"How are you going to change the world?"

This was written by Elissa May, one of the leaders and the secretary of Lesley Delivers. She and Merrie Rothstein led the run tonight.

Tonight was an interesting night for both groups on the sandwich runs. A lot of communication was made between the students and the people in Harvard Square, which opened our eyes to things that we may not see from day to day. In one instance, a man that accepted a sandwich wanted to know more about our plans for the future, and responded to our goals of becoming Human Service workers and teachers in ways we did not expect. From seeing the lack of change that has occurred throughout the years in society and the social issues involving homelessness and poverty that are still very much prevalent in any community, this man had grown pessimistic about the future. He challenged us in ways we are not used to, asking us questions like, “How are you going to change the world?” This experience left us all a little unsure of ourselves and our futures, but it was a wake up call in the sense that it made us reflect on what we wanted to do for the world, and how in just a few short years of college, it will be our time to make our change.
After every sandwich run, it’s important to reflect on how we could improve our action and what could make our work a little more meaningful. The group has a lot of ideas of ways we can cater more to the needs of the people we serve, and provide them with different meals other than peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. We sometimes receive responses to the PB&J sandwiches that suggest that the population would prefer something different, such as a ham and cheese sandwich, or something with less sugar. This is feedback that is useful for us to alter and change our program to make it the most useful and beneficial to those we serve. It is our hope that with some planning and reexamining of the club’s process, we can create changes that help us to make the most positive impact in our community.

We're Back!!

Lesley Delivers has started up again! Last week we had our first successful run of the year, with 15 people going out to help make and deliver sandwiches. We had so many new people it was wonderful. We saw many people in Harvard Square we had never seen before, and they were all completely kind and thankful for what we were doing. The experience affected some of the new people in different ways. Some got very emotional as they really saw, for the first time, the faces of hunger and homelessness. Some shared hugs with some of the people receiving sandwiches. In our debrief we talked about how everyone felt, and everyone agreed that they had gained something from what they had just done. Watching some of the freshmen talking about how they had never realized how personal it could be and how they wanted to do it again reminded me why I started doing this in the first place. This is all about connection. You get something every time you serve. You make a connection with another human being, someone who could be just like you only took a different path in life. You gain a better understanding of life through doing things like Lesley Delivers, and I truly hope that as the year goes on we have more runs like our first of the year.

Last Run before Summer

This past week we had our last Lesley Delivers run of the semester. We did make it more fun and informative by adding a Sleep Out in the quad. First we all came together and made sandwich bags for the run. We had a larger group this time, therefore we were able to split up into three groups. The run went smoothly and we saw a lot of people out. There were new people in the run that got to experience interacting with the people in Harvard Sq. for the first time. Someone had said that this was a great experience for her because normally after she gets out of work she feels unsafe walking alone because of the stereotypes of what it means to be hungry and/or homeless. She said that because she came on the run that she was able to see them as people and not something that society projects on to them.
After the run we all came back and got ready for a night on the quad. We had blankets on the ground and we had sleeping bags. We wanted to experience a night of being without the basics of a bed and a roof. We also wanted to create awareness within the community. We had signs up so that whenever someone walked by while we were sleeping they would know what we were doing. It made a point that no matter what your age or situation, you could still be hit by homelessness and/or hunger. As we go into the summer and the next semester of school in the fall, we need to remember that. So next time you pass someone by on the street, smile. Acknowledge the fact that we are all human and that every human needs contact. Try and be that little bit of light that can get someone through the day.

Stereotypes

This past week we had a run that was very eventful. We had a big group that came out, which means more and more people are hearing about us and want to get involved!
The main thing that happened that night occurred at the Tannery. Two different groups went there at separate times, and both noticed the police presence. The first group went down and began to talk with the men there. However, an argument broke out between them and they weren’t really paying attention to the group. The argument was about one of the men who was very obviously intoxicated and was trying to push alcohol on others. The men who usually stayed at the Tannery didn’t want him there because he was attracting attention and making them look bad. By the time the group left, a police officer had come over. The second group saw much of the same thing when they went.
We talked about this in the debrief. It was a way of seeing the stereotypes of what it means to be homeless or hungry broken a little. Just because there was one man who was acting in that way, doesn’t mean the others are. In fact, he was shunned by all of the people around him. There is a community there, and they don’t want someone coming in and making their community into something that is negative. They just want to live their lives the best way they can. And the one thing that stuck with me was, even amid the fighting over this man, we still got thank yous and felt the gratitude from the people who did take the sandwiches. We all need to remember to look at people has human beings, not as what society tells us they are supposed to be.

Comfort

Tonight we talked about comfort levels. One group experienced a man who came up to them at the end of their run and began to sing to them. The only thing is, he moved very close to some of the people in the group and it might have made them feel uncomfortable. They were faced with the daunting question of “What do we do?”. Luckily, the man just sang for a few seconds and then they were able to walk away. But it was still hard, even in the debrief, to come up with a truly good way to deal with someone crossing into your comfort zone. The other group had the opposite experience. There is a man that has become a familiar face on one of the routes and we have started to talk to him regularly. People feel comfortable going down to him and having a conversation with him. Tonight he got excited that we had juice, but at the same time he made sure that we left some for the people who were sleeping around him. I know that it must have taken him a while before he was truly comfortable talking to us with the ease that he does.
It just goes to show you that sometimes you have to slowly get used to a person (or people) in order to trust them. Comfort is something that cannot be thrown at you. When out on the streets, one can imagine the difficulty they must have with finding trust and comfort in other people. Belief in the kindness of the human nature is all they have, and it’s something that we can help kindle.

Introducing... Erika and Elissa!

Sorry for the late post everyone! I still wanted to put up a post to talk about last week’s run even though we have another run tomorrow. Last week we had our two leaders lead the program for the first time and I couldn’t be more proud of them. Elissa May (EMay) ran the programming (reading off the guidelines and directing people what to do while putting the bags together, and Erika Bareiss helped her facilitate. They were the ones that led the groups out into Harvard Square.
While on the groups there was a conversation that came up about the Tannery. The way that it is set up is that we have to go down a set of stairs to get to the people below. On that night we went down and there were two men, one of whom we see sometimes. The other man was one we had never seen before. They were both really friendly and the new man said to us something like “You don’t have to worry about anything girls! You’re safe with me!”. Of course, most (if not all) of us were now comfortable going down there. Once we left we talked about how he had acted. We thought that he seemed like he wanted to seem “normal” almost as if he didn’t belong there. I pointed out stairs in the Tannery and how they could be seen as a metaphor. We had to be able to come down to them. To some people that may be seen as going down to their level, or rejecting our sense of normalcy in order to give what we can. And honestly, I am okay with taking that on. The people in my group agreed with me when saying that we have now become comfortable with it. Showing people that it is okay to be equal is something that we aim to do. If that means that we go down those stairs to hold a conversation and give a smile with a sandwich, then we will keep doing it.

Three Events in a Week

This week was an amazing week for Lesley Delivers. On Monday a group of students from a local elementary school came to visit and learn about what we do. We got to make sandwiches for the next nights run with them, and talk about what homelessness is. We were so impressed with how articulate and well versed in the situation they were. Hanging out with them made our day, and they have had a lasting impression on us. They talked about how they wanted to do more to help people, and they talked about different ways to bring service to their school. We thank them so much for giving Lesley Delivers peanut butter and jelly and other donations. They were true inspirations and we would welcome them back anytime.
The next nights run went well, a man that doesn’t really talk to us talked to a group. Even though he didn’t take anything, it was still great that he felt comfortable enough to make that connection with us. We didn’t see that many people out, which (as stated many times before) could be a great thing because that might mean that they have roofs over their heads.
Another thing I wanted to address is a quick run that a friend and I did this past weekend. On Easter, two of us went on an impromptu run with some of the extra sandwiches we had left over. We also put some chocolate and hand wipes in the bags. The one thing we didn’t have was juice. We saw so many people out, including a few people who looked to be about our age. All of the people we encountered asked for juice. It made us feel terrible that we didn’t have any. I will be the first to admit that I wanted to go into a store and buy some just so that I could go back. But my friend reminded me that we were giving already, and that the bags we were handing out were going very much appreciated. The kids that came to visit had the same feeling when they realized that we deliver the sandwiches late at night and that they weren’t going to be able to come. They wanted so badly to be able to give the sandwiches they made to people in need. But once we talked to them about how big of a help they were already, they were contented to continue their sticky job of peanut butter and jellying. Sometimes we have to remember that we need to do what we can, and not over extend ourselves to the point where we give more than we can. We all have moments were we wish we could do more, but we need to step back and know that we are already giving and that says something in itself.