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Lessons from the Homeless
Skid Row, located in the downtown area of Los Angeles, encompasses several city blocks that are notorious for drug dealings, gang infractions and general lawlessness. Never did I think I would spend three days living there. But I did exactly that as I worked and slept at the Union Rescue Mission for three days with several peers from my high school. The Union Rescue Mission is a huge building in the heart of Skid Row that houses hundreds of homeless people and serves thousands of meals each day.
Most of my time at the Mission consisted of food service, working in the kitchen and serving meals. After donning an apron, hairnet and gloves, I was fit to work. Immediately, I would start my duties, which often included working on the serving line and dishing out food with rapid intensity as crowds cycled through. In between meals and the four sittings for each meal, I cleaned up the dining room and worked in the kitchen.
One morning, I peeled hundreds of shrimp for a seafood gumbo. As a kosher vegetarian, I barely even knew what shrimp looked like, but with time, I got my technique down and became an expert at processing this formerly foreign food.
Aside from working indoors, this trip also included the opportunity to experience Skid Row and hear about the difficulties endured by the homeless. I received a tour of the area, in which I saw the trash-infested streets and the numerous small businesses that line them. I was surprised to even witness a cocaine deal in broad daylight, epitomizing the normalcy of lawlessness.
Throughout the experience, I also heard personal accounts from several former homeless people. One woman stated that she was raped seven times while living on the streets of Los Angeles. Another woman explained that she grew up in a middle-class family but started to experiment with narcotics early in her teenage years. Before she was 20, she already had a $500-per-day tab to pay for the numerous drugs she used. One man emphasized that “drugs do not discriminate,” as he had been an heir to a multi-million-dollar fortune, but his life fell into shambles after both his parents died while he was a teenager. He managed to graduate college and find work as an accountant, but soon he became addicted to methamphetamines; by an act of God, he was brought to the Union Rescue Mission.
Homeless people are often ignored in our society, but as I have seen firsthand, if you treat them as humans, there is much to be learned.
 Jeffrey E. Rollman recently spent a semester abroad in Israel. He lives in Los Angeles and likes running cross country, politics, reading and weight lifting. He’s also a member of the JVibe Teen Advisory Board.
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