Word On The Street

What a great Day for our crew as they were able to assist Onondaga County and the Mets organization by preparing the stadium for opening Day! Sometimes we take things for granted like a Triple A Club right here in town. The crew was in awe of the facility and some have never even been to a game as well as never even being in a Stadium like this. One of our goals is to be able to give our participants a sense of normalcy a break from the issues they are facing whether it is addiction, mental health concerns or homelessness. Yes they get paid at the end of the day and yes a deep dive of engagement is done but the one major goal is building relationships that establish trust. Once they trust us the Story behind the cardboard sign comes out. One day a week is committed to working with Onondaga County, here is a note we received regarding last years engagement.

Good Morning !!

I have work up the numbers for trash collection for the 2020 season.
We all had a slow start due to COVID-19 as such we started working with HIRE Ground on June 26, 2020.
Picked up a total of 202 bags of trash 55 gallons x 202 = 11,110 gallons or 55 cubic yards, and 83 Medical syringes and needles.

Looking forward to 2021 season.
Thanks,
Phil 

Isn’t that awesome, what a wondaful acknowledgement of the work that are crews are doing. Just think some said in the early days of Hire Ground, Homeless folks and Panhandlers would not want to work. Well I guess our crews say Different. Thank you everyone for your continued encouragement and support.   

We met K-Dog with a lunch back in March of 2015, that was first contact but that is were our journey began. K-Dog was Homeless living outdoors addicted to drugs and spinning his wheels in the ever revolving door of addiction. We would see K-Dog panhandling week after week and would visit him in the place he would stay to keep himself warm especially in the winter season. We would love him encourage him and let him know that we believed in him and that there is a way out of this cycle and that we would assist him. When we started the Hire Ground day labor program K-Dog became a regular on the work van. During one work day we surprised K-Dog with a Birthday cake for his Birthday, we all sang Happy Birthday to him. He was so appreciative and surprised that we would remember his special day. On another occasion we found out that his Dad living in Florida was very sick and hospitalized, we asked him if he would like to go see him. We said that we would buy him the round trip ticket to go see his dad, he couldn’t believe that we would do that for him. The next week he was on a plane for Florida, when he got back he was so thankful for the opportunity not to just see his dad but his extended family. That’s what its all about at IMFK building relationships that establish trust. Well just after Thanksgiving of 2020 K-Dog said he was ready for a change and we were able to assist him into rehab with Helio Health. While he was there we made sure he had everything he needed from clothing to footwear. He completed a 28 day program and now is in a half way house to outpatient treatment. K-Dog is now volunteering with IMFK by assisting Kevin on Hire Ground off days and he even keeps are side walks shoveled at IMFK, what a Blessing. K-Dog is a person of Faith and has always served at a food pantry even during his  while out on the streets. Now that he is sober for over 60 days he is attendinaddictiong Church with Kevin right here on the northside of Syracuse. To see this mans determination to change is so powerful as Kevin says “You cant argue with the evidence”. A transformation has truly begun and we will assist K-Dog in whatever means possible to ensure that he stays on the positive tract. These stories are priceless you can not put a price tag on it but because of your faithful financial support days  and moments like this would not be possible.

Our Hire Ground Team was out shoveling sidewalks throughout the City of Syracuse last week. Kevin brought the Team to one location across from the old Central Tech High School to shovel around the park. To be out in the cold Panhandling to survive is one thing but to WORK to earn your way is another. Its all about a Hand Up not a Hand Out. The Team at the end of the day felt so accomplished and they came back to IMFK at the end of the day feeling like the accomplished and completed a mission. To be able to work for 5 hours and escape the noise that harasses our friends minds is irreplaceable. Instead of escaping the noise through drugs they escape by joining together as a unit working and talking about life. Thank you Paulette IMFK (Care Manager) and Kevin IMFK (Van Driver) for showing our friends they are not Invisible.

Hire Ground had the opportunity to work at the Public Safety building to assist Onondaga County in cleaning out the old Jail. Paulette Hire Ground Care Manager (pictured here) is a survivor of the streets and addiction. Kevin Hire Ground Van driver as well, many of our friends on the streets have experienced many nights behind bars. When you are addicted and trying to survive out on the streets many opportunities to make bad choices occur. To see Paulette and Kevin now have victory over their passed demons and now shinning a light out for our friends brings joy to our soul. Paulette said many of the participants were telling their jail stories not making light of it but talking about the struggles of trying to survive. Kevin shared with me after work that it was hard to be on that floor, he said he does not like to remember those moments. I totally understood and encouraged him that he is not that person anymore, that he has done the 180 degree turn and that he is a shinning light to all that change can happen. Our passed scars should not be looked at as shame but as reminders of who we were but no longer are! The pains of yesterday are the stories we can share to assist others to not go down those pathways. I’m so proud of Paulette and Kevin and we are excited to be examples for our friends that their lives can change to.

The Morning of outreach days are always exciting, why you ask? The reason is that we get to make an impact into someone’s life and on outreach days it always starts with a lunch. The moment my eyes open in the morning I start to think about what I will go shopping for. This morning I looked at my phone and looked up the temperature in Syracuse, it said 28 degrees. Immediately Chicken Soup came to my mind and off we went to the store to buy the fresh ingredients necessary to make Chicken Soup. Being a Chef and seeing the power food has on our lives goes with out saying. We are always excited about providing a homemade meal to our friends, it brings a sense of dignity to someone who might feel hopeless. The awesome thing about making delicious lunches is that it provides an opportunity for dialogue to begin or to continue. Conversations about life leads to a relationship which opens a door for trust. Just think simple Chicken Soup opening a door into someone’s heart. One of the things I learned years ago is that your attitude determines your approach and your approach will determine success or failure, I’m believing that todays lunch will be a good approach with humility were we believe success will be born into someone’s life. Its all about Attitudes towards those who are suffering and with your support we are truly making a difference in our community.