{"id":77195,"date":"2019-03-06T14:42:44","date_gmt":"2019-03-06T20:42:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=77195"},"modified":"2019-03-06T14:42:44","modified_gmt":"2019-03-06T20:42:44","slug":"san-juan-outreach-program-supports-local-homeless-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/san-juan-outreach-program-supports-local-homeless-community\/","title":{"rendered":"San Juan outreach program supports local homeless community"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Chris Schulz
\n<\/strong>Medill Reports<\/em>
\nSAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO –<\/p>\n

It\u2019s just before 8 p.m. when we arrive at Iniciativa Comunitaria<\/a> in the Rio Piedras neighborhood of San Juan.<\/p>\n

Every Friday night, Iniciativa conducts Operaci\u00f3n Compasi\u00f3n, a nighttime round to serve the local homeless population by providing food, coffee, juice, condoms, clothes, hygiene kits and needle exchange, among other things.<\/p>\n

Each week a different member of the organization leads the outreach. Tonight the leader is Emanuel Rivera, a young public health professional, accompanied by his brother Kenneth. Emanuel is already a veteran of the rounds, but this is 17-year-old Kenneth\u2019s first time volunteering. Ivan Figueroa, a local pharmacist who is helping set up but will not join us on the rounds, briefs us about what to expect and what to do while Emmanuel prepares the coffee and juice. <\/span><\/p>\n

When we set out, it’s already past 10:30 p.m. On our first few stops we encounter individuals who are either unwilling or unable to talk very much with us but accepted our offerings. We stop for a while on a back street, but most of the people here aren\u2019t very interested in talking either. It isn\u2019t until we begin to approach the overpass that we get a chance to really have conversations.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Emmanuel
Coffee is prepared, with copious amounts of sugar and cream, to be served to people offerings during the outreach. Participants are offered food, condoms, coffee, juice, needle exchange, and clothes, depending on availability.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A group of about six or seven sit under a well-lit overhang across from where we park. Almost immediately a man approaches us to exchange needles. We meet and he tells me his name is Javier. I watch him put his used needles in the plastic hazmat box, and give him the corresponding number of clean, unused needles back. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSeis para seis\u201d [Six for six] I say to him as I hand him the new needles. As we hand out coffees and food and condoms, Javier gestures to the group across the street. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c\u00c9l no puede caminar, pero tiene para cambiar.\u201d [He can\u2019t walk, but he wants to exchange.] \u00a0When he puts five more in the box, I hand him the same amount of clean needles back. <\/span><\/p>\n

After a frenetic 10 minutes of handing out whatever is asked for, we prepare to leave but another call for \u201cCaf\u00e9!\u201d echoes across the street. Soon Emanuel has us all across the street, handing out socks and talking. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cComo lo han pasado?\u201d [How have you been?] I ask. \u201cBueeeeno,\u201d [Okay] comes the simultaneous reply from Alessandra and Joel, laughing at a joke I\u2019m not a part of. \u201cEstamos bien\u201d [We\u2019re OK] they assure me. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cY que van a hacer ma\u00f1ana?\u201d [What are you going to do tomorrow?] I ask them. This is advice from Ivan: always ask about the future, not\u00a0 the past. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEso es lo que no queremos pensar\u201d [We don\u2019t want to think about it,] Joel replies, growing serious. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNo sabemos si vamos a tener un d\u00eda m\u00e1s de vida, no podemos adelantar,\u201d [We don\u2019t know if we are going to have another day of life, we can\u2019t get ahead of ourselves,] he says.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cQue quisieras?\u201d [What would you like?] I ask him. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYo quisiera que apareciera un \u00e1ngel\u201d [I wish an angel would appear to me] he says, difficult to hear over the sounds of traffic and his partners talking all at once. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cQuisiera que amaneciera bien, te lo juro. Yo le orare a ese Dios…que yo no piense m\u00e1s en drogas. Que no piense m\u00e1s en drogas y me sienta bien mi cuerpo. Que no me importe. Se que va a ser imposible, pero\u2026\u201d [I wish I could wake up well, I swear to you. I will pray to that God…that I won\u2019t think any more about drugs. That I won\u2019t think any more about drugs and my body will feel well. That it won\u2019t matter to me. I know it will be impossible but\u2026] His voice trails off.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A
A bio-waste box, full of used needles, sits ready to be collected for proper disposal. Used needles pose a serious health risk, not only because of their potential to transmit disease, but also because their tips dull after one use and damage skin, leaving users susceptible to infection. Needle exchanges ensure drug users don\u2019t have to reuse or share their needles, giving them an opportunity to maintain their health until they are ready to seek treatment, which the organization provides.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We keep talking: about our route for the rest of the night, about rounds that have brought hot soup and new clothes in the past, about our futures.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAlg\u00fan d\u00eda podr\u00e1n notar la superaci\u00f3n de algunos de nosotros,\u201d [Some day you all might write about the success of some of us,] says Joel when we explain our aspirations to be journalists.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSi, en un nuevo d\u00eda\u201d [Yes, on a new day,] I say to him.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNo en <\/span>El Nuevo D\u00eda<\/span><\/a> no! No me gusta ese peri\u00f3dico\u201d [No in El Nuevo D\u00eda, no! I don\u2019t like that paper], he replies sternly. We all laugh, sharing in his joke. We say our goodbyes, hand out a few more coffees, and move on. <\/span><\/p>\n

There are still five hours left in our round.<\/span><\/p>\n

Featured Image:\u00a0A man sits alone at 11 p.m. on a closed restaurant\u2019s patio in San Juan, Puerto Rico.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Chris Schulz Medill Reports SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO – It\u2019s just before 8 p.m. when we arrive at Iniciativa Comunitaria in the Rio Piedras neighborhood of San Juan. Every Friday night, Iniciativa conducts Operaci\u00f3n Compasi\u00f3n, a nighttime round to serve the local homeless population by providing food, coffee, juice, condoms, clothes, hygiene kits and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":556,"featured_media":77197,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[452,28,29,30,675,4559],"tags":[1003,4685,694,4221,1811,2253],"class_list":["post-77195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-beyond-chicago","category-general-interest","category-health-and-science","category-public-affairs","category-social-justice","category-winter-2019","tag-addiction","tag-harm-reduction","tag-homelessness","tag-outreach","tag-puerto-rico","tag-san-juan"],"yoast_head":"\nSan Juan outreach program supports local homeless community - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/san-juan-outreach-program-supports-local-homeless-community\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"San Juan outreach program supports local homeless community - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Chris Schulz Medill Reports SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO – It\u2019s just before 8 p.m. when we arrive at Iniciativa Comunitaria in the Rio Piedras neighborhood of San Juan. 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