Soho
Soho....the name brings to mind all things unholy and impure in London. Tucked in between Piccadilly Circus, Chinatown and Oxford Street, Soho is the center of the sex and gay scene in the city (as well as having some really good clubs apparently). Along with its offerings comes its clientele, earning the area a reputation of being a rough spot sometimes.
I did streetwork down there tonight but was probably out a little too early as the place was still hoping as me and my streetwork partner for the evening, Sophie, parted ways at 2:00. We met a few folks but most of them were probably in hostels and just out begging.
Why does it seem like people with mental health problems or addictions always have some sort of spirituality intertwined with their life? Me and Soph were talking with this fella tonight who was super- pissed (that is drunk for all you non-british speakers) and as we were leaving the conversation he began to talk of the coincidence that we are with the Simon Community and he has an angel named Simon that looks after him. Or something like that. I don't know.
This past week I was up in Wales again at the wife of the Community's founder's house. (Hmmm....those double possessives are always tough to write grammatically correct) It was nice to get outside of the city and have a couple of days to hang out with all the workers in the Community. That is the first time since I have been here that we have all had the chance to hang out without worrying about community issues. Yeah, it was good.
One of the big discussions (yelling matches, whatever you want to call them) that have been happening in the house lately has been about the issue of "hospitality". I say that this has been happening lately but really it has been an ongoing conversation (yelling match, whatever you want to call it) since I have been here. The dreaded h-word has always been a distinctive part of what the community is about. A natural growth from the founder's Christian roots, hospitality was intended to be offered as an outpouring of Christ's love. The problem comes with where you draw the line. Some people in the house hold their space very closely and, while they are caring enough on the outside, may not be willing to have the sort of open door policy that I envision as being true at the Community's inception. I am not advocating a sort of unthoughtful, sloppy, anything-goes policy which would slowly turn the house into a hotspot for local dealers, but rather operating a home that always has a few more spots at the dinner table and is willing to give everyone a chance, or two, or three.
I know that there are plenty of problems that come along with this, whether that be the vulnerability of some individuals in the household, or the fact that there are not always workers in the house, but those can be overcome. The big issue is getting people to not think of the house or things as theirs, but as the Community's. Much easier to write than actually to live though because I know that I can be found guilty of thinking that way too.
Much to chew on, especially in thinking about how I would use my personal home and how tightly I hold on to my possessions.
Much to chew on, yes, but tonight I am too tired to be hungry.
Nite.
I did streetwork down there tonight but was probably out a little too early as the place was still hoping as me and my streetwork partner for the evening, Sophie, parted ways at 2:00. We met a few folks but most of them were probably in hostels and just out begging.
Why does it seem like people with mental health problems or addictions always have some sort of spirituality intertwined with their life? Me and Soph were talking with this fella tonight who was super- pissed (that is drunk for all you non-british speakers) and as we were leaving the conversation he began to talk of the coincidence that we are with the Simon Community and he has an angel named Simon that looks after him. Or something like that. I don't know.
This past week I was up in Wales again at the wife of the Community's founder's house. (Hmmm....those double possessives are always tough to write grammatically correct) It was nice to get outside of the city and have a couple of days to hang out with all the workers in the Community. That is the first time since I have been here that we have all had the chance to hang out without worrying about community issues. Yeah, it was good.
One of the big discussions (yelling matches, whatever you want to call them) that have been happening in the house lately has been about the issue of "hospitality". I say that this has been happening lately but really it has been an ongoing conversation (yelling match, whatever you want to call it) since I have been here. The dreaded h-word has always been a distinctive part of what the community is about. A natural growth from the founder's Christian roots, hospitality was intended to be offered as an outpouring of Christ's love. The problem comes with where you draw the line. Some people in the house hold their space very closely and, while they are caring enough on the outside, may not be willing to have the sort of open door policy that I envision as being true at the Community's inception. I am not advocating a sort of unthoughtful, sloppy, anything-goes policy which would slowly turn the house into a hotspot for local dealers, but rather operating a home that always has a few more spots at the dinner table and is willing to give everyone a chance, or two, or three.
I know that there are plenty of problems that come along with this, whether that be the vulnerability of some individuals in the household, or the fact that there are not always workers in the house, but those can be overcome. The big issue is getting people to not think of the house or things as theirs, but as the Community's. Much easier to write than actually to live though because I know that I can be found guilty of thinking that way too.
Much to chew on, especially in thinking about how I would use my personal home and how tightly I hold on to my possessions.
Much to chew on, yes, but tonight I am too tired to be hungry.
Nite.
posted by Chris | 10:04 PM
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