Skip to main content

Waiting for Lunch

My first time visiting Hesed House was on August 19, 2015. I was ecstatic to join the Health Advocacy Clinic. I wanted to help people get Social Security benefits, conduct intake interviews, and order medical records from local hospitals. As lunch time approached, I decided to order a tuna sandwich from Jimmy Johns. Jimmy Johns stated they would deliver my sandwich, so I decided to wait outside for it. While waiting for my lunch, I saw a man pacing back and forth under a bridge, near Hesed House. It seemed like he was contemplating something, seemed very confused. He continued pace back and forth, until he stopped. He turned to the concrete wall, unzipped his pants, and proceeded to urinate. I could not believe what I was looking at, a man in his late thirties urinating in public, in the middle of the day. He did not seem to care who was looking at him, cars were racing by him, each car that raced by was able to see him in clear vie

I was shocked. I began to question why anyone would do something like that. Does he not care if there are minors in those passing cars? Does he not care if someone walks by? If someone he knew passed by, would he still do this? Questions continued to swirl through my brain, until I decided to walk back into Hesed House and wait for my food inside

As I walked into Hesed House, still in shock, I was becoming annoyed. Then I came to the realization that there are many factors that may have forced this behavior. Things like he may suffer from a mental health or substance abuse issue. The act is unlawful, and it goes against public policy. However, many people may be forced to conduct the act because they do not have a car, do not have a home, and may suffer from mental health issues. Many people who reside at Hesed House suffer from mental health issues, like PTSD, severe anxiety, and schizophrenia. Many also have addictions that can impact their behavior.

This experience made me appreciate the Health Advocacy Clinic. The Health Advocacy Clinic helps people in need get public benefits. The benefits will hopefully raise their standard of living, like provide money for rent, food, and health care. The shocking experience made me understand that people within the Hesed House community need help, and I can help them.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Inner Workings of SNAP

In the clinic we have learned about and discussed several government-funded programs that aid those who are in need. The most recent program we have discussed is SNAP (Supplemental Assistance Nutrition Program). According to Snap to Health, a website that discusses SNAP, the first food assistance program was established in 1939. Snap to Health states that this program was implemented under the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration; specifically, it was enacted along with President Franklin’s New Deal program. In 1964, the Food Stamp Act was passed. Since this time, there have been various changes including an increase in monetary support in the 1970s , and a decrease in monetary support in the 1980s. In 2008, the program was renamed SNAP. What is interesting about this program is that there is a high likelihood that the next person you see walking down the street may be on SNAP because this program assists many people. For example, according to B uilding a Healthy America: A Profile of ...

Soul-Searching My Way Through Survey Writing

One of the tasks that we undertook in our foundational work for the clinic was creating a survey that will be handed out to patients of Aunt Martha’s before we begin seeing clients.  It is meant to provide us with a sense of which legal issues might be common or most urgent among the patients, so that we can determine which legal matters will likely require our attention.  Given our resources, we will not be able to address every legal issue facing prospective clients and we will have to pick our battles.  This is difficult because as clinic students we want to take on every challenge and represent every client.  This survey will help us focus our skills in the areas that are affecting the most people. Having completed nearly three years of law school, I have almost lost my ability to communicate with people in easily understandable language.  When such communication involves connecting with persons who may have little formal education and who face language barriers, health concerns, f...

How Stress Impacts HAC Clients

The Health Advocacy Clinic (HAC) is a medical-legal partnership with Aunt Martha’s Health and Outreach Center as well as Hesed House, the second largest homeless shelter in Illinois. Most of our clients are homeless. The ones who are not consist of low-income members of the community who struggle with poverty. Whether our clients stay in public housing or at Hesed House, they share one thing in common: their lives are stressful in a way that many of us cannot begin to comprehend. HAC clients frequently experience stress trying to secure basic needs such as shelter, food, and safety. The effects of such stress can have long-term effects on their bodies and overall health. “The longer the stress lasts, the worse it is for both your mind and body.” 1 Many of our clients are considered chronically homeless, which requires that they have been homeless for at least a year or have been homeless at least four times within the last three years and have a disability, and have therefore been sub...