Today was quite a day. Waking up early was not bad, I think
we all have gotten used to it. However, there was an unexpected walk to our
community service location. We had to walk 30 minutes in the cold Chicago wind
to reach our destination. It was long but the exercise was needed. Upon arrival
we were briefed by the Volunteer Coordinator, Sarah, about some of
Cornerstone’s programs. Cornerstone is a homeless shelter that offers temporary
space to homeless individuals with different backgrounds like: single women,
single women with children, males, and families. Residents are provided with 3
meals a day with food donated. After getting briefed by Sarah we split into 2
groups. Half of us went to the Leiland house and the other half helped Sarah at
the shelter. The Leiland house is a community partnered organization that
provides permanent housing for the homeless and low-income families. Tenants
pay 1/3 of their income for housing, despite the type of apartment they are
receiving. 4 housing units recently opened up that needed renovation. As a
group we went into one unit and cleaned and scrubbed, as Raye would say “booger
walls” until lunchtime. We did manage to meet a group of Oklahoma college
students also on an alternative break service trip. The other half of the group
did service with Sara, separating items for the free store, which provided
donated items like, clothes, toys, and furniture. After service we had an
amusing lunch that was led by Sophie and Martial Artist Andrew. After lunch we
helped unload the food truck for the shelter. Once we got back to Ravenswood we
worked on preparing food to our Homeless Outreach Bus service trip. We prepared
mac n’ cheese and our special AB Chicken Soup. Being with the Cornerstone
Outreach program was a fun experience for the first day. We are both eager to
return to Cornerstone tomorrow and continue our service! During today’s
experience I was surprised to hear that the average age group for homeless
individuals is 9 years old. I knew that children had the highest rate in
poverty but I did not expect the average age to be that young. HOPEFULLY WE CAN
CHANGE THAT!!! OHHHHH, and Kushal a.k.a Uber is here!!!! We are so excited for
him to be apart of our Chicago experience.
Brittney & Bilal
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