It’s on evenings like these that I realize how fortunate I am to have a roof over my head, a warm dry bed and a hot meal at the end of the day. After two days of rain (and the end doesn’t seem to be in sight yet) I am starting to feel like I’ve returned to the reliably wet weather of Providence. Yet despite the rain, Sarah, Jane Sullis, a few Santa Sabina volunteers and I geared up and made our way into the city to help out at the St. Vincent de Paul Society in Sydney.
More fondly referred to as “Vinnies,” the organization is a lay Catholic organization that “aspires to live the gospel message by serving Christ in the poor with love, respect, justice, hope and joy, and by working to shape a more just and compassionate society.” But Vinnies is more than just this mission statement –arriving at the center I was amazed by the number of programs that it offers (over 30!), ranging from disability and drug and alcohol rehab services to prison visitation, tutoring for refugees, and youth programs. It also hosts a variety of educational programs for the public; their most recent event, “Vinnies CEO sleepout,” brought almost 1,000 Australian business leaders together to spend a night on the streets to experience the challenges of homelessness. If that doesn’t inspire powerful business leaders, I don’t know what will!
Tonight the volunteers and I arrived in time to help with dinner at the men’s shelter, which meant donning aprons with nametags and walking up and down the rows of tables, gathering finished plates and getting the chance to converse with some of the members. Although I had the same initial hesitant reaction as yesterday when we first arrived (Where to start? Who to talk to? What to say?), I knew from previous experience in soup kitchens that if you felt a bit anxious, jumping in with a positive and enthusiastic attitude is the best answer. Making eye contact and smiling as I moved along through the tables, I realized just how much more personal the problem of homelessness was –here were faces of real people to associate with this social problem. And like any other person, these men loved to chat! As soon as I began talking to one of them, he picked up my accent and asked if I was American or Canadian (“eh?”) which became a great conversation starter as they all began asking about the sports teams, current events, New York City (seems to be a popular subject here) and even who was on the five-dollar bill! Although physically I was simply clearing plates and refilling breadbaskets, these conversations were more meaningful than that. After we left, I realized changed happened on both ends –by the time we finished cleaning, my uncertainty had diminished while these men, who before had sat side by side at the tables without much interaction, were now engaged in conversation (about American politics, of all things!) And although we were a bit disappointed when we realized our umbrella had gone missing as we went to sign out (I hoped that someone who needed it more could make use of it!), I felt satisfied after being able to simply sit and talk with these men who just wanted some company.
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