Lake Wylie Pilot Interview:

A special thank you to John Marks for taking the time to write about our new program to assist our uptown homeless population:
http://www.lakewyliepilot.com/2011/04/26/1103523/expanding-reach-to-help-homeless.html

and here is an article also from the Lake Wylie Pilot about Operation Mayday: http://www.lakewyliepilot.com/2011/04/26/1103520/groups-unite-to-feed-neighbors.html

Let's roll...

Meetings have concluded, planning follows, and the continual search for volunteers will remain. Operation Feed the Homeless is ready to go, let's roll!

I feel relieved, elated, with just a touch of anxiety mixed in. I am excited about this new partnership with the Mecklenburg County Government!! I guess walking into somewhat unfounded territory can be a little intimidating. I have faith that it will all work out exactly how it should. With that being said, I am somewhat ready to put aside this serious version of myself for a while.

After we wrapped up what seemed to be a never-ending series of meetings, I was secretly relieved that I could stop studying. I figured I knew more then enough to get by. And then I found this quote: "You will not rise to the occasion, you will default to the level of your training" (English proverb)

And then it hit me that the moment a person becomes idle, they lose ground. I'm glad that I found this quote, it further strengthens my desire to persevere and continue researching. Through research I came across this quote today:

"Until lately the best thing that I was able to think of in favor of civilization, apart from blind acceptance of the order of the universe, was that it made possible the artist, the poet, the philosopher, and the man of science. But I think that is not the greatest thing. Now I believe that the greatest thing is a matter that comes directly home to us all. When it is said that we are too much occupied with the means of living to live, I answer that the chief worth of civilization is just that it makes the means of living more complex; that it calls for great and combined intellectual efforts, instead of simple uncoordinated ones, in order that the crowd may be fed and clothed and housed and moved from place to place. Because more complex and intense intellectual efforts mean a fuller and richer life. They mean more life. Life is an end in itself, and the only question as to whether it is worth living is whether you have enough of it. We are very near despair. The sheathing that floats us over its waves is compounded of hope, faith, in the unexplainable worth and sure issue of effort, and the deep, sub-conscious content which comes from the exercise of our powers."

Wow, this statement has profound depth, think about it...

Nichole Jaworski

Sometimes you just have to write it out...

It has been an exciting, exhilarating, and exhausting last few weeks. As soon as the Mecklenburg County Government offered Steele Creek Outreach our own night at the Homeless Resource Center, I knew that it was an offer too good not to accept. However, I knew that we could not jump into this precipitously. I found it necessary to calculate every step, until we were ready to officially accept.

The first step in unveiling Operation Feed the Homeless: calling in a few reinforcements to help us get this up and running :) The response from my friends and the general public has been overwhelmingly positive, and I am truly blessed to have such a great support system. I truly do not deserve them!

Over the course of SCO's mission, I personally became increasingly aware of and desired to change the stereotypes surrounding our local homeless population. I visited shelters, performed independent studies, analyzed data - all in an effort to understand the misconceived perceptions that are placed on these individuals. After all of this research, endless reading, and near sleepless nights, etc., my final hypothesis will have to lie in the simplest of all statements...People attack what they do not understand. I wish that I had something brilliant to report, something potentially unfounded or some grand insight to offer, but unfortunately, I don't. The reality is that it's just that simple, society attacks anything in which it fails to understand.


With the mystery solved, I should feel relieved, right? Unfortunately, I just don't. Truthfully, I won't feel relieved until we witness real change, until we change the way these homeless individuals are perceived. I often get asked, "why?" Why have I chosen this cause? Well, because "What's right isn't always popular, and what's popular isn't always right. "

Lucky for us, we have the opportunity to bring about real change. This is the first official announcement that Operation Feed the Homeless has been launched, woo hoo!! In just a few short days, we have enlisted the help of Hands on Charlotte, Rira's Irish Pub, The Lifepointe Church, friends, co-workers, and acquaintances through good ole' facebook networking :) Additionally, we wrapped up an interview with the Lake Wylie Pilot last week, and it should be in next week's paper. I have one LAST (WOO HOO!!) meeting tomorrow at the Government building, and then it will be go time!! Afterwards, I plan to catch up on some much needed sleep, check in on some friends, and finally relax (yeah right, lol) at least for a few hours anyways :) The last few months have been rather chaotic/stressful/restless...but hey, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right :)

So to recap this long drawn out blog post: Operation Feed the Homeless is official! We will begin feeding and interacting with the homeless Uptown in the Homeless Resource Center, every Thursday evening from 6 to 8pm. Because this is a weekly commitment, there will be a reoccurring need for volunteers. If you are interested in volunteering, please email me @ nichole@steelecreekoutreach.org.

WE DID IT! Nearly two years of hard work has paid off, and I couldn't have done it without all of you :) A special thank you to Christina D. for helping out at Operation Mayday today!!

Uptown Charlotte

I took an awesome team of two photographers and two volunteers Uptown on Sunday morning. The goal was simple: hand out supplies to some of Queen City's neediest individuals. In addition, we began filming our documentary today. We have a tentative release date of August 10th, 2011. When the documentary is released, we hope that it will change some of the misconceived stereotypes surrounding these homeless individuals. And with that, I should divulge that the book deal isn't going to happen. When I set out to write Unsheltered, I had yet to sign on as a writer for the Examiner. Now I have the best of both worlds. I get to write and interact with the homeless, and I don't need a long drawn out book to get my point across.

I am still reflecting about our Uptown trip, and a few things linger in my mind from the experience. For one, mental illness seemed to be more prevalent then it was during our other trips. Additionally, Tasha did not surface today so that was a little disappointing - as I had some new clothing for her. Lastly, the first homeless individual I hand picked to document in our movie, denied being homeless. This is certainly a multifaceted avenue that I have not encountered before. In time, I think that I will be able to go more in depth with this but for now I think I am still slightly numb.

I spoke with one of the social workers as well this morning with The Mecklenburg County Government. They offered us our own evening during the week, a time alloted for Steele Creek Outreach to come in and entertain/feed the homeless in the building. This is an awesome opportunity-but if we are going to peruse it then it will require a lot of networking to ensure we have enough volunteers every week to pull it off. I envision offering first aid once a month (good thing we have a trained nurse in our group,) handing out band aids, in addition to feeding them sandwiches or soup, and giving them bags of food for the road. We could also ask some of the local restaurants if they would donate meals-which would take a lot of pressure off of us :) Another week I picture showing them a movie with popcorn and snacks. The other two weeks could maybe be game/meal nights, and maybe we can find someone to teach them how to properly care for their teeth, and pass out toothbrushes and toothpaste once a month as well.

I realize that I am ten steps ahead of myself right now, but I feel this unexplainable gravitational pull towards this opportunity - in my heart I know this is where we are supposed to be.

Picture taken by Mary Ickert, Lake-side Chatter

This is a picture of a homeless man named Nsayi. He has been out on the streets of Uptown for 2 weeks.

Stereotyping and judgement...

Last night instead of sleeping, my mind reflected on the events of the day. There were a couple of things that stood out as rare glimpses of insight. I received an email from an unknown individual thanking me for writing the Observer article. This was definitely appreciated given the somewhat negative reaction the article received from others. In fact, earlier in the week I was asked to just stick with feeding the homeless because it was "safe." I'm just not a play it safe kind of gal. I am fortunate to have friends in the local media industry who have my back, however, I really don't take the criticism personally. After all, this mission isn't about me-it's about the homeless and it always has been :) Once again though, stereotypes are a factor in this equation...Of course total strangers found it necessary to advise me to take 6 homeless individuals back to my "Myers Park Mcmansion"-as if I am some rich snob preaching without the initiative to follow through. Again, I find these preset stereotypes interesting and if anything, it just strengthens my resolve. People's jaws often drop to the floor when I tell them that I do not generate a salary from Steele Creek Outreach. The reasoning behind this is that I don't need the money-and when you mix money with charity, you get corruption. Make no mistake about it, there are some CEO's becoming very wealthy over other people's misfortune. Additionally, I put my own money into the operation of our non-profit, that way, 100% of our donations go towards buying supplies for people in need. I think that the most important thing in life and in any endeavor is to remain real-without pretense. And since I am being real, I can say that I live in Steele Creek-not Myers Park, lol!

Later on in the afternoon yesterday, I had two different conversations about the perceptions and stereotypes of homelessness. These were actually pretty one sided conversations, mainly because I wasn't the one talking...I was listening to their point of view. Sweet, I didn't even speak my mind about the issue and they already had the same realization I have had for years. It just further solidifies that we can spread awareness and hopefully have an effect on people, one person at a time.

"When you finally begin to feel the pain of the world around you, you're not dying...you're finally starting to live." -Nichole

First article for the Charlotte Examiner:

This will be published with the Examiner next week. Here is a sneak peek:

Stereotypical society oppresses homeless
The reasons for homelessness far exceed just addiction alone. Eviction, job loss, illness, and mental instability are all contributing factors of displacement. Many homeless individuals turn to drugs and alcohol as a coping mechanism, in an effort to deal with their unfortunate plight. Contrary to popular belief, they do not become homeless because they are addicts-they turn to addiction because they are homeless. Society perceives homeless individuals as worthless and lazy-that they either desire or deserve to be homeless. In addition, society tends to oppress those who do not live by our standards. In essence, we are equally to blame for habitual homelessness. If we are ever to combat homelessness, we must first start at the root and dissolve these misconceived stereotypes.
Nichole Jaworski

Charlotte Observer...

Here is the article that I wrote for the Charlotte Observer this past Monday:

Use the money to help homeless, not count them

The writer is CEO of Steele Creek Outreach.

In the Queen City, close to 7,000 people have been labeled as "homeless." That number is almost certainly inaccurate.

Meticulous statistics are impossible to obtain when tallying the ambiguous hidden, erratic nature of homelessness.

Potentially, in any corner of our city and suburbs, an individual has succumbed to a life on the street.

We're entering a new era - that of the unsuspecting homeless individual, the one who fell victim to this pulverizing economy.

Trying to determine a number is a true waste of time and resources. Instead of spending money on useless government assessments, why not redirect these funds towards programs that assist the homeless, programs that will help these individuals transition back into a contributing part of society?

Nichole Jaworski

What Are The Sociological Effects Of Stereotyping?

Stereotypes are very interesting to me. They are so prevalent because us humans, all have a tendency to categorize others into either being like us or not like us. We also have a subconscious inclination to give preference to those people in the same age bracket, same race, and same gender as ourselves.

Stereotypes about individuals of low socioeconomic status are particularly difficult to overcome. At times, when a person is trying to overcome a certain stereotype placed over them, it actually causes the individual to be very aware of the stereotype-and by attempting to act opposite the stereotype, actually validates the stereotype...

Bandaid

What happens when you rip a bandid off? OUCH! So here is the challenge: How do we affectively combat Charlotte's Economic and Social Issues? The time has come to stop bandaging small boo-boo's, and to instead stitch up the major wounds...