Ethnography Summary: Yuwei Tu, Paul Cepak, and Amanda Berusch interviewed Paul Go about his perspective on the homeless situation in South Bend. Paul has been volunteering weekly at the soup kitchen for 5 years, preparing meals and serving the homeless.
Date:2/17/17
Location: Downtown Soup Kitchen at First United Methodist Church
User Characteristic: Retired ND employee, middle aged
Key Takeaways:
-Many homeless don’t operate well in the normal society, don’t want to be around other people
-Mental disorder and alcohol/drug abuse big problem
-Not many people use shelters, because they are comfortable where they are
-Wood crafters in Grand Rapids that provides employment for homeless, could be opportunity for South Bend
-Homeless take advantage of resources like food stamps, but not so much job placements
Quotes:
“They don’t like normal jobs. They don’t want to.”
“We have resources associated with Memorial Hospital, and they do a very good job.”
“As long as they’re not harm to others, in a sense they are allowed to sleep in tents. So what the city can do, is they can open up places like this…to at least give some warm.”