Sisters students give and receive on skid row

Living in Sisters Country can make it easy to forget what exists outside the protective bubble that is Sisters. For young people in the community, the cruel realities of life on the street may seem more like a scary movie; something seen from a distance and barely relevant.

Youth pastor Daniel Keels works with students at Sisters Community Church. Three years ago he started a program called "Serve LA" to create a link between local students and those in need.

Keels' idea came from his background of service. His father was also a youth pastor, and Daniel participated in the programs his father created. Later, at Multnomah College, he volunteered with "The Drop Inn" where he worked with street kids and homeless adults. The combination of his experiences gave birth to Serve LA.

His original idea was to take high school students, expose them to the homeless and give them the opportunity to serve. In Keels' experience, self-absorption is often a student's biggest challenge.

"Students are changed by being a part of something bigger than themselves, especially when they feel like God is using them to have an impact in someone else's life," he said.

Keels chose skid row in Los Angeles for his outreach program because it has the highest density of homeless people in the country.

"There are 92,000 homeless in Los Angeles," said Keels. "Where we were is the heart of the homeless community because that's where the resources are. It draws both the homeless and those who want to help; it's a hub for all."

The home base for Serve LA was 6th and San Pedro Street. Keels began planning for the trip five months in advance. Over the past three years he's formed bonds with Habitat for Humanity, LA Mission Union, Mission Gospel, People Assisting The Homeless (PATH), and Central City Community Outreach (CCCO). This year's trip focused mainly on helping CCCO, Midnight Mission and the Jonah Project.

One of the activities the students participated in was Karaoke Coffee Club for the homeless. The event gives participants time when they have a voice and don't feel ignored.

"They feel a sense of dignity," said Keels. "For that moment, they're front-and-center. They have a chance to have a sense of normalcy and camaraderie with everyone there. They had a blast!"

They also hosted a swim party for homeless children, playing with them and giving them a day that was both fun and safe. At midnight, they fed over 500 people at a midnight feast, and the next morning fed even more people.

A new activity for the students was setting up several foot-washing stations. Keels said that people mentioned that they hadn't seen anything like that on skid row in a long time. "And never," said Keels, "by 25 high school students from Oregon."

Although Keels' purpose is to help the homeless, his focus is always the students.

"To see others' needs before their own is so good for them," said Keels. "You get life from being in situations that are out of your control. We're with people who have nothing. They are always so surprised to see our group there to serve them. It's so great for the students to be a part of things instead of just observers. Our students are going where they don't belong; they know it and so do the homeless they're serving."

A valuable lesson learned by participants is how varied the reasons are for a person's homeless status. An activity that helped students get a better understanding of the people on skid row was to bring a lunch to share with a homeless person. All the students asked for in return was to hear their guest's story. For the students it was a time to listen, and a time to be truly heard for the homeless.

"The stories are so varied," said Keels. "They are not just a bunch of drug addicts. The thing they have in common is they are all fleeing something. The sad thing is they think that is where their story ends. It's very difficult to pull yourself out of homelessness, but Jesus can pull them out."

This was the first year Becka Pelham participated in Serve LA. The experience was enlightening in many ways.

"I talked with a man who looked so scary, I would have crossed the street if I saw him in Bend," she said. "We talked with him about his hopes for the future, about how excited and scared he was to go into rehab for heroin the next day."

Pelham could relate to the man and was amazed at how quickly he opened up to them.

"Some of the things he was telling us, I wouldn't say to some of my closest friends," she said. "He taught me to see beyond appearances and remember we all have something good inside."

In the end, the kids took away the knowledge that homelessness is the extreme example of a person who has lost everything. Keels wants his students to realize that the principles they take away with them should extend to their classmates at school who may be isolated or ignored for a variety of reasons.

"There are people who don't have obvious problems who need help, too. Those who appear to be OK, may have diseases of the heart," said Keels. "The ones who look the most together, may be the most crippled. It's what's going on inside."

On the drive down to Los Angeles, the group came up with an acronym, "RAW," which stands for Ready and Willing. The adults who chaperoned the students were so impressed with how seriously they took the motto.

"That's what our students were all the time," said Keels. "Even though the students were exhausted, if we put something else on their plate they were always ready and willing."