I began hearing people say something about the Horizon Center being closed at from 11:30 to noon for a clean up. So I inquired as to what people do then. I learned that many of the people go over to another type of day center called the Community Kitchen. I had heard about the Community Kitchen because a a month earlier when I had read a story in the Lexington newspaper about how the director had spent 3 months as a bag lady in the Kentucky-Indiana area as a thesis for her masters degree. I got directions from a woman on the street and walked over the few blocks.
The Community Kitchen seemed like a much nicer place then the Horizon Center. They served fresh hot coffee and provided clean disposable cups. They had a piano and many nicer places to sit. I had never realized how important a nice place to sit was until I had spend many tiring hours wandering on the cold streets of the city. The floors were cleaner and they had a smoke filter in the room. The piano alone made me feel better and as I listened to a young black girl sing, my spirits were lifted. I also noticed there was a small library of books available.
After I got a cup of coffee and began leaning against the wall to rest, an older man came and inquired about my coffee. Because there were no more cups, I offered him my cup and he accepted. We later had a short conversation as a result of my kind gesture. The staff worker at the Community Kitchen seemed to play the role of a policeman. As I saw things, it seemed like every moment he was watching the folks and rushing to investigate everything which seemed "out of the ordinary.” I kept watching him rush around the room, open and close doors, talk briefly with people, give orders and greet visitors dropping off clothing. In contrast to the Horizon Center where the staff and security guards paid so little attention to what was done or said, the male staff worker at the Community Kitchen seemed "overbearing.” At one point he tried to throw out an older, mildly drunk man because he wouldn't stop cussing. "What a contrast to the 'unleashed' cussing at the Horizon Center," I thought. It looked like the young staff worker got his 'self esteem' and 'power needs' met by being in control of the room. It was laughable to observe the young worker threatening and telling the older drunk to leave and all of the homeless people watching with smiles on their faces. I could tell they felt entertained. The contrast between the only two places where homeless people could "hang out" during the day was amazing. I wondered if the staff in both places communicated with each other. I wondered if they were in agreement with each other in philosophy and purpose. I wondered how they defined the problems of the homeless.
The Community Kitchen closed at noon and while it looked at first like people went their separate ways, I soon discovered that most of the folks headed back to the Horizon Center. I sat on a bench outside the Community Kitchen and had a short conversation with the man to whom I had earlier offered coffee (a homebased alcoholic man) about the bummers of street life. Then, I elected to go back to the Horizon Center myself.
I arrived back at the Horizon Center and found it somewhat cleaned up. All the vodka and rum bottles had been emptied from the bathroom trash can and the floors had been swept by someone. I remained at the Horizon Center for the next few hours observing the following when I wasn't napping:
  • While many of the people made fun of the mentally ill woman, some ignored her and I did not observe the staff interacting with her.
  • The few men who had earlier sat silently and stared into the air were back in their places looking extremely depressed and out-of-touch.
  • There were many loud black men swearing and threatening each other
  • There were a few young obese women flirting with the men.
  • There were a number of drunk men coming out of the bathroom and falling down onto the floor
  • The young prostitute was coming and going all day long and men were coming up to her to try to engage her in conversation
  • The staff stayed behind the doors of the office only coming out to leave, give have a short conversation with the security guard or ask someone to quiet down. Occasionally, a street person would knock on the door of the offices and would go in and talk.

The next day (Saturday) I asked a security guard if she could tell me anything about the programs offered at the Horizon Center. She said she did not know anything about the Center and suggested I come back Monday and inquire with the staff. I was actually quite surprised to discover that she knew little or nothing about the Center programs since she appeared to be the most visable staff worker there. I inquired whether she had any literature about the Center and she said she had nothing. When I asked if she was employed by the Center or worked for a private contract agency, she responded by saying that I sure asked a lot of questions!

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