Andre House Mysteries

So there are a lot of things that I wonder on a daily basis. Most of them end up being humorous, but there can be some serious ones. Nearly all of them are in reference to something specific that has happened in my time so far. Here are a just a few.
-How can a person be that drunk at 9 in the morning?
-How does a person get crap on the underside of the toilet seat?
-Why would you leave your crackpipe in your pants and then give the pants to us to wash?
-How can a person smell so bad to the point that flies cover them and not want to take a free shower?
-Where does a person get the gall to complain about a free service?
-How can you be homeless and that overweight?
-Why would you come back to the place where someone doused you in liter fluid and set you on fire?
-Where do you get money for all that crack?
-Just how many years have you been wearing that shirt for?
-Why don’t the police care more?
-Do you know that urinating in public is a crime?
-Is peeing on the walls of the bathroom that much fun?
-Where does all that hair on the floor of the shower come from?

-Why would you use being homeless for most of your life as a point to get one up on other people?

So there are a lot of things that I wonder on a daily basis. Most of them end up being humorous, but there can be some serious ones. Nearly all of them are in reference to something specific that has happened in my time so far. Here are a just a few.
How can a person be that drunk at 9 in the morning?
How does a person get crap on the underside of the toilet seat?
Why would you leave your crackpipe in your pants and then give the pants to us to wash?
How can a person smell so bad to the point that flies cover them and not want to take a free shower?
Where does a person get the gall to complain about a free service?
How can you be homeless and that overweight?
Why would you come back to the place where someone doused you in liter fluid and set you on fire?
Where do you get money for all that crack?
Just how many years have you been wearing that shirt for?
Why don’t the police care more?
Do you know that urinating in public is a crime?
Is peeing on the walls of the bathroom that much fun?
Where does all that hair on the floor of the shower come from?
Why would you use being homeless for most of your life as a point to get one up on other people?

Simple living (pt 2)

At a glance, living simply means we can't have nice stuff. While that isn't totally true, it is how I feel a lot of times. We only get 100 dollars per month, so buying expensive items just isn't an option. That is probably the toughest part of my day to day life since I took a big pay cut coming here and was used to being able to spend 300 dollars in a month or saving up for something. What do I spend my stipend on these days? I mostly buy food from the grocery store. It is nice to have food that isn't expired, didn't come from the foodbank, and hasn't sat in our pantry for years.

The bit about living a simple lifestyle and it bringing us closer to the people we serve is pretty true. While I don't think any one of us has experienced being homeless, living simply (which approaches living in poverty) give us some insight into our guests' lives. It also gives us a little more respect from them, I think. We make much less money than the average homeless person. We don't pull up in expensive cars wearing expensive clothing, etc. We roll in our donated cars (one of which is missing a window right now) wearing the same donated clothing that our guests have access to, eat the same food, etc.

This whole thing can be a challenge. There are some days that I just want to go out and buy something, but I can't. There are nights when I want to go to a nice restaurant and get a steak, but that would be spending a large portion of my stipend. I am learning a little more about being frugal, and that could very well serve me in the future.

Simple Living (pt 1)

André House Core Community opts for a simple lifestyle because we believe simple living frees us from non-essential material concerns. It allows us to bracket out or suspend concerns and baggage from our personal histories so that we can focus on the essentials of the universal human condition.

Simple living brings us to a greater degree of solidarity with the poor whom we serve. In living simply we are more likely to be trusted by the poor and are reminded of the powerlessness specific to being poor. This solidarity helps us to make decisions from the perspective of those in need.

Our daily commitment to simplicity requires a lifestyle of direct, personalist labor of a humble and servile nature.

· We expect as a community that we subsist on common holdings.

· We expect major community expenses to be discussed by the community before community money is spent. In emergency situations, financial decisions should be checked with the appointed treasurer and, in the absence of that person, another community member should be consulted.

· We expect personal spending to not exceed the monthly stipend.

· We encourage individuals to discuss and challenge each other towards growth regarding issues of simple lifestyle.

· Because we have access to donations, we encourage reflection on the acceptance of gifts and the use of other peoples’ generosity and economic power.

Community (pt 2)

I’m no etymologist, but I’m pretty sure that “community” and “communism” have something in common. And so I would stay that a community style of living is similar to something like communism. What does that mean? We share stuff. We share our house, our goods, our food, our whatever. What’s mine is yours, etc.

I was asked when I interviewed how I thought about living in close quarters with others in community. I replied that it couldn’t be much different from having a roommate in college. No one disagreed with me at the time but I now see that things are much different. I don’t think it’s anything that can be adequately described; community living must be experienced. Some examples- I share a bathroom with someone else. We share a kitchen and living room. Those don’t seem like a big deal but there can be conflict over the channel the TV is on, who should do the dishes, who should clean the bathroom, who spilled milk everywhere and didn’t clean it up, etc. Living in close quarters for a whole year without a break with five other people can get old. You learn everyone’s little quirks and they can easily start to be annoying.

All in all, community living is an interesting way to live and I like it a lot. You learn a lot about the people you live with and really start to care for them.

Community

So to continue my mini-series on the Core Covenant, here is the excerpt on Community.

André House is a Christian community gathered in service of the poor. We come as individuals with unique gifts, to build community reflective of the reign of God. We strive to work and live collaboratively, valuing the contribution of each individual, supporting and challenging each other in love.

Individuals in Community
· We encourage each other to develop our personal gifts and charisms in service to the community.
· We encourage people to be open to new experiences and to share in all aspects of the work, even that which is not immediately appealing.


Hospitality
We are a community of hospitality in the Christian tradition, welcoming a variety of people, recognizing that we all come together with gifts to be shared.

· We encourage each other to be welcoming, inviting others to share the life and the work.
· We encourage each other to get to know the extended André House community: guests, neighbors, volunteers, friends, benefactors, and others.


Core Community Common Life
We commit ourselves to the work of community, not just the ministry to the volunteers and poor, but to each other. This takes time and work, which brings moments of both struggle and joy.

· We encourage people to listen selflessly, attending to the needs and concerns of each other and to challenge with compassion.
· We encourage people to be honest about their needs, voicing them in appropriate ways.
· We expect that individuals share responsibility for our common life in the houses. Love in community is expressed through mutual respect in the simple acts of living together.
· We expect each other to use days off and free time in ways that allow us to return to the work and community refreshed.
· The holidays are special times of increased work and celebration of community. Therefore we expect that all members of the Core Community be present Thanksgiving through Christmas.

Outside Relationships and Commitments

Core Community members will sometimes have commitments and relationships outside of André House that may positively or negatively affect the work and life.

· We expect that André House be one’s primary community and commitment. We expect that the common good be considered in all outside relationships.
· We expect that outside school or work be discussed with the Core Community in advance at the beginning of the year.
· We expect openness to frank dialogue with community members if conflict arises over these issues.
· Romantic/exclusive relationships are especially challenging for community. We expect openness to frank discussion and sensitivity to the needs of the community. We expect that romantic interests not be overnight guests in our houses.

Community life will challenge us and call us to forget ourselves in the face of a greater need. In this process we will know the cross, but only through that journey we come to the joys that are beyond.

Apologies

Again, if anyone can't get through life without reading what I write, I apologize for my delinquency in getting stuff up here. Things have been busy with work lately, but I am currently entertaining my Mom and Nana, so I have even less time to waste online.

The highlight of their visit so far has been the dozens upon dozens of cookies we baked so far. In a close second place was our trip to the Grand Canyon last Thursday. That was the first time I was there and it is simply breathtaking. There are not words that would do the wonder that is the Grand Canyon any good. So I won't try, I'll just paste a picture up here.

Spirituality (pt 2)

The idea of spirituality was a very important point in my search for a full time volunteer opportunity. If I was going to take an entire year off from my college endeavors, I wanted it to mean something to me. I wanted to experience some sort of growth in my time away, something that would more fully justify quitting West Point with no guarantee of returning. The growth I wanted most was in my faith life. I wanted to learn more about and become more secure in my identity as a Catholic Christian.

So Andre House was a no brainer for me. I found that the Core Covenant excerpt wasn’t too specific about what we do on a daily basis, so here goes. We start each weekday with Mass in our parking lot. It is always a great privilege and pleasure to be able to celebrate Mass on a daily basis, but it is difficult to focus since there are lots of people going about their own business all around us. The person who reflects on the day’s readings at Mass also plans a prayer session for “noon prayer.” As the name might suggest, we gather around noon and pray together. We also have a prayer before every meal, both at the main building and at our transitional houses. Every first Friday of the month, we gather for Mass at our transitional house and invite our guests and volunteers to join us.

There are two priests and one brother on the staff, so that aids our spirituality and keeps things focused. Two of our staff have degrees in religious subjects (theology and religious studies), so that is another source of knowledge.

I have experienced considerable spiritual growth in my four months at Andre House. I am more comfortable than I ever have been talking about religious and spiritual topics. With every reflection, I gain more knowledge of the Bible and its ins and outs. I have learned so much about myself in matters of religion and faith and hope to continue to grow.

Spirituality (pt 1)

We come to André House community blessed with the Spirit and inspired by the Gospel of Jesus. Our community is formed in the Catholic traditions shaped by individuals, lay and religious, men and women, influenced by the customs of the Catholic Worker and religious life in Holy Cross. Our time together is part of an ongoing quest for relationship with God and communion with God’s people. As we live and serve together, we strive to assist each other in that quest, seeking, studying, praying and living the Good News. We strive for integrity so that the values we profess in faith become part of our entire community and individual lives.

Individual Spiritual Life
· We expect people to be responsible for nurturing their own spiritual life.
· We encourage and will support each person in making a personal retreat. The timing and nature of the retreat should be discussed with the Core Community.
· We encourage each person to seek spiritual direction with someone outside the house.
· We encourage each person to become involved in the life of a local church, especially on Sundays.


Communal Spiritual Life
As a community we gather daily for prayer and worship, attending to the spiritual life of the group. We break bread together, we pray before meals and at points throughout the day, seeking integrity in life and ministry. As a community of hospitality we invite others to join in our spiritual life, but never make it a condition of service. We open ourselves to discuss faith issues with other community members.

· We encourage that individual spiritual gifts and leadership be shared with the community.
· We expect that when people are asked to lead prayer, that it be planned with sensitivity. We are open to diverse forms of prayer.
· We expect that the community will periodically step away from normal activities for retreat time together. We expect all members to participate.
· We expect members to participate in the prayer life of the community whenever possible. We reach out to absent members.
· We expect members to participate in First Fridays and in all special community celebrations.

Update

If there is anyone out there that hangs on these blog posts, who cannot go through a day without reading my ramblings, I apologize that I haven't been faithful to writing things here. But I'm pretty sure that there isn't a person out there who feels that way. Anyways, things have been super busy for me lately and writing blog posts seems to be my last priority. I'm really not sure what people want to hear from me, so I got nothing else to say right now.

I got to thinking the other day about my lifestyle here. I don't mean the ways in which I have changed as a person in my time here, but rather the expectations that are encompassed in being on the Andre House Core Community (aka "the staff"). So I thought I would write about those things that I am expected to live by. There are three big areas that we focus on- spirituality, community, and a simple lifestyle. I must confess that only the spiritual part of things really made sense in my pre-Andre House days. I have since come to see the value and pros/cons in each of these aspects. I have posted before a Core Community Mission Statement in which some general things are laid out about how we are expected to live and work. There are then portions on those three aforementioned areas.

What I want to do is copy and paste those sections here, one at a time over a few days or weeks. After each time I post one of those sections, I will devote another post about what it all means to me. It should be fun.

Building smell

If you ever get the privilege of visiting Andre House, you will notice a distinct smell that permeates everything. We like to refer to it as “building smell.” It is a product of poor hygiene on the part of our guests, complicated by a poor living environment. We refer to our hospitality center as “the building,” so that is where we get “building smell.” Building smell is a unique combination of human urine, feces, sweat, and body odor, burning crack, tobacco, and marijuana, week-old beans and potatoes fermenting in the garbage bins, decomposing everything in the dumpster, the bleach we try and disinfect everything with, and basically anything and everything else that is disgusting. Every now and then you can get a whiff of what is cooking in the kitchen courtesy of the exhaust fan. All of this is made worse by the fact that it is so hot, so the smell just cooks and gets that much worse. Believe me, I make every effort to reduce the foulness of building smell, but there is only so much one (or nine) human beings can do to combat such odorificness (I know that’s not a word). Some people say that they can notice building smell in the food we eat, but I can’t say that I’ve experienced that. Nevertheless, it’s just another part of the privilege of working at Andre House.

Q&A again

It's time for everyone's favorite time, the time when I make up questions and answer them below!

Q: So what's the weather been like lately?
A: The forecast is for highs in the low to mid seventies all of this week.

Q: How was Thanksgiving?
A: The worst one I've experienced. I was pretty homesick and wanted to be with different people for a special day like that. Plus we celebrate any holiday, whether it's Labor Day or Thanksgiving, in the same manner- Mass and lunch. But I suppose if I couldn't be at home for Thanksgiving this year, this is an okay alternative.

Q: Since you weren't home for Thanksgiving does that mean you get to go home for Christmas?
A: Nope, I have to work on Christmas day. Homeless people don't stop being homeless so we can go home and have a jolly good time on the holidays. It really means a lot to them to see us here and to be open to them on days like that. We are almost their family here.

Q: Anything exciting coming up soon?
A: My Mom and Nana Coyle are coming for a visit next week, so that is what I am looking forward to.

Connecting the dots

I’ve spent a lot of time on this blog talking about each of the individual services that we provide to our guests, the poor and homeless of Phoenix. While each of the services we give can be powerful in its own individual way, it’s the combination of some or all of these things that is really what helps people. Combining the use of our phone, clean clothing, a shower, a storage locker, and a meal at the end of the day can be powerful. While it seems that most people that use our services on use them to sustain their lives, there are some who use our services to move up and out of homelessness.

As our director likes to say, “jobs cure homelessness.” All of our services can be focused on gaining and keeping employment, so combining all of our services is the most tangible way in which we help eliminate homelessness.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

It is now past midnight on Thursday, so I can officially wish everyone a Happy Turkey Day. May your time with friends and family be blessed with fellowship and new memories. My plug is for you to remember those that are not as fortunate to spend time with their families today- whether it be our troops overseas, the homeless, or volunteers like me.

Yep, I don’t get to go home for Thanksgiving. This marks the first time that I have not been at home for this holiday. I’ve been too busy this week for it to take full effect, but I’m sure that I will notice tomorrow. Forgoing my reputation as an insensitive man, I will say that I really miss home and being with my family and friends. While I have grown nicely into my new family here, it just isn’t the same. Kurt, one of my coworkers, is experiencing the same feelings, so I’m not alone in this.

So once again, Happy Thanksgiving and God Bless.

Today's reflection

I have no problem admitting that I possess many shortcomings, that I have many weaknesses and downfalls, that I live a sinful life. But with any of my weaknesses, whether it be my poor personal skills or my flaws in faith, I try to find someone that I can look up to, someone that typifies the highest positive standard of that weakness; someone who sets an example that I can try to emulate. It is especially important to do this with matters of faith and spirituality. We can always strive to do better, no matter how well we think we live our lives. We must find people that are examples of great faith and piety. Scripture is a great place to start, and the readings today give us two great examples of faith.

First is Eleazar, who is described as a noble and foremost scribe of the community. Here is a man that is willing to undergo torture and death rather than defile his body by eating pork. It may seem silly or stupid to give up yourself rather than eat a piece of meat, but this attitude is the exact definition of a martyr. Eleazar would rather stay faithful to the laws of his religion and die than fold under the pressure of temptation. His reasoning where we can really begin to see Eleazar as a model of faith. While there is an element of pride because he won’t go back on the laws of God he said he would be loyal to, while he doesn’t want to bring dishonor to himself; his foremost reason is to “leave to the young a noble example of how to die willingly and generously for the revered and holy laws.” Eleazar knows that he will be rewarded for his faith, but he more wants to serve as a model of faith for those that look to him as an example. Eleazar has the respect of the people he serves and would not have their faith shaken in God because they saw his faith in God shaken when pressured. That is a truly selfless act and is a great model of faith. We need to be aware of this in our own lives. Realize that there may be people that look to you as a model of faith and keep that in mind when you make decisions.

The second model we hear about today is Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus seeks out God in his life, but in a very tangible and visible way. Jesus reaches out to this and brings Zacchaeus back into the fold. Zacchaeus recognizes his faults and shortcomings, his unfair dealing with people, and repents for those transgressions. This is another great model of faith. Seek out God in your life, recognize your shortcomings and sins, and repent to God

One last article

Here is the final article from the current newsletter, this time from Hoa (pronounced "wa"). I just realized how much she wrote.


The two phrases that I would use to describe working at Andre House last year would be “challenge” and “best experience”. When I came back from Rocky Point, Mexico, I had no idea if I could do the kind of work that involved many mentally ill people or people who take drugs as their escape. I had never worked with them before nor knew how to handle their problems. During the retreat, we learned that everyone must be able to say, “No,” to the guests when needed. I thought to myself, “Me? Say ‘no’ to them?” I cannot even say “no” to my best friend when she asks to borrow my favorite shirt…and I do not let anyone wear it but me!” All my
friends said to me before I came to Phoenix, “Hoa, how will you be able to work with people who have so many problems? You cannot even say “no” to your friends. You expect to say “no” to people you do not know and think they will accept that answer?” My friends were right. I cannot say “no”. All my life, I have had trouble saying “no” to many people because I cared about their feelings, and I did not want to hurt them. I tried to deal with some issues on my own and tried not to cause any more problems for people, simply because I could not tell them “no.”

I remember when I worked in the Clothes Closet for the first time after returning from Rocky Point; I had to say “no” to this woman who asked for a shirt and pair of jeans. She said that she lost all of her clothes and all she had was what she was wearing. In my heart, I really wanted to give her the items because she seemed like she really needed them. I wanted to help this woman out, but I had already handed out 30 numbers for that day. I told her that she had to come back on Monday at 10:00 am, the next time we did clothes, and she started to yell at me.
She said, “And you call yourself a good Christian?” and left. That was the most discouraging retort that I had ever received from anyone. How am I not a good Christian? I came to Andre
House and gave up two years of my life to help others. After college I could have gone out and found a good job and gotten a nice place to live with a nice car to drive, but God called me to do this work for Him…to help His people because they need my help. After that woman said that to me, I was sad about it and was no longer motivated to be at Andre House. I had thought that I was doing a good thing by volunteering part of my life to the work at Andre House.

Then throughout the months, I learned and understood why we say no here. It is not because
we are being mean to people or do not want to give them clothes or food, but because we want to be consistent with everyone who comes through the door. It is not fair to say “no” to one person and then let a few others come through the door for clothes, showers or even dinner. At first, I did not understand why we have to say “no” and have rules at Andre House. We have much food in the refrigerator and sometimes have many clothes in the basement that are not being used. Why are we not taking advantage all of these items and helping all the guests who are in need? But one day I understood why we have to be consistent in all of the services we offer at Andre House. There was a man who just been released from prison, and he had nothing
but a dirty T-shirt and pants. I told him he had to come back the next day since we already passed out 30 numbers to our guests for Clothes Closet that day. However, I felt that this man really needed our help. I thought I was doing a good thing, the right thing, by giving him brand new shirt and pants. He shook my hands and said, “Thank you so much. You just made my day, and you helped helped me so much today.” It felt good to know that I did something right and made a difference in someone’s life. But the next day, another man arrived who also was just released from prison and had nothing…like the man that came in the previous day. I told him, like I told the first man, that he would have to come back the next time we did Clothes Closet. He said the first man was his friend and had told him he could get clothes at Andre House. We would help anyone who needed our help. He started to yell at me and told me that I was being
unfair with him, not giving him clothes like I had given his friend. I told him “no” because we have to be consistent with everything we do with all of our services, and I want to be fair with everyone. But how can I be fair when I give clothes to one person and not to the next? At that moment, I really understood why we have to say “no.” Not because we love to or, because we can, but because we want to be fair to all of the guests who come through the door, to treat everyone equal. After that day, I never say “no” to the guests without listening to their reasons or stories. If I have to say “no,” I want to explain to them why I cannot give them whatever they are asking for, and, hopefully, they will understand and accept it. We have rules for a reason, and that is to make it fair for everyone.

Andre House not only gives me many challenges, but it is also a great and memorable experience working here. Everyday I enjoy waking up and wondering what is going happen at the Hospitality Center. Some days will be wonderful. Other days will be stressful, and I just want to go home. I always look forward coming to work and saying, “Hi,” with a smile to all the guests. I will get the same greeting back from them. I like chatting with the guests and listening to their lives’ stories or even their days’ stories. I mostly enjoy seeing the volunteers who come every week and talking to them. Basically, they are my family here. I just love coming to the Center and giving hugs to all of them and catching up with their lives. The volunteers who come here to the Hospitality Center give their time to God and to help His children. They give up their social lives to come to Andre House to help those who are struggling and trying to get back on their feet. I have seen so much over the past years while working at Andre House. I have seen many smiles on the faces of guests who appreciate what Andre House provides, and on other days, I have seen the anger, the frustration and the lack of appreciation on the faces of the guests when they do not get what they want. Sometimes it hurts me to see so many guests who are not appreciative of Andre House. They don’t know how much time and energy we (the staff and volunteers) put into helping them, but I know why I am here… it is not for the appreciation of our guests, but because God sent me here, and He has faith in me to help them. Thank you so much to all the volunteers who come here and help us. Andre House has been the “best experience.” Working at Andre House has taught me to have patience with our guests, to have confidence in myself and in my faith in God, to have courage and say “no” when necessary,
to be a good listener to all the guests’ problems and stories, and most importantly, to see Jesus inside all of us (guests, volunteers and staff, alike.)

Thank you, Andre House, for opening my eyes to God and His Faith.
- HN

Another article

Here's the article that Kelly wrote. Kelly's real first name in Daniel, but he doesn't like it for whatever reason (just an interesting tidbit for you).

We like to give people, places and things nicknames at Andre House. The house where the staff lives is called “moms.” Our daily, morning meetings are called “plate” because the day’s responsibilities are written down on a paper plate and then posted in the office. One of our long-time employees, Joe, who opens the building each morning and is the go-to-guy for anything building-related – we appropriately call “Building Joe.” We call our men’s and women’s transitional houses “Polk” for short. Our transitional houses are an aspect of our ministry that many friends of Andre House don’t get to see. However, it’s a big part of what we do. We have two houses and invite 6 men and 5 women to stay with us. We stress community. All of our guests eat, pray and share with us in nightly chores. This transition into community life is, many times, the most difficult for our guests to make. Many guests come and go. We ask that they set personal goals for themselves upon entering our program and then conduct progress meetings
every three weeks. The length of a guest’s stay is irrelevant. Most of our guests achieve at least
some of the goals they set for themselves upon entering. If they achieve just one and are a step closer to their overall goal, we’ve done our job, even if they do so in a week or two.

Truth be told, the houses got the nickname Polk because they are located on Polk Street. However, as a history major, I like to think James K., our eleventh president, is there with us in spirit – alongside Brother Andre and our many other patrons. “Manifest Destiny” was the catch phrase during Polk’s presidency. God had already set the stage for an America looking westward. They looked west for something new. This desire for a change is what still brings many people to Phoenix. For many of them, it was destiny – something far outside their reach. This desire for a change is what brought two of our former guests, Frank and Mike, from very different places. In their cases, our program’s success is still being measured.

Frank and Mike were guests at the Polk House when I first arrived this summer. We got along well and became friends. I often found myself struggling with the fact that they were homeless. It bothered me. They were smart, capable people. They were a lot like me. I had a stigma attached to homelessness that I was unaware of. The meaning of the word changed entirely. Many of us picture a Norman Rockwell type scene with a man, in tattered clothing and finger-less gloves, hovering over a burning oil drum trying to keep warm. Those who have no experiences with homelessness rely on what they see on television or in movies – that, or it’s just numbers or percentages. Either way, it remains an abstract, and our mind’s eye paints an inaccurate picture. My struggle wasn’t in understanding these two people. The trouble came in understanding these two men as homeless individuals and changing my preconceived notions of what this meant. Simply put, they were regular people, who didn’t have a place to call their
own.

Frank and Mike both lived at CASS, a homeless shelter across the street from our building, in The Zone. They each found out about our program while talking to staff members during dinner. Based on appearance alone, there aren’t two more different people. For sake of a long, physical description, the only two similarities are: they are both men and they are both in their mid-thirties. They came from different parts of the globe as well: Mike is from rural Illinois, and Frank is from Kenya. However, they were both in very similar situations in their lives. Both of them came to Phoenix for a fresh start. They both: have a child that they love and that drives them to succeed, had long-term relationships with bad break-ups, like to watch and talk about sports, have a good sense of humor, are smart, easy to talk to and are all-around good people. In both cases, their relationship trouble was a major source of their instability. They’re both caught up in similarly difficult and complicated situations. They both would like to be a bigger part of their child’s life, but because of their situation, this has proven to be very difficult. However, with our help they were able to get one step closer to their goal.

During their stay, they were both ideal guests. They took pride in the houses and truly appreciated our being there. Since then, they have both moved on in a very positive way. Mike moved into an apartment in Tempe and is working at a job that he described as “ideal.” Frank is still enjoying his work at a local business and has an apartment to himself in Phoenix. They both join us for dinner occasionally and remain in touch.

These two men helped me realize how lucky I was. They helped me realize that without a loving family and a good support system, everyone could be a setback or two from homelessness. As a new staff member, I was in a transition very similar to theirs. While helping me redefine what homelessness meant to me, they also helped me rediscover family. I realized that our role of support was not only in providing a place to stay. We were their family, and they were now ours. We look forward to coming home from work to eat, talk and laugh with everyone at the dinner table. We look forward to having our extended family there to greet us. Polk was Frank and Mike’s home; the same as mom’s was now mine. Most importantly for me, my thinking changed and I, like James K., was now thinking more laterally. All most people need is a positive change to counteract the negative ones that got them here – something to turn the tide in their favor. When they are most in need, we are there. And it never hurts to know someone genuinely cares.

- KK

Another article

This time from Margaret, or "Bouf" as she likes to be called.

Whatever you did for the least of My brothers and sisters, you did for Me.
Matthew 25:40

Each Wednesday night Andre House reopens its doors after dinner cleanup for Artist’s Attic. Kurt Zampier and I have the pleasure of running this activity every week which allows guests to express themselves artistically. We have guitars, a piano, and a variety of art supplies for guests to use. We also provide desserts, coffee, and lemonade. Most guests join us to relax and
draw or paint while a few provide entertainment on the guitar or piano. Being a piano player for many years, I was eager to facilitate Artist’s Attic. I planned on serving these guests by providing refreshments, listening to their stories, and helping them in any way that I can. The first week for Artist’s Attic arrived, and I was excited to live out the quote stated above by serving the Christ that exists in each guest, however I quickly learned that it was I who would be served.

One person, TJ, was playing the guitar and singing popular songs. He was very talented, and we all recognized and enjoyed listening to his songs. After chatting with him for a bit, I mentioned that I wanted to teach myself how to play the guitar during my year here. He offered to help in any way he could and immediately started teaching me chords and short melodies. I took detailed notes so I could practice the chords at home. I left that night anxious to begin learning the guitar. The following week TJ returned and led me through another lesson. He taught me simple songs from bands that I like such as Metallica.

Now that it has been a couple of months since I’ve been here, the day to day duties are beginning to lose their hype. I’ve become tired at the end of each day and sometimes on Wednesdays, I just want to go home after dinner instead of staying late for Artist’s Attic. But once TJ sits down with me and the guitar, I become reenergized and my mood improves. I volunteered for Artist’s Attic intending to help others, but it was TJ, and other guests, who recognized a need in me and reached out.

I think helping me with the guitar is also beneficial to TJ. I estimate TJ to be in his thirties. He has a ponytail and pretty much looks the part of a rocker guitarist. He said that he is
diagnosed as S.M.I., severely mentally ill, and stays in a shelter at night. Teaching me how to play guitar allows him to use his creative talents constructively. His mind stays focused on teaching me, and I can see how excited he gets when I play a melody correctly. Because of all that Andre House offers to others, sharing his knowledge is his way of giving back. TJ is just one example of the many guests who have helped me daily in a variety of ways. Both the staff and
the guests truly live out the message in the quote from the gospel of Matthew.

Article

I thought that I would put up here some of the other articles that the other staff members wrote for our latest newsletter. Here is Kurt's-

I must begin by thanking God for giving me the opportunity to work here this year and what a privilege it has been to this point. The work here is very humbling and the abundance of
grace that surrounds the Andre House is inspiring. Whether it be serving the many people that use our services or interacting with our many volunteers day-in and day-out, the relationships that are beginning to emerge provide a comfortable and positive environment for my and our success and happiness here. It has really been a blessing to grow with my fellow staff members and come to fully understand the person that I am as well, which ultimately helps me grow. I have found that even though the work throughout a given week can be challenging due to our long hours, most always I am somehow reminded, through grace, that God is with
me and is taking care of me. One role I thoroughly enjoy here is coordinating a soupline.

I was given the chance to coordinate Tuesday’s soupline, which is spaghetti. With the help of our many regular volunteers I have truly found my niche here. No matter how many daily volunteers that come Tuesday, too few or too many, the meal always gets served. That is truly a testament to the dedication and hardworking mentality of our volunteers. The atmosphere I hope to provide on Tuesdays is one that is easy-going, welcoming, understanding, and hardworking. When you balance serious behavior with some humor, I have always found people to be relaxed and genuine. These people have become my extended family, and it’s been a blast so far. Learning their life stories and who they are allows me to learn each day. I might have already graduated college but the learning experience never ends, and for that I am very thankful. It is my constant effort to be aware of all that is present around me and how I may
benefit and learn from others. God has continued to bless me with this wonderful opportunity, and I hope that I am always appreciative of that and mindful of the chances I get. I hope to return all that I can from the abundance of grace that He has bestowed upon me.

I must extend a huge thank you to all of our volunteers and benefactors, because you continue to keep this place running like a well-oiled machine. Without your help, we would not be able to do what we do each and every day. I love what we are about and that is to love one another as God loves us, plain and simple. I continue to keep all of you in my prayers each day: in thanksgiving for your lives, your health and happiness, and that you may always be aware of God’s presence in your lives. I would like to share a prayer with you that I find to truly open my eyes and be thankful for all that it is that God has given me and us:

“My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.”
- Thomas Merton, “Thoughts in Solitude”

Goulash

I get the feeling that people don’t really have an idea of what goulash is. Goulash is the main dish that we make and serve on Saturday nights, the night that I run the soupline. Bottom line up front: goulash is glorified chili-mac. We make enough for 600 servings, so try to imagine the ingredient list before reading on.

40 pounds of ground beef
40 pounds of elbow macaroni
As many onions, carrots, celery, squash, mushrooms, peppers, corn, tomatoes, and other random vegetables as we can find
4 #10 cans of tomato puree (26.5 pounds)
4 #10 cans of tomato sauce (26.5 pounds)
Spices: ¾ c black pepper, 1 c garlic powder, ½ c oregano, 1 c salt, ½ c thyme, ¼ rosemary, ¼ c parsley, 1/8 c sage, ¾ c crushed red pepper

Think that you have a pot that can fit all of that?

Every now and then we’ll try something different. Last night I put a few pineapple bits in the goulash that the staff eats for “Hawaiian Goulash.” One of these days we’re going to try a white sauce instead of the regular tomato sauce.

Crackheads are people too

Our religious brother on staff here at Andre House, Richard, always gives the reflection for Mass on Fridays. He always does such a great job of it, but this week he had a great one that I felt the need to share. Brother Richard always brings me back down to earth with his spiritual teaching and this week was no different.

We go through our daily lives here and we deal with a lot of crap. There are fights in the street, drug deals in our parking lot (the police tell us that there is now some ruthless Honduran syndicate operating in our area), and in general a lot of trouble. As I have noted, it is easy to get cynical when seeing the same people do the same foul things every day. But despite all of this, Brother Richard reminded us in his reflection that these people- the violent, the addicted, the despairing- they are all people before anything else and they deserve our love and attention because of that. Every human life is more than valuable, it is priceless. I myself easily loose sight of that fact, so to hear someone remind me of it helps a great deal.

Nomination

Wednesday I was calling the congressional offices out here in Phoenix to get updated on the status of my nomination applications. Since I left West Point, I have to get renominated by a member of Congress. Since I am now a resident of Arizona, I applied to Senator Jon Kyl, Senator John McCain, and Congressman Ed Pastor.

So anyway, I was calling around to see why I hadn't gotten notification of interview times before the respective Academy Review Boards. Pastor's office said that they didn't want to interview me but would rather just review my application packet and probably give me a nomination. That was pretty good news. I next called John McCain's office. The staff person there told me that the review board looked at my packet and they too don't want to interview me. The difference is that they're just going to go ahead and give me the nomination because I've already spent two years at West Point. That was even better news! I don't have to interview or compete with anyone, I'm just going to be handed a nomination.

That’s one little hurdle out of the way in my efforts to get accepted at West Point [again]. Next I have to complete the West Point Admissions paperwork and take a PT test.

Today's reflection

I didn't sit down and write out a big long and well thought out reflection for today. While I usually type up something and then paste it directly here, I'll instead paste the Gospel reading for today and leave the reflection up to you. It's pretty easy to see- Jesus speaks directly to our work at Andre House. This is a great piece of encouragement for me.

From the Gospel of St. Luke:

On a Sabbath Jesus went to dinner at the home of one of the leading Pharisees. He said to the host who invited him, “When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or sisters or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they may invite you back and you have repayment. Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

The Great People Migration

Right now we are experiencing a bit of a natural phenomenon. Just as animals migrate, so do people. We call them “snowbirds.” As one of our staff likes to say, “there are rich snowbirds and there are poor snowbirds.” The rich variety have homes in Phoenix and then homes in a northern part of the state like Sedona or Flagstaff. During the summer, they live in the northern locations so that they can avoid the extreme heat of the desert areas. During the “winter,” they move south to their other houses for the warmer temperatures.

While the homeless don’t have two houses, they nevertheless move from north to south at this time of year. So at this time we are seeing a lot of new faces and all the new trouble that goes along with those new people. Most of our clientele we see on a daily basis and they all know how we operate (and the best ways to take advantage of us, but that is another subject). Our new guests have no idea what is going on and initially have a hard time accepting our rules, which are easy to misconstrue as asinine and unnecessary. Nevertheless, life goes on as it usually does.

Sunset

If anybody ever gets to come out here and visit, I now know one of the things that you need to experience before you leave- the Phoenix sunset. One of my housemates and coworkers, Hoa, and I went to South Mountain Park this past Thursday to watch the sunset. We didn't actually make it on time and ended up seeing the sun go down from the car, but we were up on the mountain for twilight and got to see the city at night. I have never professed being someone who likes cities (quite the opposite actually), but it was really quite neat to look out on all of it. It blows my mind to think that I was looking out on millions of people, all going about thier own lives.

What I need

For some reason, there are some people in my life that care for my well being. This is a mystery to me, but I find that I can put up with it. Just kidding, Mom.

I get questioned frequently about what I need for myself. I can say with complete certainty and confidence that I need absolutely nothing. This is not a way of telling people off, but rather a way of telling of how we live. Everything that we need is provided for us- a place to sleep, all the food we can eat, cars to use, medical insurance, work to do, clothing to wear, and one hundred dollars per month to play with. I view this as enough, and we are expected to live within those things that are provided to us by Andre House. It is part of our call to live simply and somewhat similarly to the lives of those we serve. I will admit that there are a lot of things that I would like (one hundred dollars goes pretty quickly), but there is nothing that I need.

But there are some things that you can provide for me and for Andre House. The most important thing you can do for us is pray. Pray for the Core Community, for our volunteers, for our benefactors, and for our guests. Pray not only for us, but for those around the country and around the world who do the same work in their own area. There are people that live in poverty and homelessness all over, and they all deserve your prayers.

Along those lines, don’t just focus your efforts on the needy here is Phoenix simply because it is where I find myself. As I said, there are poor and homeless people all over the country and world. A great thing to do is to focus your efforts and attention on the poor and homeless in your own area. It may sound naïve, but you really can help eliminate poverty by helping the poor in your hometown. I have heard one such story- a relative who has started to do just that after hearing about what I am doing, and that is a great thing.

If after all of that you still feel the need to send me something, homemade cookies are always welcome and appreciated. I could use a good backrub too.

Office

Our most frequented service is that of our office. It is the most visited because it is the one place where our guests can get a large number of services.

The big service that we provide to people is the use of a telephone. We offer local, long distance, and international phone calls to anyone who walks in the door. There is usually a waiting list for this, so a lot of the guests just have a seat in the semi air conditioned office and hang out. We use phone cards for the long distance and international phone calls. I’m always amazed at the variety of places that people are from and have family in, and the number of long distance and international phone calls follows suit. We do get a fair amount of international calls, mostly people calling their families in Mexico.

There are a bunch of other things we provide for the guests out of the office. We have cabinets full of toiletry items- shampoo, soap, toothbrushes, tampons, etc. We offer over the counter medications- Tylenol, ibuprofen, Tums, aspirin, multivitamins. We have first aid supplies available to the guests for minor injuries. We give out blankets in the office- a person get a blanket from us every two weeks if they choose. We also give out sleeping bags.

Another popular program lately has been our work boot program. Many times a person cannot get a job without work boots, the employers require them for the work they do. This is where we step in. If a guest can bring us either a pay stub from employment or a letter from an employer stating that they have a job pending the requisition of boots, we will give them a voucher to Payless shoes for work boots.

As you might have guessed, this can be a crazy experience. Sometimes there are seven or eight guests crammed into this small office room, and they all want something different, and they all want it first. Plus, whenever you give one thing to one person, everyone else within earshot wants the same thing (cough drops are the most popular in this realm). It can be an exercise in diplomacy and patience. You might be thinking that I am good at neither of those things. This is true and a hence a good thing that I am not scheduled to be in the office at all. I do it occasionally for other people, but not on a regular basis.

Community day

Every Friday, Andre House closes its doors and the staff takes the day to itself. We have Mass together, meetings, and then some sort of activity. In the evening we have more prayer and then have dinner together. This is the only time in any day of the week that the entire staff is present. When I first visited here, I wasn’t quite sure why Andre House denied all services on this one day, but now I realize just why we do. This day off (off from our guests) is crucial to keeping our sanity. Our work days are long and hard; one extra day would push us to the point of exhaustion. On Fridays, we get to spend time with each other doing something fun together.

We take turns planning the activity and today just happens to be my turn. We are heading to someone’s house to have our meetings, then we are going to barbeque and swim in their pool. It will be a nice change of pace for everyone, and I cooked up some stuff to eat. We are having pork kabobs, potato salad, strawberry pretzel salad, raw veggies, fruit salad, and drinks.

Other activities so far have been bowling, a tour of the state capital, going out to eat, bocce ball, and the state fair.

Today's reflection

We are surrounded by sin. We live in a world that seemingly embraces evil and forgoes a virtuous life in communion with God out of convenience or indolence. This is of course true in the environment we currently find ourselves, but it is just as true in every other part of the world.

Saint Paul reminds us today that the sin we encounter in our daily lives should be expected. As he says, a single offense brought condemnation to all men. That’s everyone that sits here today, everyone that we encounter today, and everyone we have no interaction with today. We, as human beings, are all subject to and destined for temptation and subsequent sin, and without repentance we are setting ourselves up for condemnation.

The degradation of moral and ethical values in our country is one way in which we see this manifest. Pornography is a multi-billion dollar industry. Faith and spirituality have been driven out of our daily and public lives by the decisions of politicians. Corporate corruption and scandals run rampant. Government organizations only seemingly go half the distance to battle illegal drugs and organized crime. And to quote a movie, one of the most dangerous things facing us is the indifference of good men. I can go on and on with this list, but that is precisely what we must not dwell on.

Saint Paul says, “despite the increase in sin, grace has far surpassed it.” We can spend hours describing the ways in which people fall into sin. We can get caught up in seeing the evil in our lives and the lives of others, but the salvation that has been granted to us is really what matters. How beautiful is this?
Just as one man’s actions condemned us all to eternal punishment in hell, another man’s actions brought each and every one of us eternal glory and salvation in heaven. That’s everyone that sits here today, everyone that we encounter today, and everyone that we have no interaction with today. We, as human beings, are all subject to and destined for deliverance and salvation and we must be sure to do all we can to be worthy of that salvation.

So the challenge we can get out of this is not to dwell on the sinful actions of man, but rather on the guarantee of salvation of man. Work toward that salvation in your own lives and help to bring others to the same.

"You trying to get something?"

The time sure is flying for me out here. In another week it will be three months since I left home.

So I sometimes sit down and prewrite some of these blog posts but I'm always looking for inspiration for something new to write about, something out of the ordinary. Today I got a bit of such inspiration.

There really is no good reason for a clean cut, semi well dressed white guy like myself to be walking down into "the Zone." The Zone is the popular nickname for the area where we work. It is a hotbed for drugs and where a lot of free services are offered to the homeless. Anyway, I decided I was going to walk to work this morning. I was almost at work when a guy who I have never seen before comes to me and asks, "you trying to get something?” I hadn’t thought too much about this happening but this morning I found myself being asked if I wanted to buy some drugs from this dude. So I opened my wallet to make sure I had enough money… just kidding.

I was a little shocked at first, but then I decided that I should do my best to make this guy feel terrible about the life he leads. I initially said no, then asked him, “just what exactly were you trying to sell me?” He says back, “I wasn’t trying to sell you nothing. I was just seeing if you needed something. You know- a hello, a goodbye, something like that.” I kid you not, that’s exactly what he said to me. I told him at this point that he led a really sad and disgusting life. He then saw someone who I would say is a regular customer of his and walked away from me. I continued walking and told him as we parted that I would pray for him.

Can you imagine?

So it probably isn't any mystery to anyone that I think a lot about the given situations that present themselves during any given day. Today I encountered an interesting one. There was a man who came to us during the two hours we were operating in the clothes closet. He wasn't one of the thirty that we originally took, but we were finishing up quickly and were able to have him come inside to "shop." I took his ID and went to put his information in our records. The one piece of information we write down is peoples' birthdays. This particular gentleman, Willard, was born in 1930. And so I got to thinking, "can I imagine myself as a 77 year old homeless man?" Living in the area I work can be rough and one wouldn't think an elderly person could survive for a long period of time. It’s sure not where I want to be at that age.

But their are some neat situations in which other people care for the elderly here. A few weeks ago while working the showers, a very old man came in to shower. He could barely walk and probably wouldn't have been able to clean himself well. It turns out that there are a few people that have adopted this guy as their "Pops" and one of these people came in and bathed him. That was probably the most selfless act I have seen in my time here. Even though we are surrounded by evil every day, there are shining examples of God’s presence.

Free spiritual thought for the day

This was taken from a book called "All Saints" that we frequently read from. This is, however, I have heard anything from it worth writing home about.

In a maxim [Saint Theresa of Avila] left for her Sisters she wrote, “Remember that you have only one soul; that you have only one death to die; that you have only one life, which is short and has to be lived by you alone; and that there is only one glory, which is eternal. If you do this, there will be many things about which you care nothing.”

A neat correlation

So I am reading this book called "He Leadeth Me" right now by a Jesuit priest who spent many years as a prisoner in the Soviet Union in the years following WWII. He talks here about his experience with crimminals. Make a few subsitutions into this passage and you're talking about my current experience.

The criminal world, the criminal mind, was something entirely new to me. It was at once horrifying and yet fascinating. For the first time I palpably experienced the power of evil and how completely it could overshadow the power of good. Good men, under the circumstances, were simply no match for those who would lie, steal, bully, beat, curse, or even kill without scruple. A man would have to give up everything that was best in him, descend to the level of animal instinct and passion and hate, in order to compete with these men or respond in kind. And even then he would be no match for them in raw physical violence or brutality. For these men were held back by nothing, they felt no restraint, they had grown accustomed to a jungle where the strongest and most savage ruled and the weaker managed to survive by unprincipled cunning. And what they did, they did openly. They were secure and unchallenged in the world they inhabited, a world with its own codes and rules and values as absolute as any “code of morality” ever devised. Yet totally perverted.

As I lived with men like these during the long years in the prison camps, I slowly learned that such initial impressions were not altogether accurate. Little by little, I came to understand that underneath their violent exterior and twisted moral code these criminals were men, too; men driven by fear, perhaps more so that most men, but still men nonetheless. Like all men they had had their share of hopes once; like all me they could be haunted still by memories- of family, of loved ones, of better times now lost, of opportunities missed. In a sense, they were men banded together in a world of their own out of the same basic drive men feel, out of the same need for a sense of belonging and of security, out of the same need to share a common goal and set of values- though for them this often meant revenge upon society. Understanding all this in later years never led me to accept or condone their actions in any way, but I did learn to pity them as human beings even as I feared them for what they were and what they might do. For the moment, however, in this prison car, all I knew was the fear; all I could see now was the worst side of these men, and I sat thinking apprehensively of my future among them.

Laundry

Every Monday, I am in the laundry room at the building. I give out numbers to ten people out in the line who want their laundry done. Those ten people then come inside the building with me. I give them each two numbered mesh laundry bags. They can stuff the bags full with their clothing and then give them back to me. I take the laundry out of the bags and into the washers, then to the dryers, then fold everything. The bags are numbered so I can keep track of what laundry belongs to who. The whole exercise takes between three and four hours, depending on how much laundry people give me.

I think anyone can see by the above description that Mondays aren’t a tough day for me. I have very little interaction with the guests, which is often the most challenging thing for me. I can just sit in the laundry by myself, turn on some music, and do my work. The alone time is always appreciated since I spend most of my waking hours with the members of our community and the guests. There’s nothing wrong with the time I do spend with them, I’m just more of a loner who enjoys some personal quiet time. And I know they’re going to give me a hard time about saying so. I also like to spend some of the spare time I get in the laundry room doing personal things. It's been a great time to work on my Congressional nomination packets and other West Point related work I have to get done.

More Q&A

So this was so popular last time, I thought I would do it again.
Q: What’s your favorite color?
A: It’s blue, but what does that have to do with anything?

Q: I’ll ask the questions here. What has been hardest thing you’ve done so far?
A: I’ll give a serious answer and a not so serious answer to that one- I’ll let you decide which is which. I had a hard time making myself pay a cover charge at this crappy bar we went to one night. If the people we were supposed to meet weren’t already in there, I never would have gave them my money. I have also had a hard time not spending my stipend within the first two weeks of the month.

Q: Any bike troubles lately?
A: Why yes, yes I have had some bike issues. Saturday when I was riding to work, the dumb thing just stopped going forward. And anyone who has studied physics can guess that when the bike stopped suddenly, I kept going forward. It is then needless to say that I had a little rendezvous with the street. Fortunately there were no cars in that intersection at the time.

Q: Who is the most interesting person you’ve met?
A: This is a good one. There is a guest that hangs around our place named Gilbert. Gilbert is s huge alcoholic and always comes to dinner drunk out of his mind. I met him sober (just once) and he is a good guy, but that was the only time I’ve seem him not wasted. I think he is some sort of reminder to me to be careful with the choices I make in life, because it’s not a far fall to where the other Gilbert finds himself. And no, this isn’t my sly way of telling everyone that I’ve turned into on alcoholic.

Q: What is one thing that people do that pisses you off?
A: I am inwardly frustrated at the complacency of some of our guests with their state of life. There are opportunities to move on and up in their lives, but they, for whatever reason, do not make the effort to take advantage of those opportunities. Something else that frustrates me is to see people piss away their lives by using drugs. That is precisely the reason they are where they are and why their lives are going nowhere. I realize that addictions are tough to beat, but again, there is help out there.

Today's reflection

Today we hear in the readings two of the arguably most well know stories from the Bible- the story of Jonah and the great fish and the parable of the good Samaritan. I think maybe there is just so much to talk about I have had a hard time picking just a few things.

Many people spend countless hours of their lives analyzing and deliberating over scripture to find out what exactly they need to do with their lives in order to inherit the gift of heaven. I always find this kind of thing funny. There are many places in the Bible where you can obtain evidence in order to draw some lengthy and complicated answer, but in the Gospel today, we get that answer plain and simple.

The man asks what he must do in order to obtain the gift of heaven. Jesus has him answer his own question. The man answers, and Jesus confirms, that we must “love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and love your neighbor as yourself.” That’s it. No thesis, no in depth analysis of countless Bible passages, no intense mental exercises, no debating required. Jesus tells us, through the lawyer, simply and exactly what we must do to obtain eternal life with Him in heaven.

That is the simple answer, but how that call by Jesus is lived by us is another thing entirely. The concept is simple, but the way that we fulfill it is not. Think about how much is involved in completely loving God and completely loving our neighbors. Then think about to what extent you do the things that show your love for God and neighbor. Or maybe a better way to look at it is to look at the things that do the opposite, the things that destroy your relationship with God and your fellow man.

To illustrate the point even further, Jesus conveys the parable of the good Samaritan. In the end, Jesus asks who was the neighbor to the man who was robbed. It was neither of the men of God, but in fact an ordinary person. This reminds us that all are able and called to act with compassion in the name of God, not just those who hold some sort of special title linking them to religious life. Jesus tells us that we must go and do as the Samaritan did, to live our lives in compassion and in service to others. I’m certain that this is the call the many of us here have heard and are answering.

And there is always a lot of talk around here of saying no, about how we must operate in the parameters of our schedule and the services that we make available to everyone. While adhering strictly to set rules and standards has merit, remember that there is some wiggle room in the system. The wiggle is called for by Jesus in his call to live with compassion. What we do has a certain amount of compassion, but we all know those cases in which we must provide more help and attention than we do on the average day. Say no, but remember that we must sometimes say yes to God and yes to our brothers and sisters.

The art of saying "no"

One of the things that I was asked when I interviewed here at Andre House was how I felt saying “no” to people. There are a lot of situations that we as staff encounter every day that require us to act almost contrary to the mission we try to fulfill. A simple example that can illustrate my point is handing out ice. Every day from 1300-1500 we offer ice to anyone who requests it and has their own container. At 1501, we stop offering ice. It is very important that we stick to this rule. If we go beyond that time window, there can be all sorts of conflict that arise. From day to day, a different person fulfills this duty. If I offer ice beyond the set time window one day, people are going to give the next person doing ice a hard time for not giving him/her ice at 1505. “The guy yesterday gave me ice at this time. Why can’t you?” It seems silly to some, but the guests can get very upset over this sort of thing. It is easier just to say, every day of the week, “we stop serving ice at 1500. You’re late so you don’t get any.” There can be exceptions to this, but it has to be a good reason. This is where our judgment comes in. Someone on the verge of passing out deserves some cold water. They also deserve to have the fire department come and check them out (the fire department out here operates the ambulances).

So how do I feel about saying no? This might come across as impersonal and uncaring, but I have no problem telling people that I can’t help them. This is mostly in the case of routine services we provide. For example, people come to us in the clothes closet an hour after we started. We will not make an exception for them. Most of the people we serve are here every day of the year and they know the way they operate. The fact that we won’t help them is not an issue of not caring on our part, but an issue of the guest not caring enough to get there on time. They know the rules we have in place and the times we operate. Most will not have a problem leaving empty handed because they were late, but word of an exception goes around quickly.

I guess another good way to think of this is giving change to a beggar on any random street in any random city. As soon as you give one person change, every person who saw you do that expects you to give them change too. Soon you are being mobbed by people asking you for change. That last part is a little bit of an exaggeration (and a reference to South Park), but you get the point.

There is, however, a certain balance that must be found concerning this. There are many situations in which we turn people away, but it is mostly only temporary. Most of the services we provide will be available the next day, and the one thing most of the homeless have plenty of is time. There are situations, though, that we can make exceptions. If someone comes to us nearly or completely naked, we will definitely help them out and get them some clothes, no matter what time of day. If there is a mother with an infant (there a few cases of this), I don’t think any of the staff would think twice about bringing them cold water, no matter what time of day.

Again, some of this seems heartless and cold, but respect for our rules is one thing that keeps our operation running smoothly.

Clothes closet

On Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays we offer clothing to our guests in the “Clothes Closet.” This is one of our more popular services. We are able to get thirty people through on each of these days. It all starts with people like you (e.g. anyone).

At any time during any day, people will bring donations to our door. Sometimes it is food, sometimes it is toiletries, sometimes it is something random. But most of the time, the donations that we receive are of clothing- shirts, pants, shorts, shoes, socks, underwear, etc. These donations get thrown into our freight elevator and then put into a pile in the basement where they are then sorted, put on hangers, and put on racks.

Upstairs in the actual Clothes Closet, the thirty people that are first in line come in (not all at once) and shop. The donations are brought into the room and the guests are able to look through what is there, pick out what fits them and/or what they want, and then they check out with a staff member. We make sure that no one takes more than what it allotted to them. We put limits on what they can take so that we don’t run out of clothing. Unfortunately, some of what we give out ends up being sold on the street, so that is another reason we don’t give any one person extra clothing.

This particular activity (which I do on Wednesdays) gets on my nerves a little bit. I think most of it is because it is the day in which I get off in the afternoon, so I’m not so motivated. It is also a time in which some of the guests want to make our lives difficult, so that taxes me as well. I just try and remember that we are giving them the help they need to get back on track in life.

Letter of recommendation

So I asked the Andre House director, Father Bill, to write me a letter of recommendation for my second attempt at a congressional nomination. Here’s what he came to me with last night:

Dear Senator X,

Greetings. This will serve as a letter of recommendation for Gilbert Coyle for nomination to be re-admitted into the United States Military Academy for the fall of 2008.

I can’t believe that Gilbert asked me to write this, knowing how much I dislike him. He totally “chickened out” of school and went AWOL, then came crawling to us to see if we would take him. I thought he was applying for admission to our men’s house- such was his slovenly attire and composure. Out of pity and a love for our poor brothers and sisters, we took him in and offered him a position on our “staff” (he honestly thinks he is a member of our regular staff, but we tell him that so that he won’t go off on us (again)).

Gib spends a lot of time lounging around at home and watching “Scrubs” and “W.C. Fields,” instead of doing something more productive. True, he has done a lot of cleaning and extra work around our building and houses, but I think he does this out of fear more than anything else. I’m told that his cooking skills have improved, though I am too frightened to eat the food on Saturday nights.

A good quality of his? Well, he takes a lot of pictures. Then again, so does my old “friend” Andy, but he totally stabbed me in the back a few years ago so he’s not really a good guy after all. Why he is still angry with me for winning the student body president position I’ll never know. Anyway, Gib takes pictures. Very big deal.

There you have it Sen. If his isn’t the worst application you have on your desk this year, go ahead and nominate him. Let’s see if he sticks it out this time.

Peace,
Father Bill
Director

PS: Dude, I was behind you all the way for President in the 80’s. What happened?

Very funny, Father Bill. Now where's the real letter?

A homeless night

It's hard to believe that I've been here for more than two months now. Time flies...

Last time I talked about some of our attempts at Andre House to live similarly to our guests. I wanted to take it one step further, go beyond the expectations. Here’s how.

The Central Arizona Shelter Service (CASS for short) operates shelter in the same area that Andre House is located. The very lowest quality of their shelter is known as the overflow. CASS will basically let anyone stay at the overflow, pending I’m sure that the person isn’t drunk, high, or violent. Most times, this is the only place someone can stay if they are new to the area and didn’t have a chance to get higher quality shelter with CASS during the day. Often times a new guest will come to us at dinner and ask where they can stay the night. Every time, we tell them to walk north on 11th Avenue, turn left on Madison, and the overflow shelter is the building with tons of people and a cop car out front. I’ve only heard stories about it, but I wanted to know firsthand what happens when someone new goes to the overflow.

What better way than to spend the night myself? So last night, I emptied my pockets except for my keys, ID, and cell phone, grabbed a blanket from our donation pile, and took that walk north on 11th and left on Madison. People start lining up for beds around 6PM, but I was walking in about 7:30. I just walked in and asked for a bed. They asked me some standard questions- name, social security number, how long I’ve been in Phoenix, employment, how long I’ve been homeless, drug addiction, alcoholism, SMI, health problems. I was able to get through that without them knowing I worked at Andre House, and they let me into the building. What I walked into I was not quite expecting. It was simply a large room. The were about 200 mattresses on the floor, mostly full, and then bunk beds all the way around the walls. The mattresses were all right next to each other, with a few foot-wide spaces here and there for walking. There was an outside area where there were probably another 50 people sleeping on the ground. There were also portable toilets outside, which were quite gross.

I grabbed a bed, put down my blanket, and just sat there and watched the goings on. My first observation was that nearly every person that was there comes to Andre House for services. My attempts at going semi-incognito failed miserably, as many of the people there recognized me, mainly as one of the guys at “that soup kitchen.” One dude had done some work for us during dinnertime and received a sack lunch for his help- he was selling the pieces of that lunch in the overflow. Another guy walked by me and asked if I knew anyone looking to buy some beer. In other words- did I want to buy some beer. This guy obviously didn’t recognize me, as we chase anyone off our property with any sort of alcohol.

There are always a lot of horror stories floating around about the overflow, but I can’t say that I feared for my safety at anytime during the night. But then again, if it is anything like Andre House at the overflow, there are good days and bad days- last night could have been a good night. I kind of half-slept, waking up occasionally to see who was up and at ‘em. Most of the people were sleeping peacefully. The one guy I was sleeping next to (literally next to) kept rolling over onto me, so I kept pushing him back onto his own mattress. I woke up at about 4:15, gave my blanket to someone who looked like they needed it, and came back to our building to make myself some breakfast.

I think I gained the knowledge I was looking for last night. I now know what exactly happens when we refer someone to the overflow shelter for the night. I also have a CASS ID card, so I can go back and do it again whenever I want to. I’m not sure that I will, I kind of like sleeping in my own bed.

The monthly cycle

Now before you make any judgments about this title, let me explain.

Many of the people that we serve here at Andre House are on welfare or some other sort of government program that gets them money at the beginning of every month. We see this as a cycle. At the beginning of the month, there are less people that come for our services, especially dinner. In case you aren’t making the connection, we see less people because they have recently received their government checks and don’t have the need to come to us. In the same fashion, towards the end of the month, we get a lot more business as people start to run out of money. Our numbers for dinner regularly go over 600 and there are faces that you don’t see at any other part of the month. Now that I’m finishing my second month here, I’ve witnessed this monthly cycle twice.

The other day while driving home from something (what exactly I don’t remember), I had a bit of a revelation. Our Core Covenant states that we live life in ways that match that of our guests. This means eating the same meals we serve, dressing in simple clothing that is often taken from donations, and only receiving a small stipend every month (among other things). The revelation was that the way we spend our money is much the same as our guests. At the beginning of every month we are one hundred dollars richer- we go out to eat, have nice stuff at home, go to movies, etc. At the end of the month, like we find ourselves right now, we can’t find enough change to get a cup of coffee. This is just like our guests, only I suspect that we generally spend our money on different things.

So in an attempt to bring us closer to the lives of those we serve, we often come closer than we realize.

Today's reflection

I wasn’t feeling inspired by today’s readings, so I thought that I would talk about something a little bit unrelated.

Sunday afternoon I was awoken by someone calling on the phone at the house. It wasn’t a usual call in that the person wasn’t asking about a place to stay or how they could volunteer with us. The call I got was from someone having a religious argument with his girlfriend, and he wanted some help. He wanted to talk to one of the religious staff, but he settled for me when he found out I was the only one around.

The first question I got was if we as Catholics read from the Bible. I was expecting to get something a little harder than that. I said that of course we did. Even though during Mass we read from a book that is called the Lectionary, all the readings contained in it are taken directly from the Bible.

He then put the girlfriend on to talk to me. Since she was the antagonist, I was expecting a tough question. But all she asked me was if I believed in Jesus. I was so surprised all I said was, “yes.”

While this exchange was not as intellectually stimulating as I was hoping it would be, it reminded me of the obligation we have to defend our faith. Whether it is on the street or at home or with friends, we must be ready and willing to speak about our beliefs as Catholic Christians. Part of being ready is to arm ourselves with the knowledge that is at the very foundation of what we believe. And so we have to ask ourselves how exactly we go about that. Mass and daily reflections as a staff are a good start, but hearing someone else’s thoughts on the faith only can go so far. We must keep ourselves educated on matters of our faith and internalize the beliefs that are our keystone. Others can help in this endeavor, but we must make the effort.

Contained in what Jesus tells us today in the Gospel is a call to action. We are called to hear the word of God and then to put that word into deed. And so we must ask ourselves- do we open ourselves to hearing the word of God in everything we see and do? Do we take up the challenge of defending the faith when it is presented to us? When we do identify God in these things, are we stirred to action? If we desire the gift of heaven, then we must do these things.

"So do you miss the Point?"

This was the question that I got from one of our Wednesday night soupline volunteers this week- do miss West Point? Now that's a good question.

After I was finished laughing hysterically, I told him that I really didn't miss it one bit. After all, most of my worst memories have happened there.

But then I actually thought about it, and brought myself to realize that I do miss certain parts back at USMA. And their all just little things that made life tolerable. Stuff like Father Wood’s sermon on Sunday morning, my old CS teacher making fun of himself for being a massive geek, staring down plebes, etc.

So what are some things that I don’t miss? The mess hall food is a good start. I also don’t miss having classes, drill, company athletics, wearing a uniform, having to shave every day, dusting the smoke detector for a SAMI, and other such retarded West Point stuff.

If I had so say that one thing I truly missed, it would be some of the friends that I made there. I’m trying to stay in contact and on top of the gossip, but you just can’t do that from two thousand miles away. I miss hanging out on Thursday nights having a cigar with my roommate Brett. I also miss the feeling of leaving West Point, which is one of the most euphoric things I’ve ever experienced.

I say all of this in good fun and high spirits. At the end of the year, I’ll be ready to go back and finish up my sentence and join the Army for real. Until then, I’ll keep my mind in the here and now, serving God’s people.

Core Mission Statement

I wasn’t feeling creative today, so I’m just going to paste from a document that I got from Andre House. It’s pretty self-explanatory. The Core Community consists of nine staff members. We basically do everything together- live, work, play, etc. This is our mission (and I didn’t write it).

André House Core Community Mission Statement

André House is a ministry of hospitality, which combines the gifts of many people to pursue community in the body of Christ reflective of the Reign of God. We blend traditions of the Catholic Worker and the Congregation of Holy Cross. We are dedicated to serving poor persons by living and working among them. In serving and welcoming we strive to foster peace in an alienated world.

We believe in a philosophy of personalism, which values the gifts of every human being and calls everyone to a creative personal response to the world in which we live. André House provides opportunities for all our brothers and sisters to share their gifts through direct personal contact. This exchange engenders understanding, justice, and compassion, and together we honor the God who dwells in all.

André House intends to serve the poor through its capacities to provide food, shelter, clothing, companionship and other service, while recognizing other’s freedom to accept these. In serving the poor we seek to learn from them. We strive to say with our actions: “Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.”

Many donors, volunteers, and neighbors cooperate to finance and operate André House. A Core Community of full-time André House volunteers resides together to live and work for a life of greater solidarity with the poor. This covenant expresses aspects of their communal life, which both challenges and brings joy, to give clarity to those members.

"The product of your services"

So if you told me that this morning I would be getting lectured by a Phoenix police officer, I might have laughed at you. But I also would have been wrong.

So I was outside in our parking lot as the morning "porter," and was happy to see that the Police were actually in the area. Not only were they here, but they were doing something. This was almost too much for me. Often times, we will call the police department because some dudes are beating the living crap out of each other on the street or someone is dealing drugs nearby. The last two times I've called or been with someone who called, it has taken at least 20 minutes to get a patrol car here. Once they do get here, the problem of course is no more, so their presence at that point is useless. If they do get here in a reasonable amount of time, they’re just pissed that they have to be here dealing with this particular group of people, so they don’t do much then either. You might be able to tell at this point how satisfied I am with the Phoenix Police Department.

So this morning they were working. One PD Sergeant, who seems to frequent the area, was supervising some volunteers to move out the shopping carts on the street. Some of the homeless keep carts with all their stuff in it, but a lot of the time the carts are for drug trafficking. So they collected most of the carts on the street and threw them out. This makes us happy and keeps the area looking good. It reduces the drug dealing a little bit and discourages people from “camping” out of their carts on the street. I went out to talk to this Sergeant, and he ended up giving me a lecture on how we need to be more involved in the upkeep of the streets (picking up garbage mostly). He said that all the garbage was only being encouraged by us ("the product of our services). Because we offer services to people, it is our fault that they stay on the street outside our building. If this sounds like it doesn’t make sense, that’s because it really doesn’t. The cleaning up the area part is all well and good, but we’ve been told several times that we have no right to be harassing people out on the street because it is not our property.

So I really didn’t appreciate this Policeman lecturing and talking down to me about how we are part of the problem here. I wanted to tell him that I thought the PD was doing such a great (terrible) job here, but I didn’t think that would help. Another person who works in the area and frequents Andre House told me that this Sergeant’s idea for cleaning up the area is closing us and the nearby liquor store down. Makes a lot of sense to me. Which brings me back to my original thought that the PD is worthless.

"So many lost souls"

As a staff member here, I was pseudo required to write an article for our newsletter that will be mailed out soon. This is what I wrote:

"Allow me to start by introducing myself. My name is Gilbert, you can call me Gib. I joined the new Core Community back in the beginning of August. I hail from Pennsylvania, so yes, I am having a hard time with the weather. Back then in my wonder years, I never dreamed that I would be working every day at a place like Andre House. So far, I have completed two years at the US Military Academy and I have had a good time with that. Even for the first year and a half of that experience, I never dreamed I would end up here. I like to do outdoors stuff- camping, hiking, shooting sports, fishing, whatever as long as it is outside. I love to have fun, so tell me a good, clean joke the next time we meet.

This past spring break, something changed in me. I spent my break in New Orleans working in a neighborhood called Lakeview. Lakeview was hit hard by Hurricane Katrina. Much of it was under twelve or more feet of water, but Lakeview is a very wealthy area and has rebounded quickly compared to other areas of the city. I came to realize a few things. First, the work I did inspired me to want to do service work on a more permanent basis, not just for one week. Secondly, if I was going to take a substantial amount of time to serve, I was not going to spend that time helping a rich neighborhood plant trees and shrubs in their town. I wanted to serve the neediest of God’s people. The details of my search are irrelevant. What matters is that I found a place that I felt right about. That place was Andre House, a place that we all have come to find something special about.

I have tried to keep a steady correspondence with friends, teachers, relatives, mentors, and the like. Recently, I emailed an old teacher from high school (if he is reading this, I mean absolutely no offense by any of this). I did so to ask for something, but also filled him on what was new in my life. I gave him the standard rundown on how we operate and the people we serve. He congratulated me on my decision and then made a comment that really touched a nerve in me. To paraphrase, “it’s sad how many lost souls we have in this country.” I am making the assumption that he was in general referring to the guests that Andre House serves. I know I have only been here for a short time and still have a lot to learn, but I felt the need to respond to his observation. I would like to share with you my thoughts on this.

First of all, I think the term “lost souls” is loaded and needs to be avoided. Christianity teaches us that there really is no such thing, that there is always a chance of redemption and salvation for everyone. To think that the poor and homeless throughout the country, the drug addicts, the prostitutes, the criminals, many of whom we serve, are “lost” is absolutely absurd. This is I would have responded pre-Andre House and how I would like to think I would respond now. But now that I am here, I feel it easy to see things as such, that many of the people that spend every waking moment of their lives in the zone just might be lost. It is compounded when you see a respectable person dealing drugs outside our property, a decent fellow drunk beyond comprehension, or parents with their newborn baby on the street. It is easy to get caught up in those moments, to think “don’t these people care at all for their lives, for their health and wellbeing?”. I have learned that cynicism can set in quickly.

This is all a trap, though. It is one of the many challenges that face us as servants of God’s people. These “lost souls” are at the very center of Andre House’s existence. It would be naïve and sinful for us to begin to think that any one of our guests is “lost.” At the same time, it would also be naïve to think that we can “save” everyone in the area. Nevertheless, if we can, like the Good Shephard, bring just one lost sheep back to the flock, we should rejoice and be glad. Sure, we serve dinner to anyone who is not drunk, high, or violent, but knowing that a simple meal might give one out of 300 or more people the will to move on with life is enough to validate our work. If one person in one year can get a decent suit in order to secure a job and a better life, than we should all be able to sleep peacefully at night. And at the same time, there is no good reason why we should not continue to try to give everyone a better life. So for the foreseeable future, Andre House will continue to do just that- provide for God’s neediest people here in Phoenix.

And so I would like to issue you all a challenge. Do not ever become a cynic when you come to Andre House. Do not be discouraged when you see the same guy belligerently drunk in the street at dinner time. Do not get down on yourself when you see a guest taking advantage of our goodwill. Let that be your motivation! Reach out to those people. See them as God’s children, your brothers and sisters. Work as often and as hard as you can to bring back the flock’s lost sheep, whether it be at Andre House or elsewhere. And always go with God!

To close, I would like to leave you on this occasion and all of those to come on a more serious note: Go Army, Beat Navy!"

Showers

Every morning and afternoon (except for Fridays and Sundays), we offer showers to whomever wants them. We will do about 15 showers in the morning and about 25 in the afternoon. The guests can come into the building, which is much cooler, to wait. There are three individual showers and each guest that gets a number is allowed ten minutes to shower.

We provide them with everything here. We give them a towel to use, soap, shampoo, conditioner, toothbrush, toothpaste, razors, lotion, q-tips, deodorant, hair gel, body powder, or whatever else we have and they might want. There are three individual shower rooms, including one able to accommodate handicapped people

As the staff person monitoring showers, there are a couple of things to do. We cycle the guests through, making sure they don’t go beyond their allowed ten minutes. We mop out the showers in between each use. We keep the toiletries stocked in the shower rooms and in the little office we operate out of. We make sure that no one is doing anything illegal or disturbing in the waiting room. We also offer all the said toiletries to anyone who comes and asks, regardless of whether they have a number to take s shower.This all sounds fairly simple, and most of the time it is. Sometimes it is interesting trying to convince someone that they have used their allotted time in the shower and they need to get out. Sometimes people leave amazing messes in the showers. Afterwards, the fun part is scrubbing and cleaning the shower rooms. You can’t wonder sometimes if one person can shed that much hair from their body in ten minutes!