Local volunteer brightens holidays

"Hey Mama," called a girl from down the block with her dog. As the source of the voice drew closer, Mama Sara could see two homeless girls approaching with their dog, Toxic. The girls ran up and gave Mama Sara a hug. They talked about a boyfriend getting out of jail soon, sleeping on the street and exchanged lots of hugs and kisses.

It was clear that homeless teens connect with and trust Mama Sara. She believes they are her family and treats them as such.

Even while living on the street, addicted to drugs and homeless, she was well known among the homeless teenagers living in Capitol Hill. Mama Sara, now 51 years old, has become a part of the Peace for the Streets by Kids from the Streets (PSKS), a non-profit organization.

As a part of PSKS, Mama Sara hosts the Capitol Hill Homeless Eating Well program, a holiday dinner held at Miller Community Center on Dec. 21, for children up to 17 years of age. About 30 to 70 people attend each year.

This holiday dinner is possible through donations from local stores and restaurants. Mama Sara and many of the homeless teens she teaches cook the meal. She tries to have traditional holiday food like ham, turkey and green bean casserole.

"Soup kitchen meals are great; they kept me alive. But we make this a home-cooked meal, something that reminds them of holidays with family," she said.

Additionally, the staff of PSKS spends Christmas Eve with "the family" -- a close-knit group of homeless teens who regularly participate in shelter programs.

For the Christmas Eve celebration, volunteers set up donated food trays and snacks and get gifts ready for the teens. By the end of the party, the small room where the event takes place is covered with wrapping paper, little kids, dogs and teens. Mama Sara explained how happy the kids are to get sleeping bags and boots that don't leak when it rains.

"Have you ever seen a kid rub brand-new socks on their face, smiling, telling their friends how soft they are? It is a very humbling experience," she said.

Mama Sara spent more than 18 years of her life living homeless on the street and addicted to drugs. She is significantly handicapped, must walk with two canes and has braces that go from her feet to mid-thighs. Many of her health problems are a result of her years on the street.

She came to PSKS in 1995, was rehabilitated and started volunteering with the organization in 1998. In 2000, she became a paid employee. Mama Sara is paid $85 a month, but she works constantly to keep up with all the programs she is part of.

PSKS is a project-based organization attempting to bridge the gap between the homeless community and the rest of society. The organization serves the need of teaching homeless teens skills to make it in the outside world.

The organization has a number of programs available for the homeless. There is no age limit on who is helped or who can participate in the programs offered. Teens are welcome to get mail at the organization and the center hosts a case manager once a week.

One PSKS program aims to engage teens, the community and police officers in mediated discussions. Another is a citywide project called Weed and Seed to clean up neighborhoods.

Stephanie Fosback and Jill Stevenson, third-year UW Medical students, started a program urging college students to volunteer their time by teaching under-represented teens about health and science. The group started working with PSKS last year.

Fosback explains that the center welcomes presentations on anything from college students; they just want the teens to learn more about college and the real world.

"This program reaches out to kids that are unreachable," said Fosback. "If you volunteer there, you are helping an under-served community; you are needed there."

Rachael Weber, age 20, is an example of the impact volunteers can have on homeless teens. She has been homeless since she was 15 years old. Weber sold drugs, became addicted to heroine and has been arrested a number of times and is now on probation. The courts ordered her to have a GED by January. She has been coming to PSKS since November and has gotten very involved. She is now part of two programs, and has started an internship -- her first real job.

"I am tired of the lifestyle; it's so wonderful here, and they are really helping me. I am hoping this will get me ready to go out into the real world," Weber said.

Due to the lack of funding and the small building the organization operates out of, teens cannot sleep in the building but are always welcome to drop in to use the bathroom, eat snacks and hang out.

"Here we teach a man to fish; we don't just give them a fish. We wan to teach them to care for themselves," said Mama Sara.

PSKS uses its close relationship with homeless teens to have them fill out demographic sheets so they don't get lost in the system easily and will be counted in the annual Seattle count.

According to the Seattle-King County Coalition for the Homeless, in October 2004, a total of 2,216 people were found trying to survive without shelter during the One Night Street Count. The street count takes place each year to keep track of homeless populations in the area. Comparing areas counted in both 2003 and 2004, there was a 12 percent increase in the number of people on the streets this year.

Seattle, like most cities, sends out state employees who count the homeless huddled in doorways or on benches, but squatters on public property aren't counted for safety reasons. Therefore the count is usually inaccurate. PSKS hopes its demographics can help.

This organization runs on donations of food, money, clothes and hygiene items and isn't a "socks and soup place," according to Mama Sara. There is a small emergency food bank that is available for those who are in immense need.

Many of the homeless teens put in volunteer time at the center. There are only five paid staff members; a lot of work is done through volunteers.

"Getting up out of your arm chair once a month will do something. This has been the most valuable experience of my life. There are so many opportunities for young people to volunteer; they are the future. They don't need to be scared -- we all learn as we go," Mama Sara said.

She teaches homeless teens about dignity, self-respect and how to really care about themselves and their futures. She believes if more college-age volunteers would donate their time, the teens would have a better chance to grasp the idea of a future.

Mama Sara holds a community dinner once a month, where she cooks a meal that she feels is fit for her family.

"If you break bread, communication is easier; this applies to all cultures, this can make things possible," she said.