Community Kitchen offers help to needy
Commentary
Joseph Moore
Issue date: 10/15/09 Section: Editorial
As a college student, it is easy for me to take laundry, bathroom and shower facilities for granted.
After learning about the Chattanooga Community Kitchen as part of a class requirement, I am encouraged to know there is help available for people who cannot take these things for granted.
Last Friday I took the free dinner served every afternoon at 3:45 as an opportunity to get to know some of the clientele.
Henry, a middle-aged man feeling the effects of a poor economy, talked with me about his attempts to find jobs in several cities, including Pensacola, Fla., where he grew up and spent time recently visiting friends.
"It's sad," he said about the lull in available jobs. His was a humbling, real-world account to hear for someone who will be jobless after December graduation.
Henry and I were enjoying the Community Kitchen's food service, which provides more than 130,000 meals a year "for anyone that is hungry," according to the organization's brochure.
After eating, I walked over to the Day Center which exists as a reference point for many people in Chattanooga who do not have a mailing address due to foreclosure or a host of other reasons.
The young woman behind the front was wearing a UTC hoodie, so I introduced myself. Saisha, who earned her Bachelor's from UTC last December as a Sociology major, landed a job at the Community Kitchen as a case manager soon after graduation.
She told me she worked with people who are homeless for all sorts of reasons-sometimes just plain bad luck.
"I never thought I would be working here," she said. "But I love my job."
When Saisha holds the mail for the Day Center clients, as she was when I talked to her, she is in one of the most positive environments of the Community Kitchen.
The Day Center looks like a small cafeteria with offices and meeting rooms on two walls. One room promoted a reading program, and another room was dedicated to "meditation" for those of any faith to use after checking in at the front desk.
After learning about the Chattanooga Community Kitchen as part of a class requirement, I am encouraged to know there is help available for people who cannot take these things for granted.
Last Friday I took the free dinner served every afternoon at 3:45 as an opportunity to get to know some of the clientele.
Henry, a middle-aged man feeling the effects of a poor economy, talked with me about his attempts to find jobs in several cities, including Pensacola, Fla., where he grew up and spent time recently visiting friends.
"It's sad," he said about the lull in available jobs. His was a humbling, real-world account to hear for someone who will be jobless after December graduation.
Henry and I were enjoying the Community Kitchen's food service, which provides more than 130,000 meals a year "for anyone that is hungry," according to the organization's brochure.
After eating, I walked over to the Day Center which exists as a reference point for many people in Chattanooga who do not have a mailing address due to foreclosure or a host of other reasons.
The young woman behind the front was wearing a UTC hoodie, so I introduced myself. Saisha, who earned her Bachelor's from UTC last December as a Sociology major, landed a job at the Community Kitchen as a case manager soon after graduation.
She told me she worked with people who are homeless for all sorts of reasons-sometimes just plain bad luck.
"I never thought I would be working here," she said. "But I love my job."
When Saisha holds the mail for the Day Center clients, as she was when I talked to her, she is in one of the most positive environments of the Community Kitchen.
The Day Center looks like a small cafeteria with offices and meeting rooms on two walls. One room promoted a reading program, and another room was dedicated to "meditation" for those of any faith to use after checking in at the front desk.
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