A couple of months before the Global Outreach (GO!) trip, we were all Fordham students on different paths. We came together with the same passion for going to California and experiencing the impacts Boyle Heights had on East Los Angeles. We acknowledged that we were about to encounter a week of simple living. But we didn’t understand the unbreakable bond that would form the moment we landed, as each day in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, flew by quicker than the last.
Angel and Sean both hold many reflections and personal thoughts on the trip that will be shared soon, but first, we feel the importance of highlighting some of the experiences working with the Dolores Mission community, specifically visiting Homeboy Industries and Skid Row. We all come from different backgrounds and are thankful for the opportunities presented to us.
Touring Homeboy Industries, an organization that provides case management support in an 18-month program to previously incarcerated or gang-involved East L.A. community members, was one experience our group consistently highlighted. Being greeted with “Hi! Welcome to Homeboy!” at every desk, hallway and corner demonstrated the value of the Homeboy community. We spoke to a man who had been incarcerated for 40 years, half of them in solitary confinement. We heard his story and how Homeboy Industries helped him adjust and better his quality of life after entering prison at 19 years old. We then spoke to a man at Homeboy Silkscreen who had lived through being shot nine different times and how Homeboy helped him start a loving family and a working career. Homeboy is a place of second, third and even 50 chances to help people with not only staying out of trouble but also finding new values and cultivating the life they want to live. . Skid Row is considered an area where the majority of the streets are used for shelter for the homeless. Creating hygiene kits for homeless people on Skid Row was an eye-opening experience for the group. We were met by a community filled with people who wanted to help each other. We experienced a different narrative than what others perceive Skid Row to be. While giving out hygiene kits, we learned how the people on Skid Row constantly prevail and rely on each from while facing overenforcement and criminalization of poverty in Los Angeles.
As we heard these emotionally heavy stories of surviving being shot nine times or watching a man on Skid Row cuddle his dog, we saw compassion, community and love remaining a highlighted value. Father Brendan, Dolores Mission Church’s pastor, said to us, “The more you know people, the less you hurt them.” As a college student in NYC, it can be easy to neglect those around you, not just on campus but also on the streets. We are taught to step over the manmouthing nonsense on the sidewalk or ignore the girl we see on the same route to work or class every day. These are missed opportunities. It is easy to wake up each day and tell ourselves if today isn’t the day, try again tomorrow. The immersion taught us so many powerful lessons, but one to remember is to not take our days for granted. There are people with less than others who manage to hold a smile through it all.
Angel wanted to be a part of GO! to hear the stories of people who want to be heard. Many of the people we encountered were happy to be heard and have a group witness the work they do that isn’t spread and discussed outside of California. Everyone deserves a chance to be heard, and there are people hidden in the shadows making impacts in a world divided by power.
For Sean, allowing himself to embrace these people and have an open perspective for just a week in L.A. showed him how much more he can embrace the same people here. Sean believes communities are loving support systems that symbiotically help their people. They are all around you; all you have to do is be open to knowing them.
On that note, the awkward barrier between our group was already surpassed in our weekly meetings, and friendships began the moment we hit L.A. Everyone was open to being friends and having the opportunity to get to know each other. Being together 24/7 for a week brought out the worst and best of everyone. We got to learn everyone’s personalities, routines and habits. Every activity on the trip brought us closer together. Our last two days were free from immersion, and we wanted the chance to bond. We went on a 10-mile hike up the mountains one day and explored Santa Monica Pier the next. We could just talk to each other outside of the immersions and get deep and personal. An activity suggested by our chaperone really grounded us all individually. Since journal reflections were part of our nightly routine, every morning, we would read the name of another member’s journal and become their “guardian angel.” That night, we would write a genuine message to the person, affirming the qualities we saw throughout the day. Reading our notes from everyone at the end of the trip made us all realize what a blessing it was to meet one another through this program. Angel and Sean both stated they enjoy keeping their journals nearby throughout the day as a reminder of the loving community they found themselves in. On the last night, we wanted to spread affirmation to everyone in the group and discuss what we appreciate about each other. Those hours talking about each other sums up the entire trip and why we became a close family. There is no other group we would have wanted to experience this trip with.
