And the Winner Is...

And the winner is… All the graduating St. Vincent De Paul interns. We held a ceremony yesterday for everyone who participated in the champion work force for at least six months. It was an honor to have seen the graduates take the stage. Many of them I had worked with as co-workers over the last 2 ½ months and have become pretty close to. There was an air of accomplishment for everyone there. The graduation ceremony was the culmination of a lot of hard work on the part of graduates and staff alike.

All of the people taking the stage were at one time clients of St. Vincent De Paul, and had worked their way through the champion workforce to become paid interns. I know for me personally it was an inspiring experience to see everyone up on the stage. Seeing J.R. (Jose Rodriguez), Sonia Munoz, Daniel Pena, Carolyn Malbrough, and everyone else speak on stage just solidified the fact for me that this place does a lot of good for people. Everyone who got up on stage thanked the staff and the organization of St. Vincent’s for giving them the opportunity that helped them get where they are today. I know that the staff was also very grateful for the hard work that the graduates put into their own lives to overcome challenges that may have stood in their way.
I think that it is important to recognize all the people that graduated as a testament to the graduates and Society’s hard work.

The graduates of the St. Vincent De Paul Champion Workforce are…

Donna B, Michael J, Rochelle ,
Alan N, Portia B, Sonia M,
Gary C, Roderick G, Carolyn M,
Wayne P, Charles H, Folami B,
Daniel P, Duane M, Sheri P,
Bobby S, Issac O,
Susie J, Jose R,
Ldia R, Phillip W,
Nadia R, Lillie H,
Dennis F, Johnny W,
Gilbert J, Lyndon W

I think that everyone who graduated from the champion workforce had to do one of the hardest things any man or women can do, and that is to change. They all had to make the choice to turn their lives around and do something different. St. Vincent’s was the vehicle to help them do that. I’ll end this blog with a quote by Sir Edmund Hilary, who was the first person to climb Mt. Everest. “It’s not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.” I believe all the graduating interns reached the tops of their mountains yesterday, and are on their way to climbing ever higher and higher peaks.

~Mike

A Learning Experience

When I began to write this blog I really did not know what I wanted to write. There were a lot of things that I wanted to say but I wasn’t sure how to write them down. There has been a lot going on at St. Vincent’s and I wanted to talk about that but I also really wanted to talk about my own personal experiences here. Over the last month I have felt blessed to have been working with the clientèle that I work with. I know that my managers won’t like to here this but my favorite part of the day is when I can sit and just listen to the stories of the men and women I serve. The main thing that this does for me is break the stereo types in my head of who a “homeless” person is and how a person gets homeless. I have talked to many people who have been relatively well off and because of a personal tragedy or a few poorly made financial decisions have fallen off their path and now struggle to make better lives for themselves. Sure there are drug addicts and mentally ill people that I see, but their stories and unique personalities far outweigh those labels.

I continually remind myself to never lose sight of the fact that I deal with human beings that on some days might get on my bad side but on others days surprise the hell out of me. Take for example one of the men I work with and a friend of mine in the men’s center who takes part in the Seldom Seen Acting Company and made front page of the Tribune on Friday. I felt honored to know this man, and I can say that he brought a spirit of joy and accomplishment to everyone in this organization and to homeless men and women all over the city. On behalf of St. Vincent De Paul of Alameda County, we just wanted to say thank you J.R. and Seldom Seen Acting Company and everyone involved. With one performance you managed to move a whole organization one step closer to it’s realization of being a versatile, sustainable, and most importantly helpful place for everyone who walks through it’s doors, clients and employees alike.

The theme of my last blog entry was the many transitions and changes going on at St. Vincent’s. There has been more of the same since last month. Just briefly I wanted to talk about a few of the many changes that have been taking place here at St. Vincent’s. As I mentioned in the last blog the Culinary Academy was starting up it is now up and running, with 5 students. They have made some of the best meals I have ever had here at St. Vincent’s, and the clients agree.

We also have has several new additions to the St. Vincent’s family. A new intern by the name of Nick has been working with me doing homeless court and working in the men’s center. He is a junior at St. Mary’s college and is originally from Sacramento. There is also a new Manager in the men’s center by the name of Derrick Ross, who comes to St. Vincent’s with many years of experience in the social services field. He used to work over at St. Mary’s when it was right across the street. We also have a new marriage/ family therapist by the name of Sandra working with clients from the men’s and women’s centers. She has had experience working with victims of domestic violence, substance abuse and troubled youth. She is currently pursuing a Master’s degree at Holy Names University. One last thing is that Seldom Seen Acting Company had its first performance of the season last Thursday which as I mentioned earlier was a huge success. Just check the Tribune’s website

(http://www.insidebayarea.com/search/ci_7024943?IADID=Search-www.insidebayarea.com-www.insidebayarea.com).

That’s about it for now, as for upcoming blogs I would like to do a series on homeless men and women’s stories. It’s still in the planning stage so it might not be for a little bit, but it is something I would really like to do. So goodbye, until next time. ~Mike