Running the Center

I have been given some gruff for not keeping up with the blog. Two reactions: 1) Sorrow for not keeping up my part of the bargain 2) Surprise that people were disappointed. To update the world on what is going on at the Center I will talk about some duties that presented themselves with the absence of "Stephen Krank - Men's Center Guru."

Dealing with four men who all want to rent a two-person apartment. Organizing a group of 12 college students who need to perform 3-4 different activities throughout a day period. Signing clothing vouchers. Making appointments for fixing the washing machine. Learning lessons: 1) Check out whether an appliance really needs to be fixed 2) Schedule all appointments as early in the day as possible. These two simple steps help to limit the number of 12-hour work days. Breaking up a fight. Spreading bus tickets evenly among all the guys in the Center. Signing vouchers for the Phoenix Winter Shelter Program. Writing letters to the shelter when guys miss a night but still want to remain in the program. Helping St. Vincent de Paul promote thrift store sales. Organizing with Rebecca an Alternate Spring Break trip for students from UC Riverside. Writing and sending the Center's Committee letter. Creating a bus ticket tracking sheet. Opening the Center every day. Printing name tags for the interns of the Center. Making sure two of the guys successfully make it to a paid job (which turned out great). Facilitating Enrichemnt Discussions with Dante. Filling out Homeless Court forms. Struggling through an incident with properly signing clothing vouchers. Closing the Center every day.

In reality, I feel as though I did not have to do that much. The Center really does run itself because the guys do all the work. I feel as though I just have to sit back and every now and then use the miniscule amount of authority that I do have to help get something done. More than anything I have come to respect the duties that come when one has to deal with the politics and technicalities of a job while balancing them with direct service to the guys. I am glad that Steve is back and will not forget the continuing lessons of life that I learn at the Center, most of which are impossible to learn from a book. This is the real thing. I do not claim to have any of the answers, but I have been exposed to a lot of the questions. Living through them has become my way of life.