Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Journey to Skid Row

This past weekend I decided to head down to Skid Row for my 24 hour. site visit. For this assignment we have to spend 24 hours on site which could be distributed throughout several days, as long as the accumulated time spent was 24 hours. As I was walking toward my site, I started to feel a great level of discomfort which lead to me questioning my desire and intent of this site. Upon arrival, I had no doubt that I wanted to leave as soon as possible with what i saw and what could potentially happen to me. At this point I was afraid my life was at stake, which was least likely the case. It was unbelievable to think how two blocks can be the difference between life and death, because where I arrived was actually the heart of Skid Row which I found out after leaving the site. Before getting to the site my objective was to visit the missions around the area in hopes of receiving a tour around the building as well as interviewing the individuals working in the facility. But of course things never go as planned so of course I get denied. After realizing that I probably won't be able to get into others, I begin to panic so much that I just stormed right out the building and stood at the corner of the intersection, asking myself "why am i here?" It's crazy how life manages to work itself out because a minute later a man behind me asks, "are you looking for a place to stay as well?" I then respond to his question, not expecting to gain a new found friendship.

Bill is a homeless individual who has the characteristics of any other person, except for the fact that he was homeless. He grew up in North Carolina, who then made his way to California in hopes of starting a new life. After working for the circus for a couple of years pitching up tents a making minimum wage, he quit his job feeling under payed that later lead to a life on the streets that was a result of alcohol abuse while situating himself on the sands of Venice Beach. He later felt the need for a change in scenary so he took a bus to Los Angeles that eventually lead him to Skid Row. Upon learning this, I decided to make myself useful and was determined to help Bill in finding a shelter to stay. We luckily found a place at the Union Rescue Mission which granted him 30 days. After that was taken care of, we strolled around the block conversing about many things like our opinions on our views of Skid Row. Through the eyes of Bill, this was his description of Skid Row. "It’s surreal. Surreal sums it up perfectly. But there’s something too that I was trying to get at. It’s like order...amongst...or order inside disorder. Or vice versa. No I think it’s the other way around. Order within disorder. When you look around it’s so chaotic, yet it functions. you know what i mean? Surprisingly. Miraculously almost. I mean look how crazy this place looks. But yet it functions. People get along. I think It’s because I guess everybody accepts one another on the same level. You know. Like we’re all in the same boat. We’re all destitute and broke. And it sort of diminishes the stranger feeling." As the day was coming to an end, we parted ways exchanging phone numbers in hopes of keeping contact with each other and concluded my trip to Skid Row.

No comments:

Post a Comment