In my previous post I wrote about some of the research I did about my topic which is homeless addicts. I found out that many people have stereotypes about homelessness. One of the most common stereotypes about homelessness is addiction. Most people assume that they choose to live on the streets, which for some could be true but 90% of that is false. Furthermore, I mentioned in my previous post about young people that become homeless addicts. It is discouraging but in reality, many older homeless addicts advise them to have a great life and not become homeless nor an addict. Additionally, in my previous post, I mentioned a woman who spoke about her past and current adversities. Now, she offers advice to young people to have a different life than her. My goal with this project was to help homeless addicts because it’s so sad seeing them struggle. I shared a picture of a group of teenagers that gave out pizza to homeless addicts. This act of kindness reminded me of a similar action I experienced before. I researched possible ways that the community and I could help with this issue.

This is the picture that I showed from my previous post and they inspired to do the act that I chose to do for this project.

There are many different types of organizations within our community. Since we are looking at two separate issues, homelessness and addiction, which are two individual problems, I needed to search for an organization that deals with both. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any; however, I found one organization that helps people with addiction which offers counseling and resources to support them. Many organizations or rehabilitation centers are not known. Even if these facilities aren’t the right resource for every case, there are tons of rehab centers that can be chosen from.

This is the picture of the place I went to donate supplies. (Not my photo)

On another side, I researched organizations that serve homeless people. One of the most known organizations is Project homes Project homes accept donations like clothes, food, and even money. They help give back to the community in so many ways, and for this project, I decided that the best way I could help is to collect supplies from some of my friends to donate. Even though it was not a drastic change, it is significant enough to start by donating the supplies I collected to Project homes. I enjoyed my experience of giving back and helping someone in need. The only thing that wasn’t a success was getting many people to help me collect supplies. Something I learned was that not everything seems like what it is and to never judge how someone looks or their stability. In general, this could be about me or anyone else, but to never judge someone’s situation, If you don’t know what they’re going through.

These are the supplies I collected from friends and family, including: hand sanitizer, disinfecting wipes, breakfast bars, and water bottles.

Looking back on my project, something I could’ve done better is spreading the word more on collecting supplies and reaching a larger audience. Moving forward, we need to remember to come up with different ways to help and to not lose momentum because a lot of people help and don’t continue helping.

The topic that I chose to talk about is Homeless people in Philadelphia going through addiction. I know that not everyone thinks that homeless people are a big issue in today’s society but I do think it’s a big issue. There are lots of people that need help, who do not seek the right support they need. This topic is honestly major to me because I start to get emotional whenever I see a homeless person using any substance. After all, sometimes I feel the need to help them because I can not even imagine someone I know or a family member using substances and being homeless. It is honestly hard being in their position, even though most people did not choose to be in that position, few were either born into a family that dealt with substances of generations or had a past trauma. I think this problem is important because it could help others understand that other people have different lives and that not everything is what it seems like and to not judge. A personal connection that I have with this topic is that I live nearby people who are homeless and that are dealing with addiction. My goal in learning more about this project is to have a better understanding of how and why homeless people go through that and how hard it is that way I could teach others who are ignorant or just don’t understand how important this problem is in our community. A goal I have is to talk to some different services that help homeless people that deal with addiction and give them an idea that could help prevent people from becoming homeless addicts.

*This picture shows a group of people who went out just to feed homeless addicts and help them feel loved and comfortable. That way they are able to help them get out of addiction.( this inspires me!) *

While doing some research I saw that this issue was significant because many people in Philadelphia are homeless addicts. Although addiction isn’t always the reason why you’re homeless, It could expand the problem that led you to become a homeless person and start using substances. It is important because the population of homeless addicts is growing so much that now it’s accessible for young people to find and use and basically ruin their lives and not being able to be someone important in life. Young people like myself need to listen because this is a serious problem for whoever is living in Philadelphia. A lot of people died because of substances. Homeless people die because of substance because they either do not get the right help or need to stay away from it.

A young homeless addict girl asking for help.

Something important that you should know is that half of the people that become homeless go through things like for example being pressured into doing something, and because of that, they are later on introduced to substances while living in the streets. Now that’s not always the case some are homeless because they were introduced to substance early in there lives and then because of that became homeless but what everyone should know is that not every person who is homeless are dealing with substance they are many other different reasons why they are homeless and that is a myth that needs to stop because everyone thinks the same that every homeless person is an addict. This has impacted my understanding of homeless addicts even more because I did not know that substance could be a tool to help homeless people to help forget about past experiences and or traumas. What I’m wondering now is how people do not understand that addiction isn’t always the reason why they’re homeless. I learned so far that although addiction is either part of someone being homeless most of time people become homeless for just things that the governments does which is raise the rent to an apartment that makes it hard for that person to even pay that breaks my heart because losing a home or even a job must be really difficult and I couldn’t imagine that happening to someone I know. I read this small biography about a homeless women and she talked about how she came from a family that are addicts and how she is trying to do her best in telling other people to stop trying or even try substances because once you try you become an addict and many other people like her are trying to advise young people to follow their dreams and not become a nobody because drugs could ruin the possibility of having a great future. Like why can’t they put themselves in their position? What I’m hoping to learn later throughout this project is why certain people have a stereotype mentality of how and what a person is, by the way they physically look, and also if homeless addicts feel ashamed by the way others look at them.

Trevor Noah inspired me to tell this specific story just because he mentions a lot of things about how not to mix culture with other cultures. He also talked about different challenges and situations that he went through that gave him a different perspective and also to not commit that again. In chapter 13, Trevor talks about how he became friends with this boy named Teddy. They were great friends and always were there for each other but they did illegal things when they were together but one day the police caught them but Trevor managed to run away and not get caught. I still think what Trevor did wasn’t right, but Teddy wanted Trevor to have a good life so he had his back. I know you might think, “what does this have to do with my vignette?” but it somewhat resonates with my story because Trevor and Teddy trusted each other and always had each other’s back. In my case, I knew and trusted some people from that church but they talked behind peoples’ or even my own back, meaning they aren’t trustworthy and because of the mistakes the people made, it was hard to tell if that is what we learned in church or not but I realized that they taught themselves that and brought it to church thinking it was ok when it wasn’t. I liked Noah’s writing style because although there is humor, you can still see the conversations he had with people in that chapter, and so that’s why I chose to do the same as he did. I decided to add a little humor, and I’m not sure if it sounded funny, but to me, I thought some parts of my story were. I also decided to use dialogue. The way I thought of telling my story to other people was by telling them how I felt in that moment by using a little humor and showing the conversation I had listened to, which I think helps the reader know what is going on and puts them in the moment. My vignette addresses one of the essential questions about identity because this story that occurred in my life gave me a different perspective of things and made me realize that I should never mix my two cultures but separately, they can help teach me things that help shape who I am.

Have you ever just sat on your couch and thought “what am I going to do while being stuck in quarantine?” Well that’s what I thought. Not that I don’t like staying home, but I needed to find new things to do. . I know everyone thought of the same idea. Since I was bored in quarantine I decided to become interested in different hobbies like Drawing, Cooking, and Music.

My online art class inspired me to start drawing. On one assignment, we had to analyze our favorite song. My teacher said “ what ideas can you come up with just from listening to the song”. I got really creative and started to think of bright colors and since the song was about letting go I started to draw things that demonstrate that emotion. Although I started drawing in art class, I began drawing outside of class whenever I was upset or had an idea. I think that’s really important because when drawing you can take out your anger or sadness by just drawing on paper. Even if I don’t show my drawings to others I’ll just keep that idea to myself and it’s still special.

During quarantine I started to learn how to cook. My mom would teach me step by step and I even tried to cook on my own. If I needed help, my mom would be there for me and tell me if I was doing something right or wrong..We usually made Colombian or Japanese food together. I already knew some of the fastest food you could cook is rice, Beans, chicken, pasta, and fish. I think cooking is an important skill that you would need to learn in the future because parents aren’t always going to be there to help. We need to learn how to do things ourselves.

Although I have listened to music and sang before, I never thought of actually dedicating Music as a hobby. During quarantine I started to actually find my voice range and the meaning of some songs that I could probably start singing. I thought singing is the best way to let out emotions about things either when being sad or happy.

During quarantine, I developed new hobbies that influenced my life, and that helped me become who I am. I’ll be sure to carry these new interests with me throughout my life.