Detroit - Urban Issues

Day 4

Our day today was a repeat of yesterday. We started out with serving at the Capuchin Kitchen's distribution center. We mixed up our jobs with different groups each doing different things: bagging food (tomatoes and apples), hanging clothes, organizing the clothing section and preparing the carts of food for customers.

Today was an opportunity to learn more about the organization and the people that Capuchin serves. Capuchin started in Detroit when Father Solanus began feeding one person at a time in his community. Capuchin now serves multiple cities, with multiple locations in Detroit alone. Each person who walks through the door is able to leave without having spent a penny. Generally, having children under the age of 18 would make you applicable for services. Almost everything Capuchin provides is donated, from fruit and vegetables to clothes and mattresses. When they do have to purchase items, it tends to be protein such as the ten-pound chicken leg packs we gave out today.

After a few hours at the distribution center we were taken to another one of their Detroit locations. We were able to spread out and eat with the Detroiters who were also enjoying a hot lunch. We walked into the doors (held open for us by a local who welcomed us) into a large cafeteria type room with about 40 round tables. We then circled around to the line where we each took a prepared plate and a drink (tea or milk). We sat down and really got to know the people we shared our meal with.

Jake, Alicia and Paul sat with a man who talked about his customers and jobs. It was wonderful to hear of someone who was lucky enough to have an opportunity to support himself. Especially considering that he rides his bike three miles to a nice neighborhood to do landscaping and handy work. The men and women we've met all have different stories but the trend is similar. They live in Detroit and many are doing all they can to work and support themselves in rough times. Most have children, broken relationships and a need for a hot meal and good company. The congruencies keep us together but their individual stories keep us aware that this is a large problem full of very unique individuals with very different life paths.

After lunch we went to a monastery and were able to hear about Father Solanus a bit more. The monastery was a wonderful time to learn about the history of Capuchin and the soup kitchen while having time to walk around and think through the immense amounts of information we've been given.

Around 1:30pm we went back to the All Saints School that we served at yesterday. First we went to meet with a gentleman who is the Director of the Southwest Detroit. He's working on developing the Springdale area (where we've been working in the afternoons) into a more community-centered area. He talked about the goals and projects along with the struggles that they face. One thing he mentioned is that their community is racially diverse and has more of a class spread than most. As one woman in the community said, their divide was not similar to most of Detroit; rather it was a divide between night people and day people. He mentioned that nearly 2,000 people in their community of around 8,000 all live on less than 15,000 dollars as their annual household income. He shared stories about corrupt government and vacant buildings being destroyed with arson. Somehow though, through all of this, he was inspiring and encouraging. He has a clear passion for his community and goals that he and his residents believe in.

We helped the children with their homework, played games with them and had the opportunity to talk to them. They share stories of wanting to move back in with other relatives; they argue about whether they're cooler than their siblings or not. They talk and share and laugh while we play Candyland and Twister. It is wonderful to relax and dance, chat and play. They are wonderful and community atmosphere is encouraging. As we left it is hard to say goodbye and know that our lives will go on and so with their lives. It is empowering, day in and day out, to meet the wonderful people in each of these communities that will carry on long after we leave.