Date: Tuesday, March 7th, 2017
Summary:
On my visit to the Mishawaka Food Pantry, I first talked to the director, Mike Hayes. After a long conversation, he introduced me to a man by the name of Pat (I did not ask for a last name). Pat works in the back “warehouse” area of the food pantry and assists with the day to day operations of food intake. He was around 60 years old and suffered from type 2 diabetes. He used to be married without children, until alcoholism took over his life and his wife divorced him. Now he travels from couch to couch as he can not stay healthy or clean enough to hold a job. Mike even mentioned that Pat will pass out from time to time in the back and they have to take him to the hospital via ambulance. Interestingly, Pat has no desire to find a job and reconnect with society. He said that he enjoyed being “off the grid” and did not enjoy the societal pressures that he used to feel. This was an interesting perspective that I had not yet heard from our other interviews.