Atlanta: Day 2 - Monday

Today was awesome in more ways than words can describe. We started out the day by getting up around 7:00 (yes, a.m.… keep in mind that’s 6:00 Lawrence time). We were supposed to meet at the Atlanta Center for Self Sufficiency career center. However, because of a slight mishap with the GPS (I swear, Garmin is the devil), we didn’t get there until about 8:30. We were met at the door by Allison, a director at the center, who led us through orientation and told us a little about the programs they offer. There’s an application process to get into the program. Once you’re in the program, the center will provide a permanent address for you so that you can apply for jobs freely (it doesn’t actually provide a home for you, just an address for you to give employers). All work-related mail is sent to the center and sorted into slots. We were also taken into a back room full of shelves, labeled with the names of the people going through the program at that time (which is usually around 30, but this time it was 50 because the center has been closed for the past few weeks). On these shelves are garbage bags full of the participants’ belongings, so that they don’t have to carry them to job interviews. This amazed us, because it was something we had never thought about before… but how would it look if you walked into a job interview carrying a trash bag of your belongings? Although there shouldn’t be, there would definitely be a stigma attached to knowing that the person you’re interviewing is homeless. Which is paradoxical, because obviously, if a person is homeless, they need the job more than someone else might.

Anyways, I’m getting off topic. Allison also showed us their clothing closet, which I ended up working in today. They provide mostly professional clothes (again, for job interviews), but while I was sorting, I also saw pajamas and underclothes. Another thing I noticed while sorting was the discrepancy between the sizes donated and the sizes needed. After discussing it with Ms. Walker (the woman I was working in the clothing closet with), I summed it up to this – people tend to donate smaller clothes (most likely because they’ve grown out of them), and the homeless population tends to need larger clothes. This last part is somewhat paradoxical as well. I once heard someone say “I’m skinny because I can afford to be.” This didn’t make much sense to me, but after this trip, it’s become clear to me that being hungry doesn’t necessarily equate to being skinny. It makes sense though, when you think about it. If you’re hungry, you’re going to eat the most food you can, for the least amount of money. This would basically leave fast food. I find it extremely unsettling that it costs so much money to eat a healthy diet. But, come on, who would spend two bucks on a cucumber when they could get a Big Mac?

Off topic again! More on this later. We’re off to dinner with a couple from the church who’s cooking us dinner… seriously, people. Southern hospitality. We need some of this in Kansas!