Opportunity Center Week #4 - Jackpot and Cadillac cont'd
Today we got a "jackpot" delivery from Whole Foods, as Gwendolyn referred to it. Several boxes of pastries and packaged vegetables and dips, and multiple boxes of sushi. There was also an enormous box of really tasty red and green grapes. Because of the huge windfall, we didn't even regulate on the sushi... it was a complete free-for-all. After the rush, we still had tons of sushi, which we put in the fridge.
When I came in today I found that the computer lab had been set up, and people were inside using it. I was very excited and wanted to spend some time in there in case clients needed help. I told Gina, and she said it was fine for me to hang out in there. When I told her I'd also help Gwendolyn out in the kitchen if she needed it, she said it wasn't necessary and that she wouldn't need any help. I found that comment a little weird, since during the rush time, there's no way Gwendolyn could handle things alone. Anyway, one comment led to another, and eventually Gina went over to talk to Gwendolyn about how I will now be working in the computer lab instead of the kitchen, and that Stanford volunteers are not supposed to be helping her out because they work with the Opp Center and not Gwendolyn's organization, etc. It was all pretty unnecessary, and the episode made it clear to me that Gwendolyn and Gina had some issues. I could see that, since Gwendolyn seems a little hard-headed, much like the lady Thelma in New Orleans that was very set in her ways. Things seemed to be getting territorial at the Opp Center between the kitchen and the rest, but I assured Gwendolyn that she should just find me if she needed help.
The computer lab is really nice. The computers have fast Internet connections and they are set up nicely in a room with tables along all of the walls. In total there are about 7 machines, like a real computer lab. I hung out in there for a while, and told the people in there to ask me for any help they needed. But I was surprised to see that people knew what they were doing. I didn't get the sense that anyone who was using the computers needed any help/training, but I guess more investigation will be required to determine that for certain.
Cadillac was around so we started talking some more. He started telling me more about his family and his background growing up in Texas, which seemed pretty normal. He had a father that he looked up to and respected, lived in a house with brothers and sisters, etc. I don't think I got to understand how he became unhoused and living in Palo Alto. He mentioned that the land his family owned in Texas has an oil rig set up on it, and the oil company maintains the equipment and gives the family money for the oil extracted. Caddy gets checks every once in a while for about $22. That's really low, and I wonder if the family is being taken advantage of.
Continuing with the theme of spending money on unnecessary items, Cadillac showed me the paperwork for his novelty license plate, "OG Raidr", which he hasn't been able to claim because of unpaid parking tickets. Caddy has a trailer or some storage container attached to a truck, which is his main possession. He talked about how he has all of his clothes arranged in shelves in the trailer for easy access. He said he chooses to live in his car instead of with a sister and her boyfriend because if he goes there to charge his cellphone, they would make him pay part of the power bill. It's interesting how people living on the line economically pay attention to every penny of expense.
When I asked him about how/where he sleeps, he talked about a time when he used to sleep in the little corner behind a Carl's Jr. drive-through window. He joked that it was a good spot because he would get a wakeup call when people came through for breakfast. He now sleeps in a supermarket parking lot, where I presume he parks his vehicle. He said he had relationships with most of the workers at the market, who all know him and let him be. He did have to avoid a certain supervisor, however, that gave him a hard time. I wonder if homeless people ever get a good night's sleep when they're always on the lookout for someone harrassing them or telling them to move, since they have no property of their own. I wonder if they even know what it means to have a good rest.
As I was getting ready to leave I saw a long line outside the clothes closet. Apparently people were waiting to get winter coats that had been donated. The jackets were nice, hooded with the water-proof microfibre like material, and thick. They were all identical, black jackets. I smiled to myself thinking that the homeless in PA will all be wearing that jacket this winter, almost like a uniform for "Team Homeless." I wonder if they would respond to that idea with pride or shame.
When I came in today I found that the computer lab had been set up, and people were inside using it. I was very excited and wanted to spend some time in there in case clients needed help. I told Gina, and she said it was fine for me to hang out in there. When I told her I'd also help Gwendolyn out in the kitchen if she needed it, she said it wasn't necessary and that she wouldn't need any help. I found that comment a little weird, since during the rush time, there's no way Gwendolyn could handle things alone. Anyway, one comment led to another, and eventually Gina went over to talk to Gwendolyn about how I will now be working in the computer lab instead of the kitchen, and that Stanford volunteers are not supposed to be helping her out because they work with the Opp Center and not Gwendolyn's organization, etc. It was all pretty unnecessary, and the episode made it clear to me that Gwendolyn and Gina had some issues. I could see that, since Gwendolyn seems a little hard-headed, much like the lady Thelma in New Orleans that was very set in her ways. Things seemed to be getting territorial at the Opp Center between the kitchen and the rest, but I assured Gwendolyn that she should just find me if she needed help.
The computer lab is really nice. The computers have fast Internet connections and they are set up nicely in a room with tables along all of the walls. In total there are about 7 machines, like a real computer lab. I hung out in there for a while, and told the people in there to ask me for any help they needed. But I was surprised to see that people knew what they were doing. I didn't get the sense that anyone who was using the computers needed any help/training, but I guess more investigation will be required to determine that for certain.
Cadillac was around so we started talking some more. He started telling me more about his family and his background growing up in Texas, which seemed pretty normal. He had a father that he looked up to and respected, lived in a house with brothers and sisters, etc. I don't think I got to understand how he became unhoused and living in Palo Alto. He mentioned that the land his family owned in Texas has an oil rig set up on it, and the oil company maintains the equipment and gives the family money for the oil extracted. Caddy gets checks every once in a while for about $22. That's really low, and I wonder if the family is being taken advantage of.
Continuing with the theme of spending money on unnecessary items, Cadillac showed me the paperwork for his novelty license plate, "OG Raidr", which he hasn't been able to claim because of unpaid parking tickets. Caddy has a trailer or some storage container attached to a truck, which is his main possession. He talked about how he has all of his clothes arranged in shelves in the trailer for easy access. He said he chooses to live in his car instead of with a sister and her boyfriend because if he goes there to charge his cellphone, they would make him pay part of the power bill. It's interesting how people living on the line economically pay attention to every penny of expense.
When I asked him about how/where he sleeps, he talked about a time when he used to sleep in the little corner behind a Carl's Jr. drive-through window. He joked that it was a good spot because he would get a wakeup call when people came through for breakfast. He now sleeps in a supermarket parking lot, where I presume he parks his vehicle. He said he had relationships with most of the workers at the market, who all know him and let him be. He did have to avoid a certain supervisor, however, that gave him a hard time. I wonder if homeless people ever get a good night's sleep when they're always on the lookout for someone harrassing them or telling them to move, since they have no property of their own. I wonder if they even know what it means to have a good rest.
As I was getting ready to leave I saw a long line outside the clothes closet. Apparently people were waiting to get winter coats that had been donated. The jackets were nice, hooded with the water-proof microfibre like material, and thick. They were all identical, black jackets. I smiled to myself thinking that the homeless in PA will all be wearing that jacket this winter, almost like a uniform for "Team Homeless." I wonder if they would respond to that idea with pride or shame.
posted by Neil Patel at 7:41 AM
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