Stand Up For Kids Orientation

On May 11th I went to the first SUFK orientation. SUFK is an organization that trains outreach counselors to go out on the street and counsel any homeless youth they come across. For the orientations we learned a lot of stats on Homeless Youth is the OC, and I learned that they also have homeless youth regulars who they meet with every Wednesday at a Starbucks and help plan their futures.

Last Day of Mentorship

May 13, 2013 marked the last day of my mentorship at URM. From meeting amazing people, to serving and  eating gourmet food (seriously the food was SO good), to just being apart of this amazing little kitchen family, I am just so thankful that I got to be a part of it. (& Natalie came with me on my last day so that was super fun)

Humphery & Ms. Sandy

The man to the left of me is Humphrey and the woman to the right of me is known around the kitchen as Ms. Sandy. These two people have had incredible impacts on my life and I am so lucky to have met them working here at the URM. Humphery is part of the men's program at the URM because he has just recently been released from jail after a 28 year long struggle with drugs. His outlook on life has changed drastically because he told me he is "Just to old for this sh**" He is a genuinely good person and has such a good demeanor whenever you enter the kitchen. His personality and stories can make your day and he treated me with such respect and trust I will never forget him.

Ms. Sandy is the head chef at the URM kitchen and after a few days of Elijah volunteering with me as well, she and Andre (the alternate head chef) started to nickname us as, "The Lovebirds". Her voice and laugh filled the halls of the URM's kitchen, and she always made sure you were fed (and fed the good stuff) when you were in her kitchen. She showed me such great kindness that I am so happy to have met her, and I was genuinely sad to leave the URM's kitchen 3 weeks ago. 

Blog 25: Mentorship

Literal

• Mentorship Log
• Union Rescue Mission
• Bethany Turner 
• email: bturner@urm.org
• phone: (213) 673-4814
• Standupforkids Orange County
• Main office
• email: orangecounty@standupforkids.org

Interpretive

• The most important thing that I learned from my experience at the URM is that all homeless youth really need is someone they could rely on, and someone to believe in them so they can learn to believe in themselves. 

Applied

• By working at the mission, I have come to form friendships with a lot of the people who work and live there. By doing so, many of them have opened up to me about their lives and have given me advice on how to help the youth in their current situation (there are actually a few people who are currently homeless youth). Their stories and advice have helped me come up with my last answer, because all their stories had the same thing in common- they had no guidance growing up, or no one they could trust and depend on. I then researched the importance of life mentors in a child's life, and found that them to be the best way to get homeless youth off the streets. 

Second Thursday (May 9, 2013)

Every second Thursday of the month, Los Angeles puts on an art walk where aspiring and professional artists can display their art on the streets. This month the URM played host to Jason Leith's Art exhibition called Sacred Streets. Jason Leith's exhibition was compiled of art pieces he drew and painted on cardboard boxes (and other like mediums) of 12 homeless individuals living on the streets of Skid Row. Once I was done with my dinner shift at URM's kitchen, Paul (one of the chef's at URM) invited me and Elijah to go see the gallery. It was amazing, the entire room was built out of cardboard boxes and sheet metal, and the ground was built out of layers of cardboard, cans, and insulation material (all items the homeless use to create their own shelters). Also, all the art pieces had a paragraph next to them which told a short biography of the subject's life. On top of that, the exhibition had no roof and it had began to sprinkle, so the gallery greatly encompassed the feeling of what it's like to live on the streets.

Blog 11: Mentorship 10 Hours Check

1. Los Angeles Union Rescue Mission
2. Bethany Turner, Volunteer Coordinator
3. 10 hours so far
4. Currently at the Union Rescue Mission, I am on the kitchen's staff. So far, I help by serving all the men women and children who come in to eat for lunch and dinner. On my first day we had a roof barbecue which I learned happens on the first Friday of every month. I now help in the kitchen in any way I can whether it be preparing meals, cleaning tables, or serving the guests. However, serving the families is in my opinion the funnest because when we get a break in between switching groups, the children will come running in and ask to play hide and seek, or tell you about their day and what they're studying in school. Working here is so much fun and fulfilling because everyone at URM is so incredibly nice and just genuinely want to help those in need. My plans now are to become a tutor at URM, and to be on the children's staff where you get to coordinate activities for all the children on Fridays from 5-6.

Blog 1: Summer Mentorship

Literal:

• At the beginning of the summer I had originally chosen tattooing as my senior topic. I had come across two people who were willing to let me shadow them, but one of the tattoo artists was going on vacation and wouldn't be able to let me shadow until after the summer. However, before I met the second tattoo artist, I decided that I wanted to change my topic to Theme Park Architecture, since this is ultimately what I want to pursue as a career. Upon recommendation,  I first contacted Melvin Rodriguez, who was nice enough to get me in contact with his architecture mentor, Henry Funes. However the same predicament applies that Henry is not free until after the summer. Next I contacted Michael Powell (Megan Powell's father) and he said his scheduel was extremely unpredictable due to architects need to travel, but to send him my information and he will try to help me when he was available. However, while I was waiting for Mr. Powell's availability I came across a design team in Pasadena called The Hettema Group (6266839876) who specifically specializes in theme park architecture and themed events. I went down to their studio in Pasadena and spoke with Matthew Adams, their secretary, who asked me to submit a resume. After submitting my resume, Matthew Adams told me he had sent it to his general manager, and I should be hearing a  response from them soon.

Interpretive:

• I believe mentorship is required for the senior project because it lets you experience the field your topic is in from your own perspective. Since you are also able to work closely with proffesionals in that field, you are also able to get direct responses to any questions you have about your topic. For example, if someone needed questions regarding what to major in in college to be sucessful at their topic, you could have in depth conversations with your mentor, and find out specifics such as where they went, what to do and what not to do while you're there, etc.

Applied:

• Currently, I am really hoping I get the internship at The Hettema Group, because they are my ideal job, but in the meantime I will get hours with Henry Funes throughout the school year, conveniently at Cal Poly.