Author: Young Judaea
Blast from the Past – Naomi Solkowitz – AWB New Orleans 2013
My name is Naomi Solkowitz, I’m from Maryland and I’m National Mazkira (President) of Young Judaea. This was my third year on Alternative Winter Break New Orleans, and what a trip it has been. From helping out Ms. Debra in a community Garden to installing energy efficient light bulbs, I know we might not have changed the whole world, but we changed someone’s world.
During the course of the trip we discussed the controversy of poverty vs. privilege and the reason we came to New Orleans. On the first night of the trip, we discussed whether we were on a “Katrina tour” acting as bystanders, or if we were in NOLA to make a difference. Remembering the personal stories of the people we helped, we saw how our hard work was genuinely appreciated and truly made a difference.
As my third year of AWB comes to a close, I realize the incredible impact it has had on me as an individual. AWB has taught me how I can come to a new place, learn to love it, and strive to make a difference. With only eight months to go until Young Judaea’s Year Course, I hope to carry this lesson with me to Israel. I know that wherever I go on Year Course, the lessons that I have absorbed from AWB will always resonate within me.
Throughout my life I will always be reminded of Warrenetta, Volunteer Coordinator at the Lower Ninth Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development, and her wisdom. She shared with us a lesson that she learned from Katrina; that hope is what holds a community together. My experience on AWB has led me to always want to be a leaderof a community full of hope and inspiration. As the National Mazkira of Young Judaea I want to congratulate the teen and staff leadership for putting together such a powerful program that speaks so effectively to Young Judaea’s core values and mission.
~ Naomi Solkowitz is currently a Junior at SUNY Binghamton and staff member at Tel Yehudah
A Local Perspective – Sophia Fisher
During lunch there was a homeless man on a bench playing guitar and singing. When lunch was he came over to our group and he began to play and sing for us. He went on to tell us how just a few months before he taught himself how to play guitar. One thing that really touched me was this mans connection to Gd/Jesus. The fact that this man was living on the streets of Santa Monica, just himself and his guitar, and still had a smile on his face was astonishing to me. I know that if I was in his position there is no way that I would have such optimistic view on my life. Even though he happened to have a strong connection to Jesus rather than God, I found his religious views and values very inspiring. I found it moving how he used his passion for music and religion to keep a constant smile on his face. I just don’t understand how anyone could seem so happy living under such seemingly horrible conditions. I found that a small portion of the homeless community that we came across happened to be content with how they live. I live in Los Angeles and was still in awe at the amount of homeless people that we were able to meet and see in just in one community.
~ Sophia Fisher is an 11th grader from Los Angeles
Short Vs. Long Term – Raviv Cohen
Today’s experience of meeting with police officers and learning about the homeless in Santa Monica was interesting to see. Specifically, how homelessness and mental illness is practically handled in a police force. We had discussed with two officers the department’s policies and actions they perform during calls, I felt fascinated by the conversations we were having. We would ask questions like: when to shoot a gun, how mental illness training is used in the force, and difficulties when dealing with different types of people, particularly on skid row. I enjoyed seeing my peers, challenging and having open, thought provoking discussions with police officers. Said discussion sparked a lot of questions within me and it impacted me to then go on the streets and talk to homeless people. I was expecting to hear emotional stories that would change my perspective on homelessness and that is what I got, but I didn’t feel real change. I felt like we were working in the short term rather than the long and giving out food and listening to stories. Although I felt like we were working in the short term, I hope that this trip will surprise me further and change my perspectives on community service.
~ Raviv Cohen is a junior from Seattle, Washington
A Texans Point of View – Jennifer Greenspan
On the third day of Hannukah, we attended the Santa Monica Police Department. We traveled downstairs to a room that they described as the “squad room.” Being from Texas, I felt uncomfortable talking about gun usage and weapons. In a state that does not normalize this type of behavior, I believe it made it easier for the Santa Monica police to talk about gun usage.
At one point, the officer asked me “how many guns do you think I have in my house?” I responded honestly that I didn’t know. When everyone else in the group seemed to know that a person would not have a gun in their home, I was taken aback at the difference between me, a Texan, and the other kids on the program. It began to occur to me that the questions everyone had (or didn’t have) were unlike the questions I would ask. Even if I did not agree with the situation, I would believe that a college student was carrying a gun on campus. Most other kids on this program would think this was very strange and rarely ever heard of gun usage on their campuses or even in their state. Although I was more educated on this topic, my feelings towards the subject were not similar to the other AWB participants.
~ Jennifer Greenspan is an 11th grader from Dallas, Texas.
Yearning to Make a Difference – Sylvia Atwood
The first day of Alternative Winter Break, to me, served as an introduction into the major homeless problem that LA faces. We met with a police officer who was a liaison for the homeless community in Santa Monica to help them get off the streets. While we learned a lot about the police force and their role in the lives of the homeless community of Santa Monica from Officer Holloway, I was expecting, or hoping for, a stronger sense that I had made a difference.
It was not until after lunch when a small group of us were handing out our leftover sandwiches to homeless in the park that it seemed we were actually taking action. However, even that was incredibly short term experience and we didn’t do anything to help stop the vicious cycle of homelessness we had learned so much about. I very much enjoyed the conversations we had with some of the people we encountered on the street. Someone who specifically stood out to me was a man named David who used be homeless and now lived in an apartment. What amazed me was that he now devoted much of his time to helping other homeless people do the same.
Another man we met had actually been arrested and sent to jail by Officer Holloway but still had a playful relationship with him because he appreciated and recognized the officer’s good work and the effort he put into looking out for the homeless. While today I did learn a lot about the interesting nuances of the police’s relationship with the homeless community, I am looking forward to taking more action in these problems and making a difference in some people’s lives on the rest of the trip.
~ Sylvia Atwood is an 11th grader from Wilmington, NC.
Three Questions – Rachel Powell
This is my fourth year participating in alternative winter break, my third year in Los Angeles. I have met many PEOPLE. I put an emphasis on the word people because if I have learned anything I have learned that the homeless community consist of people just like you and me that have just experience a different series of life events.
Monday we focused on the homeless community, a community I continue to be fascinated by. I am the kind of person that is never afraid to ask questions. I asked three questions that really changed and effected my experience on Monday. The first question was to a LAPD police officer. I asked him if there was separate training on how to respond to people when working on skid row, a 54 block homeless community in LA. Last year on AWB we visited skid row and ever since then it has been very important to me to keep up on the news going on there. I remember seeing a news story about a police officer who shot a man living on skid row this past year. When I asked he officer if there was extra training when working in areas like skid row, I had the hope that extra training would mean it was not necessary shoot someone or there would be other ways to protect than using a gun. To my disappointment I learned that there is no other option when someone’s life is in danger. I had never communicated with a police officer before and had such a meaningful dialogue. No police officer is a police officer for the purpose of killing people. It is the last situation they want to be in. It is there job to protect and sometimes, unfortunately, the only way to do this is with a gun sometimes. Though I still believe there should be more training when working in areas like skid row, I have an understanding of why what the officer did is necessary in certain situations.
The second question I asked was to an individual, I never got his name, so let’s call him Alex. I handed Alex a sandwich and asked him if he would be so kind just to talk to me for a little bit. However, this little bit turned into a good 45 minutes. In brief, he is a 60 year old man who had a college degree and worked for most of his life, but two years ago he CHOSE to take a different path. He CHOSE to stop working and wait for his social security which he would receive when he turned 62. He is extremely in touch with god, something I have noticed with a good amount of the homeless community. I asked him why he would choose to live this lifestyle. He told me that he didn’t want to work anymore and thought he earned his time off. It was that simple. I am still unsure as to how I feel about this answer but I will continue to think about it for quite a while.
The last question I asked was to an individual with a puddle of vomit next to hear body. I sat down next to her. I asked her if she was ok. She told me she has lost her self control. She explained to me that she has a very large appetite and can’t save her money to get healthy food so as soon as she gets $5 from someone she spends it on McDonald’s. This is a huge issue I have noticed within this community. $5 is not enough to keep someone healthy. I asked her if she had worked before and she told me her backpack was stolen with her ID along with other stuff and it was now too hard for her to get a job.
I keep referring to homeless people as a homeless community. Why? Because the most important thing I have gained from my experiences on AWB is these people are really a community of people. They live a different lifestyle but are still a community. Skid row is a community. Down town LA is a community. Although they may be a struggling community, they are still a community and no community in our country or anywhere should be ignored or forgotten.
~ Rachel Powell is a senior from Springfield, NJ and is the National Social Action Programmer on Young Judaea’s National Teen Board. She will be attending Young Judaea’s Year Course in the fall of 2017 after spending the summer at camp.
Gaining Some Perspective – Gabriel Korish
Santa Monica. . . To me, this place represented charm, intricacy, and a seemingly perfect little community. I conceived that paradise and a metropolis of dreams were synonymous with this little city. Yesterday, a bubble was popped, as I witnessed the true detail of Santa Monica. I could never have imagined the gravity of the homelessness present simply a few feet away from designer shops and cars.
As we learned about the issues present, I was saddened and sympathetic at the hardships the homeless faced. Then, as we encountered a man named Franklin, a war veteran with a beautiful talent for making little metal designs out of paper clips, my sadness converted to aggravation. I was irate as to where Franklin ended up, and I asked myself “Why him?” I kept this anger within me as we saw new faces and listened to new stories and this aurora grew with each tale of what seemed to be failure.
Finally, I was lucky to gain perspective. This came to me through Alex, a homeless man who serenaded the group with an ad libed song of hope and marvel in the world. As he preached from the depth of his heart and sang with a blissful expression, the idea that a man with only a guitar and a genuine smile to his name could be so happy bothered my pre-conceived resent. I felt hopeful and inspired to bring change from a man so grateful to be alive with nothing. Suddenly, this lack of physical objects I called nothing, paired with the love this man possessed became so valuable. Through a few interactions, I underwent emotional change in various ways. Most importantly, I learned from someone who I would have least expected, that life is always playing a melody, but it is up to us to create the words that compose it.
~ Gabe is a 10th grader from Randolph, NJ. He is active in New Jersey Young Judaea
Subtle Changes: Staff Reflection – Ariel Freed
For some participants on the trip, they weren’t sure what they were supposed to have gained from their day in Santa Monica. Others felt that the day gave them a better understanding of the homeless situation in LA and was an eye-opening experience. Some acknowledged that they had done some good but were left feeling that they hadn’t done enough to help. To be fair though, at the beginning of our day with Santa Monica’s Officer Holloway when we were simply taking a tour of the police station and talking in their squad room, I was worried this day would fail to leave a clear and tangible imprint on me or the participants on the trip. However, after we left the police station and began walking through Santa Monica and interacting with some of the homeless people on the street, I was able to watch each of the participants make an impactSub on those they encountered. Simply by acknowledging their presence and by stopping to say hi and talk to them about their stories, the participants were able to feel they made a imprint on who they interacted with and they were visibly effected and influenced by the interaction as well.
The participants had mixed feelings about our day in Santa Monica, but whether they know it or not, whether they consciously or subconsciously made the connections I did, I believe they gained a valuable experience, and just as importantly, made a difference.
~ Ariel attends West Virginia University. She is a current Tel Yehudah staff member and comes from a long line of Judaeans. She attended AWB as a teen.
Inspired and Thankful – Amy Remes
Today was an exciting day. I saw old friends and met new ones. The best part of my day was going to the church for the underprivileged kids. There were two girls who sang for everyone there and that really inspired me because I love to watch kids sing and not care what others think. We through the party for these kids because they didn’t get to have a typical Christmas. When all the kids lined up for their gifts they got so excited before they even opened it. I love how these kids were so thankful for what they have and didn’t complain about what they don’t. I’m so excited to more inspiring experiences!
~ Amy Remes is a 10th grader from Pittsburgh, PA. She is on the teen leadership team of Pittsburgh, Young Judaea