Starting off at 8AM was rough, but after some coffee and bagels provided by our hostel we hit the ground running! Our day began with sightseeing of the waterfront on San Francisco Bay. Pier 39 was stunning with amazing views of the bay and even Alcatraz!
The sea lion population also stole our hearts....
We had some down time, so we continued to walk around the city, tour the area, and even rode on an ever-so-popular SanFran cable car.
The day went off without a hitch and the group was very happy to be settling in a clean and friendly city where the temperature is not in the single digits. Ha!
Shortly after lunch on the pier and two train rides later we indulged in our first service activity of the trip, sharing with the men at the Seventh Step Program in Hayward, California (a suburb of the city of Oakland). The Seventh Step Program is a facility and treatment halfway house for drug addicts, ex-convicts, alcoholics, and men in despair. No pictures were allowed to be taken in the house, but the voices and faces of the individuals resound in our minds. Many of the men suffered from horrible addictions, gloomy pasts, and unclear futures. All of this is funded by their director, Mr. Ron Doyle, directly from his own pocket. His staff are all men who "graduated"from the program who continue to serve and help the men who sit in the seats they once filled.
We discussed many hot topics including ways to fill the holes in their program, obstacles they have overcome, and the prospect of a grim chance at employment. Many of the men discussed a desire to better themselves, clean their lives up, and rebuilding bridges they had once burned. It came to be a "candid and real" discussion about their lives and how our "book knowledge" can work hand-in-hand with their "street smarts."
It was an eye-opening and enlightening moment for many of us who have come to the realization that your path can easily be skewed by a few bad choices. Those men living their are no different than you and I. They aren't "bad people", they just did "bad things." Raw emotions bounced off the white cinder block walls that evening and still echoes in our hearts.
Thank you to the staff (Mr. Doyle and coordinator Kevin) for opening up your home to curious collegiates.
The night ended with a pizza party, reflection of our day, and good nights sleep.
I will end this writing with a quote from Kevin that day:
"If you do what you've always done, you will get what you have always got."
Until We Meet Again,
RUAB California
"Voices from Inside"
Written by Melissa Hoffman
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