Mercy House Cold Weather Shelter at the Armory 2/19/2012

I volunteered over the weekend at the Santa Ana Cold Weather Shelter... and the experience was a bit different than the last time I was there.

I brought in a trunk load of donations, which they were so happy about.  I requested to volunteer at the donations table, I like to be able to see people getting things.  Volunteering at this table usually brings stories.  I just stand and listen, and shake my head.  This particular evening there was a gentleman standing next to one of the tables, and he was just staring at me.  He was saying, "Youre so pretty" and asking me a lot of questions.  I didnt really answer most of them, but I did lie and say I had a boyfriend, when he asked.  First he asked if I was married, and another man said, "No, shes not - she has no ring on her finger".  Very observant, lol.  Anyway, he was telling me he was drunk, and that was his problem, he drank too much.  He was telling me he had been in prison for 22 years and had been out about a year and a half... at one point he started dripping sweat, and said it was my fault, because I was so "beautifuls".  I asked him a few times if he was ok, he was sweating so much.  One of the guys I volunteer with stepped in and distracted him and he finally walked away to go get some dinner.  That was not the end of him though, ha ha.  He followed me around the rest of the night - so I made sure I was never alone.  He asked me for my phone number and ended up giving me his.

I discarded of it, before I went home. 

As I was leaving, he asked me if I was going to call him, and he kept shouting out I LOVE YOU.  I of course walked out with a few other people to my car.

The shelter was really busy Sunday night - one of the volunteers who is there a lot said he had never seen it so busy.  They had sleeping mats covering the entire armory floor.  One man moved a mat, which you are not allowed to do - which caused an argument between him and a Mercy House employee, which brought over security - and it happened to be right next to the donations table, so that was a little nerve wracking... as the homeless man involved was also drunk.  They resolved it quickly, which was good.  Lots of F bombs were tossed around though.  I understand both sides, he wanted to sleep off to the side, but there are also rules.

One thing I brought in were some bags, and one woman really wanted a bag, and didnt get one.  She asked me if I would be back before the shelter closed for the season, and I said no :(  I did let her know I would keep my eyes out for a bag, preferably with wheels and if I got one, I would bring it to her. So, anyone have a duffel bag, preferably with wheels?  :)

It seemed as though there were more under the influence people this time around.  One guy was in the process of eating his ice cream, laying on his mat, and literally passed out with the spoon half way between the bowl and his mouth.  I had three different men talking to me Sunday night.  All three were hovering.  All night.  It was definitely a little nerve wracking, but I definitely had people watching out for me, so I felt safe.  One guy was telling me I needed a yacht on the lake in Lake Forest, and massages all day and to lay out in the sun.  Sure, sounds good to me!  HA HA!  

Standing at the donation table, I looked around the Armory, and it was awesome to see people in my clothing.  There were some men rocking some Angels shirts I brought in, and a woman wore a nice shirt I had brought in... just looking around knowing I helped those people, was so incredibly rewarding.  

The shelter is only open through March, and I am volunteering one more time at the Fullerton location... I am sad - I wish it was a year round thing.  I wonder where all of these people sleep and eat during the months the shelter is not there.  I saw a lot of the same people I saw the last time I volunteered there.  Its sad, but I like knowing they have somewhere safe to sleep for at least a few months out of the year.  

Oh, and the big bag of socks I brought were a major hit!  Apparently they arent supposed to give out used socks, which I didnt know - but the woman in charge let me do it, and "pretended not to know".  Sad, because so many people needed the socks, but I guess I understand.  

One woman who was sorting through the clothes asked me how I was.  I gave her the typical dont think about it Im just conditioned to answer "Im good, how are you" and she said, "Of course you are good.  You are volunteering."  At first I thought it was kind of snarky, but shes right - what do I have to complain about?  I get to leave after 3 hours and get in my nice car, drive to my nice, warm house, take a nice, warm, long shower and get in my nice warm pajamas and bed.  So yeah, I am good.  My "problems" are small in comparison to most.  

Two other members from the Meetup group... Jessica and her son Matthew.  I worked with Matthew at the donations table... he got stuck being lectured by a gentleman for a good half hour about getting a job, and EOE's and Human Resources and Im not sure exactly what else.  Poor kid  :)

Volunteer opportunity that just didnt work out...

Saturday morning, Melissa and I set out determined to volunteer in Garden Grove, serving food to the homeless.

We arrived at the "White House" a little early, and both quietly started to get really nervous.  The area was not good, and there were a lot of slightly scary people milling around.  Melissa noticed a massive amount of bugs gathering on my side view mirror on the passenger side, which I think is when we werent so quiet about how nervous we were doing this.  

We sucked it up, and jumped out of the car and went inside this house.  There were probably 30 Vietnamese kids, (turns out they were students who needed service hours and did not call ahead).  We tried to figure out what to do, and no one even acknowledged we had walked in the door, and the kids were running around teaching each other how to make coffee.  After probably 10 minutes, we decided to leave.  No one would talk to us, and there was nothing to do.  There was coffee and danish - and nothing was cooking in the kitchen - it was all very bizarre.

I talked to my friend later who set up the event, and he said it was a very bizarre experience for him as well (We did not see him when we were there).  But he told me about the students just showing up, and also that people brought food later, that they had cooked on their own...  just not really an organized thing... and I am thankful Melissa and I tried - and left.  I dont think it was the place for us to be.  I feel bad because it was her first time coming to volunteer with me, and honestly I have never had something like this happen... but we spend a great girls day together and it ended up being fun.

I have quite an entry to make about the homeless shelter last night, but I will wait until I have some more time, to make sure I get all the details in there :)