WORK
Our lives shall not be sweated from birth until life closes, hearts starve as well as bodies; give us bread, but give us roses!
James Oppenheim, “Bread and Roses”
The good we secure for ourselvesis precarious and uncertain until it is secured for all of us and incorporated into our common life.
Jane Addams
THE SETTLEMENT HOUSE MODEL
The model I chose as a foundation for our work was the Settlement House. This was a traditional model in social work. Settlement Houses were found in depressed areas of American cities and opened their doors to the community. They were started by middle-class people who had contacts and resources because of their income and backgrounds. The goal was to teach participants how to access the resources and use the contacts themselves. The settlements did not call the people who came through their doors, clients, consumers or patients, but neighbors. Using this term established a connection. We used the term “neighbors” to describe the people who came to MIDTOWN. We also used only first names, so visitors would feel more comfortable. Even the children called staff by their first names. These two choices were ways we hoped to equalize relationships between everyone.
The most famous Settlement House in America was Hull House in Chicago. Jane Addams, the first woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, led Hull House. Many of their services and programs helped new immigrants who couldn’t speak English. Through a variety of activities, the people who came had fun, got to know others and heard English phrases--enough that they began to speak a little English. Not only did Hull House serve its neighborhoods, it was open to social action and community organizing. The leaders of the Haymarket strike in Chicago stayed at Hull House. The protest in Haymarket was for an eight-hour work day. This change would have affected many neighbors who came to the settlement. It was called a riot by some historians instead of a protest. The events in Ferguson, Missouri were described similarly. Hull House supported workers and the protest. I wanted a model which would allow us to help our neighbors no matter what they might need.
We do really listen to each other, at least some of the time.
Instead of true dialogue, we carry on two parallel monologues.
I talk, my companion talks. But what we are really concentrating on is how to sound good, how to make points strongly, how to outshine the person with whom we are talking.
God teach us to listen as your Son listened to everyone who spoke with him.
Remind us that, somehow, you are trying to reach us through our partner in conversation.
Your truth, your love, your goodness are seeking us out in the truth, love and goodness being communicated.
When our words are harsh, hostile, angry, we convey the very opposite of those qualities.
Teach us to be still, that we may truly hear our brothers and sisters.
Anonymous
HOME VISITING
A tool I wanted staff to use was home visiting. I had done a few during my practice as a social work student. I had been nervous about them at the time, but found out I was the one who had a problem, not the people I was visiting. When I came to MIDTOWN in 1990, the people in the community had little contact with the organization because staff were not present. I knew the best way we could begin to connect and discover what people wanted us to do was through home visiting.
Home visits let people know you are willing to come to them. So many poorer people spend so much of their time struggling to find the basics for their families. Some days it might require going to food pantries because food stamps have run out. Other days, parents may have to go to school to advocate for their child in circumstances where no one is on the child’s side. Going to the welfare department takes a lot of time and strength. When families have to decide between food, utilities, rent and medicine, it is easy to get behind. People wear themselves out trying to find assistance and solve problems related to their lack of income.
After someone has used their energy to help their family get by, it is wrong to expect them to come to a conference at a social service agency about some program that may be of benefit. Home visits give people a break, let staff communicate about programming, help build relationships and allow the family being visited to be hospitable. People we served would ask their neighbors, “why did those MIDTOWN people come to my home?” Their neighbors would answer, “That’s just what they do.” People I visited would thank me for coming, sometimes telling me I was the only adult they had talked to that week. Almost always, the people we visited would be willing to spend some time with us. If our arrival was at a time not good for them, we would say, “we can come back at any time”.
Visits gave staff a chance to be friendly in a home environment. They allowed us an opportunity to ask about other needs a family might have. Home visits gave staff time to discuss programs which might be of benefit. Sometimes, we would bring donated items on a home visit. If it was summer, we might take a fan. If we received bread, we might offer it. Other times, we might need to respond to an immediate need discovered on the visit.
I once went on a home visit with a staff person from Cardinal Ritter Senior Services. I knew the staff person from her time at CCS. She wanted me to go with her to visit an older man who seemed alone and “shut-in”. It was winter and there was ice and snow on the sidewalks and stairs as we approached our neighbor’s apartment. On the visit we found the man to be living with few resources. My partner offered services and support from the senior services agency. One of the things he needed most was warm shoes. I happened to have on “duck” boots because of the icy weather. I ended up giving these to the neighbor. He needed them more than I did, and I had other shoes at home. I wrapped my feet in plastic bags when we left the visit. To me it was no big deal and seemed meant to happen as we wore the same size shoe.
Hospitality was an important part of home visiting. In the heat of a St. Louis summer, we were invited in to get a little cooler and offered some cold water. People were happy to have us and invited us in. We would then be ushered to the best seat in the house. We would ask how they were doing, if our help worked out for them, offer new programs or activities that might help long term, talk about their children and offer to come back whenever they wanted. People with the smallest of economic resources were often the most hospitable.
Staff did hundreds of home visits a month. From the beginning, home visits helped us build relationships that broke down differences of race and status. Low income people were isolated by poverty. Sometimes it was the fear of their neighborhood. Other times having to care for their children kept them at home and alone. A home visit could provide just enough human contact to help a mom or senior get through the day. Home visits helped staff learn what families needed. Through many home visits, staff would discover the larger picture of issues shared by our neighbors.
GOD GAVE US TWO EARS AND ONE TONGUE
SO WE SHOULD LISTEN TWICE AS MUCH AS WE TALK.
Anonymous
OUR OFFICE
What became our office, after remodeling, was what had been the first-floor kindergarten classroom. We had an array of used desks and office furniture and very old computers. The good thing was we were right next to the front door. We kept the outside doors unlocked during the day so visitors could get into the building and out of the weather. The entry doors were locked and we met and greeted people when they knocked.
Our office was an open room with desks
