something back, just like buying the Big Issue back home but BETTER! And I don’t know if there’s a better recommendation than that if you’re thinking of giving it a go.