 | Undergraduates Cynthia Pagano and Kristine DiColandrea (standing, left and center) pose with three of the individuals who enjoy congregating at Harmony Place, a community center run by the Yale Homeless and Hunger Action Project -- (sitting) Louise Soules and Ernie Krause, and (standing) Pamela Williams. |
An Army veteran who served as a medic and radio transmission operator in Thailand, Cambodia and Laos in the early 1970s, Ernie Krause has had his share of wounds -- both physical and emotional -- over the years.
Last year, the accumulation of stress and pain resulting from various disturbances in his life caused him to feel somewhat anti-social, and he was homeless for a time.
Now a part-time worker at a fast-food restaurant, he has a new enthusiasm for life that he attributes, in part, to the friendships he has formed at Harmony Place, a community center run jointly by Yale students and members of New Haven's homeless community.
Since last summer, Krause has been a regular visitor to Harmony Place, one of 10 community initiatives affiliated with the Yale Hunger and Homelessness Action Project (YHHAP), a student-run, non-profit umbrella organization that seeks to address the problems of hunger and homelessness in New Haven.
"Before coming here, I was turning into a hermit," comments Krause on a snowy and frigid January afternoon at Harmony Place, where he congregated with some 30 homeless and formerly homeless individuals. Also at the center that day was Yale freshman Kristine DiColandrea, who is a co-coordinator of YHHAP with junior Magni Hamso. The two are part of a group of about 20 Yale students, who -- along with other community members -- volunteer several hours a week at Harmony Place.
Krause counts the Yale student volunteers among his newest friends, and is proud of how he has been able to put to use one of his special talents by teaching DiColandrea and other Yale undergraduates a bit about boxing.
On this particular afternoon, just having a space to go to on a cold afternoon was a relief for many of New Haven's homeless. Sitting at long tables, they gathered in small groups to play Monopoly or cards, watch television or drink hot coffee and talk with each other. Circled by several curious onlookers, one young man drew pictures of cartoon characters, while, at another table, a small group of women quietly encouraged each other. Another visitor spoke with a first-time guest about his and others' efforts to influence city policy on homeless issues. Several homeless individuals were utilizing their time at Harmony Place to do their laundry, while another made use of the center's telephone.
Yale students generally volunteer for two-hour shifts at the community center, which is open Tuesdays and Thursdays 4-11 p.m. and on Sundays 2-6 p.m. On Sundays, the homeless visitors, Yale students and other volunteers prepare and eat a communal dinner. Transportation to the center is provided from city homeless shelters.
Many homeless individuals come to Harmony Place on all three days it is open. For most, the companionship they find there is the biggest draw.
"Imagine being a homeless person, not fitting into any socially accepted community," says Amanda Webb '06, who is a co-coordinator of Harmony Place with Nir Harish '05. "You walk along the streets and see hundreds, thousands of people pass you and don't even notice you. But if one person on the street stops and knows you, or if you fit into a community like Harmony Place as an equal, that makes all the difference in the world."
Some of the Harmony Place visitors say they also enjoy the opportunity the center provides to share some of their talents, such as drawing, painting or writing poetry. Their creative works -- which give expression to feelings ranging from loneliness and alienation to determination and appreciation for the beauty of nature or simple pleasures in life -- are displayed on bulletin boards in the large room of the church that serves as the Harmony Place gathering space.
Other visitors have become involved in writing and producing "T.R.U.T.H. -- Thoughts, Realities & Undertakings of the Homeless," a local newsletter made for and by the homeless initiated last winter. One of the 10 YHHAP community projects, "T.R.U.T.H." features poems, stories and articles by both homeless individuals, Yale students and community members, and is distributed at Harmony Place, homeless shelters and the New Haven Free Public Library.
"A lot of the homeless people I have met are really talented, and so are many Yale students," says DiColandrea. "One of our goals for Harmony Place this semester is to plan activities together where both student volunteers and Harmony Place visitors can show off what they do and do what they love. It doesn't make sense to not tap into that mutual talent." She adds that musical performances by Yale a cappella groups are among the formal activities that have taken place at the center.
According to Hamso and DiColandrea, one of the unique aspects of Harmony Place is that it is run by a coalition of Yale students and homeless individuals, with both groups equally involved.
"One of the distinguishing features of Harmony Place and some of the other YHHAP efforts is that they are not meant to be Yale students doing for the homeless, but rather homeless individuals and Yale students working together," says DiColandrea.
Another YHHAP project that links Yale volunteers with the city's homeless is Respect Line, an advocacy group comprised of students, homeless individuals and other community volunteers that addresses issues that affect the homeless.
This group has campaigned to keep open overflow shelters (sites that accommodate the homeless when the city's two established shelters are full), and is currently engaged in efforts to promote a formal "no-freeze" policy in New Haven that would allow for all homeless individuals to be guaranteed access to a shelter in freezing weather.
"Right now, there is sort of an informal policy, reassessed every year, that leaves a lot to the discretion of homeless-shelter staff about whether to admit people when already filled to capacity," says Hamso. "We're advocating for a more specific set of guidelines, which will both help the homeless and relieve the burden of responsibility on those who must decide whether to let someone in or turn them away."
A core group of about five Yale students volunteer with the Respect Line project, which allows them the opportunity to work at a grassroots level to influence change in their home city. The volunteers not only learn about important issues regarding homelessness in the city, but also gain experience working with city officials on challenging issues, notes Hamso.
One of the more controversial Respect Line initiatives was the establishment of "Tent City" on the New Haven Green last year. More than 100 homeless people -- along with others interested in their well-being -- camped out together each night for more than a month to protest the closing of one of the city's overflow shelters. Hamso was one of about a dozen Yale students who participated in the protest.
"By having all these tents on the Green, we were able to really draw attention to the problem of homelessness in the city," explains Hamso, noting that there are about 1,300 homeless New Haven citizens according to the latest demographic count. "For many of us, it is all too easy to go on living our happy little lives and overlook this problem. As long as we end up in our own beds at night, we think it doesn't really affect us.
"Others are aware that homelessness is an obvious problem but feel that they can't really make a difference, so they don't try," says Hamso. "But those Yale students who have gotten involved have seen firsthand how one person can make a difference."
Another way Yale students work to help alleviate the problems of homelessness and hunger in the city is through the biannual, campus-wide YHHAP Fast, during which they forgo their dining hall meal plans for one day. YHHAP then distributes the food value from this fundraiser to local, national and international charities.
Other YHHAP-affiliated initiatives include The Food Pantry, the only such program in the New Haven's Dwight neighborhood; BRED, in which students collect food from select Yale dining halls and distribute it to Harmony Place and various halfway houses in the area; and the New Haven Cares Program, through which students and other members of the community can purchase vouchers (redeemable locally for food, clothing and transportation) to give to those who ask for money on the streets, as an alternative to giving cash.
Students also volunteer in the YHHAP-affiliated Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen; the General Equivalency Degree Tutoring Program, through which they are paired with Job Corps students or inmates at the New Haven Correctional Center who are working toward their high school equivalency degree; and the Overflow Crisis Advisory Committee, an ad hoc group of students, clergy, city aldermen and other community members that deals with issues related to overflow shelters.
Many Yale students involved in YHHAP projects discover that homeless individuals cannot be stereotyped, Hamso and DiColandrea say.
"There is a common misunderstanding that the homeless are homeless because they are not helping themselves," says DiColandrea. "It's true that many of them have had hard lives -- a good many suffer from mental illness or substance abuse and there are some who do not seek out help -- but many are eager for help in improving their lives. The vast majority of people we've met are very appreciative to know that they are not alone, to know that there are people in their community who care about them."
Amanda Webb says her work at Har-,mony Place has resulted in friendships that have "become a huge part" of her life. Injured last year while playing on the varsity ice hockey team, she found support from some of the people she met at Harmony Place, who gladly sat alongside her on the stands to watch her team's games.
"When I recognize how much we mean to each other, I feel like my efforts are worth it," Webb says.
Ernie Krause says that the Yale students he has met have inspired him to feel hopeful about his future.
"They have been great friends to me," he says. "I can teach them boxing techniques. And now I'm looking forward to having Kristine [DiColandrea] teach me to play the piano."
-- By Susan Gonzalez
The Yale Hunger and Homelessness Action Project will co-sponsor a talk on Wednesday, March 3, by Dennis Culhane, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and a nationally renowned researcher into the causes of homelessness and social policies that affect it. His talk, titled "Homelessness: Where We Are Now and Where We Are Going," will take place at 7 p.m. at First and Summerfield United Methodist Church, corner of College and Elm streets. A discussion and reception will follow. For more information about this talk or about volunteer opportunities with the YHHAP, contact Magni Hamso at (203) 500-6584 or magni@yale.edu.
T H I S
YHHAP: They don't just work for
the homeless, but with them
Advocacy and respect
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