{"id":6487,"date":"2015-01-14T14:38:51","date_gmt":"2015-01-14T22:38:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/projecthomelessconnect.org\/staging\/?p=6487"},"modified":"2015-01-21T12:48:26","modified_gmt":"2015-01-21T20:48:26","slug":"holidays-the-eyes-of-the-homeless-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/projecthomelessconnect.org\/staging\/2015\/01\/holidays-the-eyes-of-the-homeless-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Holidays &#038; the Eyes of the Homeless"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>At PHC 57 on December 17th, <a title=\"REDF Website\" href=\"http:\/\/redf.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">REDF<\/a>\u00a0brought a group of 23 volunteers who donated their time across 10 volunteer service areas. \u00a0REDF, or Roberts Enterprise Development Fund, is one of our valuable fiscal supporters who\u00a0helps us keep our mission alive. \u00a0Here is an\u00a0account from\u00a0Valonna Fowler of Culture, People &amp; Performance at REDF, who helped in the vision area of the event. \u00a0As a reading glasses volunteer, Valonna\u00a0assisted\u00a0participants as they found\u00a0the right strength of\u00a0reading glasses\u00a0for their needs. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-164 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/projecthomelessconnect.org\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/glasses1.jpg\" alt=\"glasses\" width=\"5726\" height=\"3606\" \/>One of the greatest\u00a0parts of the day was having conversations with the participants. Here\u2019s the thing: people instantly transform from statistics to human beings when you shake their hand, ask their names, look into their eyes.<\/p>\n<p>One of the first people I met was Michael. His old pair of glasses had broken, and he felt like everything was out of focus. We tried on a few pair and I adjusted the nosepads. These new glasses were going to be his Christmas present. His eyes started to water as he looked through the lenses and the world came into focus. For myself, I couldn\u2019t say anything beyond Merry Christmas.<\/p>\n<p>I met Val, who had diabetes. She had a bright aqua umbrella and wore a tan bowler. I loved her style. She just wanted to feel pretty in the glasses she chose. Diabetes was hard enough to manage, she explained, so ugly frames weren\u2019t going to work. We discussed polka dots, leopard prints, and finally found the perfect pair of striped glasses. She sat for a while, testing the lenses, whether the glasses fit her nose, and even examined the width of the stripes. I have to admit her attention to detail made her a kindred spirit to me. In the end, Val felt pretty as she stood up to continue her day at PHC, wishing me happy holidays as she went.<\/p>\n<p>A little while later, I met another Michael. This Michael put on one of the strongest prescriptions available, and exclaimed how he could see across the room now. It made my heart hurt to know he probably needed a full eye exam, but those appointments are scarce. Once he finished at PHC, he planned to go home and watch TV. He\u2019d moved into an SRO about a month ago and a TV was one of the first items he wanted, because that made it feel like a real home. This was his Christmas present, he said, and his excitement was contagious.<\/p>\n<p>These interludes may read like a disjointed tapestry, but they\u2019re all part of what makes San Francisco. The volunteers that day were few compared to the population. The resources were in short supply. Yet an overriding theme kept rising to the top as I dispensed pair after pair of reading glasses. These wonderful, fun, and lively individuals I interacted with aren\u2019t simply a statistic. They are breathing denizens of my beloved city, with stories in their eyes and contributions at their fingertips. To them, a pair of glasses, a meal, a health appointment could be their Christmas present. Why do we hold back our time, resources \u2013 ourselves? The people I met last week certainly didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n<p>By Valonna Fowler<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"REDF Blog\" href=\"http:\/\/redf.org\/holidays-eyes-homeless-valonna-fowler\/\" target=\"_blank\">Original Blog Post<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At PHC 57 on December 17th, REDF\u00a0brought a group of 23 volunteers who donated their time across 10 volunteer service areas. \u00a0REDF, or Roberts Enterprise Development Fund, is one of our valuable fiscal supporters who\u00a0helps us keep our mission alive. \u00a0Here is an\u00a0account from\u00a0Valonna Fowler of Culture, People &amp; Performance at REDF, who helped in&hellip;&nbsp;<a class=\"more-link\" title=\"Read\u00a0More\" href=\"https:\/\/projecthomelessconnect.org\/staging\/2015\/01\/holidays-the-eyes-of-the-homeless-2\/\">Read\u00a0More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":164,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[55,17,54,66,56],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v17.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Holidays &amp; 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