a field trip suggestion

today at the refuge we are having our monthly advocates meeting.  this gathering is a lunch meeting of about 20 men and women who are dedicated to journeying with people in hard places. it is a lovely mix of friends, all willing to offer more than just their hearts but also their hands and feet.  this month’s topic is called “navigating social services.”  the joke is that in 90 minutes we’ll learn everything we need to know about navigating the system, ha!   my friend jeff is facilitating; he is an amazing advocate and knows more about services and how to access them than anyone i know.  he created a fancy 12 page document that helps break it down for dummies like most of us.

at the refuge, a lot of my friends are on services.  i have said many a time how sad this makes me.  in true community i wish that no one had to utilize the government to eat, to live, to get the medicine they need.  but that’s a whole other conversation (my two-cents-in-the-moment is if people with more resources were willing to live in true community with others, it wouldn’t be such a problem).   the part that is burning inside of me, though, is a desire for people to understand how truly humiliating accessing services is. it is harder than anyone thinks, pulling up into the parking lot and walking through the doors at social services, social secsurity or food stamps/medicaid.  no one i know wants to have to.  no one feels great about themselves doing it.  no one leaves feeling pumped up about their great life.

i wrote about my heart for cultivating advocates on the carnival blog a few years ago.  i am passionate about nurturing a spirit of advocacy where people have access to someone who believes in them, fights for them, stands between them and the system when necessary.  i can’t tell you the number of doors that i can open because of power and margin that my friends sometimes can’t.

anyway, i could go on and on, and that’s not the point of this post.  what is the point is my hope that as Christ-followers we will consider “walking a mile in another man’s shoes” and gain greater understanding–in a very, very small way–what it is like to have to be “in the system.”   my 2010 challenge to everyone who hasn’t ever set foot into a social services office is to take a little field trip there–by yourself. don’t bring a friend because that will diffuse the impact.  just go by yourself.  sit in the parking lot and watch who’s walking in.  sit in the lobby and catch the vibe.  watch how people are treated.  notice what’s going on for them.

and keep asking yourself the question:  what is “the church” supposed to do about this?  what are we as individuals supposed to do about this?

so there you have it, my small and probably a little scary field trip suggestion for 2010.  i’d love to hear some of your thoughts.  if you go, please email me at kathy@therefugeonline.org and let me know what it’s like for you (or post a comment here for others to see!)