Opportunity Center Week #3 - Cadillac
Today was another very busy day in the kitchen. It now is clear that Whole Foods does a regular delivery during my shift, and that draws a rowdy mob to the window. Most of the clients know that the food's coming in so they hang around, waiting.
Typically Whole Foods gives us several boxes (about 2 hauling cart fulls) of pastries, packaged fruits and vegetables, dips, and soup, as well as fruit on occasion, and of course, sushi. We lay the pastries out on large cookie sheets for people to just come and pick up. Sushi is dealt out by us by hand, since it is a hot ticket item and we want to prevent hoarders. Each person only gets a single sushi pack. One lady asked if the fish on her sushi could be cooked in the microwave. Although it seemed to work, the kitchen ended up smelling for a while. We decided to not make a habit of cooking people's sushi for them.
Today I got to spend some time with Cadillac, who had dropped into the center. I first met Cadillac a couple weeks ago at a Night Outreach event on campus, called "dinner with the homeless." Dave "Cadillac" Wormley and a few other local unhoused individuals came in and gave their stories about what it meant to be homeless. Caddy asked a series of interesting questions to us (the students) including "what would you do if you were homeless right now?". The best I could come up with was to contact friends/family near whereever I was for immediate help. In the medium term, I would stay with a family member until I found a job, which would be my first priority since it will allow me to get on my own two feet.
The other big idea he brought up was that he wanted to set up a system to connect unhoused but skilled people like himself with potential employers. For example, Caddy is a bicycle repair expert, and he would like to publish that for private or business people to see. The group brainstormed about potential solutions, and we considered the idea of possibly designing a web-interface, as well as working with Craigslist. Another volunteer, Dawn, was really enthusiastic about making it happen, so she and I will begin a needs-finding investigation to see if we can come up with a solution that works for the local unhoused individuals (as well as potential employers).
Anyway, Cadillac was there today during my shift, so we starting talking about what's been going on with him. One thing I noticed immediately was that he seemed different than he did at the dinner, where he seemed a lot more formal and proper. At the Opp Center, where he's in his element, he was much more loose and open. We talked about his cell phone, which he really seems to prize. He recently purchased a headset for it, which he was proudly sporting, and talked about how he wanted the wireless kind but couldn't afford it. Although it seemed to me that he wanted to buy it anyway. He also showed me all the features on his cell phone, where he has subscription to ESPN content. He can view all kinds of sports stats, news, and even video highlights all on his phone. I thought this was all crazy given that he doesn't even have a home, but I held back my judgements. The easy reaction is to call Cadillac wasteful of his resources since he's poor and should have better uses for his money. But I think it comes down to human nature. Rich and poor, all people are irrational to some extent, lack discipline. I think that Cadillac having sports on ESPN or buying beer (which he had in his bag) are just ways for him to feel more normal or satisfy his own guilty pleasures/psychological needs. I think he's smart enough to know when to draw the line, so I think it's ok.
He also talked about his family, which seems pretty big. Most of it is back in Texas, where they even own property that his father had passed down. He spoke about his family and his father with a lot of pride. It also was apparent that Caddy is a pretty intelligent guy. His nickname "Cadillac" comes from the fact that his father drove one and so did he, and he knows a lot about cars in general. He also knows a lot about bicycles. Currently he is working as a bicycle repairman, from what I understand. He's been fixing bikes for 30 years, and it is clear that he knows what his stuff. I take him to see my bike and suggest improvements. He talks about re-painting it and also ways to get a chain guard on it, which I was told by the bike shop was impossible without paying a lot of money. I hope I get a chance to get Cadillac to work on it for me.
I hung out with Michael for a while. He's just a quiet guy who everyone seems to respect. He also seems really smart, almost like he's educated but just decided not to try in life. When I ask Michael where Rodney is, he tells me that he had broken parole earlier and was now back in jail. I was taken aback by that a little. This was a guy working with me, and though I thought he was a little shady, found him to be pretty nice and would probably have trusted him. Apparently he got caught stealing.
While me and Michael are talking, an older guy in a wheelchair named "Quasar" comes up and starts chatting with Michael. Quasar has a boombox and is playing some 60s Temptation-style music. Really nice stuff. It looks like he records radio onto a cassette for his own use, something I used to do a lot when I was young. Anyway, he has this song that Michael's "just got to hear" by the Dramatics. I don't remember the song's name, but it was really nice. I throw in that the Dramatics did a song with Snoop Dogg once, "Doggy Dogg World". Michael doesn't believe me, but we get it verified by someone else.
Typically Whole Foods gives us several boxes (about 2 hauling cart fulls) of pastries, packaged fruits and vegetables, dips, and soup, as well as fruit on occasion, and of course, sushi. We lay the pastries out on large cookie sheets for people to just come and pick up. Sushi is dealt out by us by hand, since it is a hot ticket item and we want to prevent hoarders. Each person only gets a single sushi pack. One lady asked if the fish on her sushi could be cooked in the microwave. Although it seemed to work, the kitchen ended up smelling for a while. We decided to not make a habit of cooking people's sushi for them.
Today I got to spend some time with Cadillac, who had dropped into the center. I first met Cadillac a couple weeks ago at a Night Outreach event on campus, called "dinner with the homeless." Dave "Cadillac" Wormley and a few other local unhoused individuals came in and gave their stories about what it meant to be homeless. Caddy asked a series of interesting questions to us (the students) including "what would you do if you were homeless right now?". The best I could come up with was to contact friends/family near whereever I was for immediate help. In the medium term, I would stay with a family member until I found a job, which would be my first priority since it will allow me to get on my own two feet.
The other big idea he brought up was that he wanted to set up a system to connect unhoused but skilled people like himself with potential employers. For example, Caddy is a bicycle repair expert, and he would like to publish that for private or business people to see. The group brainstormed about potential solutions, and we considered the idea of possibly designing a web-interface, as well as working with Craigslist. Another volunteer, Dawn, was really enthusiastic about making it happen, so she and I will begin a needs-finding investigation to see if we can come up with a solution that works for the local unhoused individuals (as well as potential employers).
Anyway, Cadillac was there today during my shift, so we starting talking about what's been going on with him. One thing I noticed immediately was that he seemed different than he did at the dinner, where he seemed a lot more formal and proper. At the Opp Center, where he's in his element, he was much more loose and open. We talked about his cell phone, which he really seems to prize. He recently purchased a headset for it, which he was proudly sporting, and talked about how he wanted the wireless kind but couldn't afford it. Although it seemed to me that he wanted to buy it anyway. He also showed me all the features on his cell phone, where he has subscription to ESPN content. He can view all kinds of sports stats, news, and even video highlights all on his phone. I thought this was all crazy given that he doesn't even have a home, but I held back my judgements. The easy reaction is to call Cadillac wasteful of his resources since he's poor and should have better uses for his money. But I think it comes down to human nature. Rich and poor, all people are irrational to some extent, lack discipline. I think that Cadillac having sports on ESPN or buying beer (which he had in his bag) are just ways for him to feel more normal or satisfy his own guilty pleasures/psychological needs. I think he's smart enough to know when to draw the line, so I think it's ok.
He also talked about his family, which seems pretty big. Most of it is back in Texas, where they even own property that his father had passed down. He spoke about his family and his father with a lot of pride. It also was apparent that Caddy is a pretty intelligent guy. His nickname "Cadillac" comes from the fact that his father drove one and so did he, and he knows a lot about cars in general. He also knows a lot about bicycles. Currently he is working as a bicycle repairman, from what I understand. He's been fixing bikes for 30 years, and it is clear that he knows what his stuff. I take him to see my bike and suggest improvements. He talks about re-painting it and also ways to get a chain guard on it, which I was told by the bike shop was impossible without paying a lot of money. I hope I get a chance to get Cadillac to work on it for me.
I hung out with Michael for a while. He's just a quiet guy who everyone seems to respect. He also seems really smart, almost like he's educated but just decided not to try in life. When I ask Michael where Rodney is, he tells me that he had broken parole earlier and was now back in jail. I was taken aback by that a little. This was a guy working with me, and though I thought he was a little shady, found him to be pretty nice and would probably have trusted him. Apparently he got caught stealing.
While me and Michael are talking, an older guy in a wheelchair named "Quasar" comes up and starts chatting with Michael. Quasar has a boombox and is playing some 60s Temptation-style music. Really nice stuff. It looks like he records radio onto a cassette for his own use, something I used to do a lot when I was young. Anyway, he has this song that Michael's "just got to hear" by the Dramatics. I don't remember the song's name, but it was really nice. I throw in that the Dramatics did a song with Snoop Dogg once, "Doggy Dogg World". Michael doesn't believe me, but we get it verified by someone else.
posted by Neil Patel at 11:50 PM
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