Central Outreach & Advocacy Center

Central OAC

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We All Have a Story

by Brenna Lakeson

(TW: abuse, addiction, mental illness)

Each day, dozens of guests come to the OAC. Some of them we know well and others are just passing through. Sometimes, as we do case management with a guest, we get glimpses into their lives as they tell us about their struggles. It can be a heavy task to sit with someone and hear their story.

This past month, it seems as though we’ve had quite a few guests come through the OAC who are struggling with different types of traumatic events, moreso than usual. Sometimes, we’re equipped to help with these situations and, other times, all we can do is listen. It can be difficult to know that the most you can do for someone is hold space for their story, but that can make all the difference.

Recently, a guest came to our door with a particularly heartbreaking story. We had never met this guest before, but we took the time to listen to what they had to say. While I can’t share much about their story due to their safety, I do want to tell you a little bit about them. They were running from someone dangerous, who had had control over them for years, and they were struggling to get anyone to believe their story. We sat with them, got details of their situation, and called the right people to get them started with some assistance. As the guest got ready to leave, they began to cry, telling us that we were the first to take them seriously. “You’re the first one to actually do anything to help me,” they said. It felt like we hadn’t physically done much, but, for this guest, saying “I believe you” lifted a huge weight off of them.

Earlier this week, another guest came in for help with ID. While working with a case manager, he expressed a desire to get into a detox program. He’d been struggling with addiction on and off for years and told his case manager that he was finally ready to get clean. Getting and staying clean on the street can be incredibly hard, so the courage and determination that it took for him to reach out for help was admirable. We were able to get him started with the intake process for a substance abuse treatment program. He was excited and relieved to finally have a plan in place.

Last week, a guest came into our center for the first time. He was staying at a shelter and needed an ID in order to continue staying there. As he sat with his case manager, he wiggled his legs and looked around nervously. It was clear that he was anxious. His case manager finished applying for his birth certificate and Social Security card, so he took his things and left. Minutes later, though, our security guard came back into the lobby to tell us that this same guest was having a mental health crisis. We brought him back into the center and called 9-1-1. A staff member did some breathing exercises with him as we waited for the Grady Mental Health Team to arrive. They were able to take him to the hospital to get the help he needed. He thanked us for our help as he got into the van. It was brave of him to reach out for help in such a hard moment.

Our guests deal with so much on a daily basis, and, often, they just want a listening ear: someone to take them seriously, hear their concerns, and assist them in getting the help they need. While we are not law enforcement, EMTs, or DFCS, we can advocate for our guests by helping them reach out to the right people. Each guest has a story. We do our best each day to hear them, see them, and be with them.

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Did Anything Positive Come Out of COVID?

by Kimberly Parker

Mask up. Social distance. Wash your hands. No travel. No gathering in large groups. No visits outside of your household. No eating inside restaurants. 

The list could probably go on and on. I think a lot of us remember the bad, the negative, and the things that were contradictory to the life we normally lived. It’s sometimes hard to see beyond the negative aspects of what this last year and a half have brought to our individual lives and to our society as a whole. 

It was hard enough on the average person or the person who has everything they need, but it was even worst for people experiencing homelessness.

Shelters either closed or drastically cut the number of people they could host. Direct service agencies closed or limited the number of people who could receive services. Soup kitchens shut down. Government buildings like the Department of Driver Services or the Social Security Administration closed their doors.

Life got even harder for those experiencing homelessness.

I have tried throughout the last couple of months to find positive outcomes for Central Outreach and Advocacy Center. We were not able to have a fundraiser in 2020, so, in 2021, we decided we needed to be creative. We wanted to have a virtual event, but at the same time, we were keenly aware that people were fatigued of doing things online.

We created something brand new for Central OAC: “In Their Shoes: 10 Mile Challenge,” based on research that shows a person experiencing homelessness can walk an average of 10 miles per day. This was our most successful fundraiser we have ever had! COVID pushed us out of our comfort zone and forced us to try something new.

We also changed the ways that we operate on a daily basis, with fewer people inside at one time. We are using some of our outside areas for seating while guests wait. We are performing our daily mail checks, a huge service that we offer, at our doorway, cutting down on the chaos and conflict that can happen when too many people are packed into our lobby. These may not sound like positive outcomes to the general public, but it has created more peaceful environment for our staff and our guests, allowing us to give more direct focus to those we are working with each day. 

For me, one of the most positive aspects is eye contact with our guests. With everyone wearing masks up over the nose and mouth, we can’t see the mouth, the normal place to look for a smile or a frown or another emotion. I found myself really focusing on a person’s eyes while doing mail check each day. A lot can be communicated in the eyes and I found this to be a very positive outcome for me. I want to hold on to this focus with people, all people whom I encounter each day. It helps me to pay more attention to them!

What are the positive things that came out of COVID-19 for you?

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Less Mechanical, More Personal

by Cade Lawson, volunteer and intern

Last month, as I walked out of the OAC for the last time until later this fall, I took a moment to reflect on how things had changed since the last pre-COVID day I remembered.

While it’s true that the pandemic upended the entire social service network in Atlanta, fundamentally changing what our services look like at the OAC, I was most struck by how different my conversations with our guests felt. For the first three years I volunteered, these conversations had been opportunities to listen, learn, and laugh while working with the guest towards a set of common goals. But now, they felt colder and carried a now-familiar air of mutual anxiety that came from sharing a small space with a stranger during the pandemic.

Time that a guest could once spend joking, recounting a life journey, or even crying without fear of judgement had to be occupied by new formalities introduced by COVID-19. Explaining confusing new
procedures at the Department of Drivers Services (DDS), waiting on hold to speak with a SNAP benefits representative, or disinfecting the intake area took the place of valuable moments we used to spend making connections with guests. Serving our guests often felt like a less personal, more mechanical experience. Of course, sitting 10 feet away from guests and wearing a mask did not help the situation either. It is difficult to build trust or convey a desire to listen using only the eyes.

Perhaps the best illustration of this post-COVID mood is the fact that what was once the OAC’s art room, a place for guests to enjoy a moment of peace and creativity, had instead become my office. As one of the few rooms large enough to accommodate social distancing, the art room was yet another example of the pandemic sucking the air out of the things in life that had once been sources of lightheartedness and leisure.

But in April, I finally saw the first sign that things may be returning to normal. It started with news that the DDS was no longer requiring appointments, a practice that was a frustrating burden to our guests and a time-suck for our intake process. Evidence that we would soon be able to spend more time truly listening to our guests instead of focusing on processes continued when I called the last guest of the day. He was at the OAC to get his Georgia ID, but before we even began he made a remark about my Georgia Tech mask. We joked about the basketball team and started discussing his love for cooking and experience as a baker in Atlanta.

The conversation proceeded from there, until his face darkened and he elaborated on the cause of his current situation: a relapse on drugs and alcohol just two days earlier that had cost him his job, his
home, and his marriage, after four years of sobriety. Through tears he listed the life plans that he and his wife had made, pausing from time to time to repeat the same phrase: “I didn’t mean to.” His tale felt like a confession, as he expressed both guilt and gratitude to have gotten his feelings into the open.

The story was heartbreaking beyond words to hear, but the fact that the guest was willing to share it at all served as reassurance that the OAC still comes across to guests just as it hopes to under the official set of tenets and values: as a place of respect and dignity for all, even at a time when a global pandemic has changed so much about the world.

I believe that one of the most valuable services the OAC provides is the opportunity for people who often feel invisible to have their feelings or stories heard and respected. Maybe people have simply learned to connect with others in spite of COVID-induced barriers to human interaction, maybe loosening restrictions and a quick vaccine rollout have reminded us of normal times once again, or perhaps something totally different is at play.

No matter what the case may be, those experiences at the OAC that day and in the weeks since have left me with a new feeling: that some of the familiar warmth and humanity is returning to our work.

 

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Making It

by Chattrelle Gillyard

It’s been said that if you have to brag about the materialistic things in your life, then there probably isn’t much more to you. In today’s society, social media and advertisements have told us that if we don’t have the latest car, newest clothes, or biggest house then we aren’t “making it in life”. “Making It” can be used as a measurement of success for many. I often find myself searching for how much something costs that I just saw on Instagram or what I would need to do to obtain a better looking car, just so I can fit in with what social media and society portray as “Making It”. It’s hard not to fall into the rabbit hole of wanting new and better things.

I’m quickly brought back to reality, though, when I prepare for a day at the OAC. The guests we serve have a much different definition of “Making It.” For many, it’s as simple as being able to have a meal to eat, a warm place to sleep, or even owning more than 1 pair of shoes. We see guests on a weekly basis who either do not own a pair of shoes, are wearing shoes that are too small or too big, or wearing shoes that are barely holding together. Some have no place to keep their things and root through big garbage bags to find their documents. Others ask for extra snacks because they don’t know how they’ll get their next meal. “Making It” looks so much different for our guests, and it humbles me each time.

It reminds me that life is too short to get caught up in the materialistic things. Nobody is going to speak at my funeral about all of the nice things I had. My car, clothes, or house won’t be the topic of conversation. The small things that make up who I am, such as my compassion, kindness, and ability to make others laugh, are much more important in the long run. “Making It” should be defined as being happy with who you are, being a kinder person, being more selfless, being more compassionate, and living in your truth. “Making It” should actually be measured by what success looks like to you personally, not others.

Whether it’s owning a new car or owning a used car, YOU MADE IT. Whether it’s having several higher education degrees or not going to college so you can support your family, YOU MADE IT. Whether it’s renting an apartment or owning a home, YOU MADE IT. Whether you own 1 pair of shoes or 100 pairs of shoes, YOU MADE IT. If you are able to be in good health, have a stable support system, and have food to eat, Congratulations, YOU MADE IT!