Samaritan House News February 2008

Little Angels Among Us
New Challenges New Directions
Squawking Parrot Highlights Samaritan House Talents

Little Angels Among Us

The Fort Worth Public Library Foundation will produce a unique component of the upcoming More Life: The Art and Science of AIDS, a community-wide series of events meant to inspire and inform the community about HIV/AIDS. The festival is a collaboration of the Fort Worth Opera, AIDS Outreach Center, Tarrant County AIDS Interfaith Network and Samaritan House and will feature projects, performances and exhibitions by a wide variety of community organizations.

The library’s part of the project got off to an inspiring and productive start the first week of January, when a dozen children of Samaritan House residents gathered in the Youngman Family Room with Kids Who Care staffer Deborah Jung and community volunteer Cindy Boyd, who engaged them in a three-day Creativity Camp.

Supported by a $15,000 grant from the library foundation, the project will develop a limited edition book to be published as part of this May’s More Life events. Goals of the project include introducing the children’s book – the first of its kind – to community leaders and the general public, as well as generating public awareness of the More Life festival. Finally, Boyd and Jung hope to help “humanize” HIV/AIDS for community leaders and the general public, taking it from a more abstract issue to a real-life experience.

The rollout event at Samaritan House, and a second installment at AIDS Outreach Center, were conducted by Kids Who Care, a program aimed at getting children in the community engaged around important social issues.

“What started as a half-baked idea over breakfast at Panera’s about six months ago promises to be an extraordinary community project and unique addition to children’s literature,” says Boyd. “I’ve been humbled by the response of the Library Foundation, exceptional community professionals, and the children themselves.”

The book, of which only 1,000 copies will be printed, will have an “angels” theme, to go along with the Fort Worth Opera’s presentation of Angels in America, a production that deals with HIV/AIDS. Cash prizes provided by The Fort Worth Public Library Foundation will be awarded for selected contributions, and all text and illustrations in the book will be done by children touched by AIDS. The project will culminate with a Saturday morning event in May, with readings of the works performed by Kids Who Care actors, displays of art that appears in the book, and a chance to view the prize-winning pieces.

Plans for the book include distribution to other public libraries, school libraries, pediatric hospitals, and other appropriate channels, with the goals of broader community education.

For more information about Kids Who Care programs, visit www.kidswhocare.org. For more information about More Life please call (817) 717-6991 or visit www.morelifetexas.com. If you are interested in participating in or supporting the festival, please call.

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New Challenges, New Directions

Brook

For Brook, addiction and homelessness had become so intertwined that both were simply an inevitable part of daily life. Born thirty-one years ago in Mesa, Arizona, she had succumbed early in her life to the overwhelming urge to use drugs.

Four years ago, her high-risk lifestyle caught up to her when she was diagnosed as HIV-positive.

Though concerned for her well-being, her family felt relatively powerless to change the track on which Brook found herself. In her they saw a young woman resigned to a life beset with hardship, disease and regret.

“Every little thing that went wrong with me, I thought I was that much closer to dying,” says Brook. “I did not understand the disease at all. I was very withdrawn and scared.”

While living in a shelter in Fort Worth called Welcome House, Brook found out about Samaritan House. With few other options available to her, she agreed to go for a visit. What she found was a warm, welcoming community that shared many of her struggles and experiences.

“I liked the type of environment at Samaritan House,” she says. “I was comfortable because everyone was positive here. I consider myself to be a social butterfly, and the people were very nice and sociable.”

Having finally found a soft place to land, Brook began imagining a different life for herself, with the support and encouragement of the rest of the Samaritan House community. “Things started to get better for me,” she recalls. “The (support) groups really helped, and the staff was very considerate. I learned a better way to live and it gave me hope to live with my disease in a positive way.

Though her perspective is much more hopeful now, Brook points out that recovery is far from easy, even with such a loving community. “Every day is a struggle,” she says. “I’m battling with two diseases: addiction and HIV. It can be very depressing sometimes, but with the support of staff, counselors, case workers and fellow residents, it brings me new hope to change, and to make a way for myself and to give back some of what was so freely given to me.”

Brook enjoys the prospect of other new challenges in the future. Though lately her energy has been focused on physical fitness and continuing beyond her one year of sobriety, she has enrolled in two community college classes and will work toward a journalism degree.

“Samaritan House has given me hope for the future,” she says, “and is making me a more productive member of society. I have one full year free of drugs and alcohol, and my family and friends are very proud of me. I have both Samaritan House and God to thank for that.”

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Squawking Parrot Highlights Samaritan House Talents

Two inside pages of The Squawking Parrot

As communities grow and change, the desire to create a collective identity can become increasingly challenging. New ideas enter, spaces have to be shared, and those who are less eager to jump in with both feet can feel left out.

In the spirit of meeting these challenges, Samaritan House residents have taken it upon themselves to build the community they want to see. As in any extended family, residents come with their own unique gifts and passions. When they arrive at Samaritan House, many of them have not expressed themselves creatively in a long time.

A prime opportunity for creative expression, and an important tool in creating strengthening a close-knit community, is the Squawking Parrot, the new resident newsletter created entirely by Samaritan House residents. The monthly publication offers news, humor and bonding to the newsletter staff and all members of the Samaritan House family.

More than half a dozen residents collaborate on the missive, designed with bold, colorful imagery consistent with the organization’s public face. Contributors include poets, graphic designers, illustrators, columnists, news writers and feature writers; and the content focuses primarily on people and activities at Samaritan House.

Schedules help acclimate new residents to the array of supportive services available to them, and contact lists for key staff help ensure that assistance is only a phone call away.

The emphasis is hardly all business, however. From poems like the tongue-in-cheek “Save the Lobsters” to birthday wishes, special event photos and birth announcements, the aim is to celebrate the richness of daily life at Samaritan House.

To view samples of recent issues of the Squawking Parrot, click here. For more information about resident activities and how you can support them, contact Rick at (817) 332-6410, ext 197.

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