Urban Plunge is an activity that CSM puts together for their groups to challenge the students to get outside of their comfort zone and get a first hand experience with a homeless person. Our group of 15 was split into three groups of five.
Group 1 (Franklin Square) - Rick, Jordan Parker, Sam Loomis, Bailey Donoghue, Toni Trager
Group 2 (McPherson Square) - Kris S., Kris L., Sammi Smith, Sarah Finch, Richard Yount
Group 3 (DuPont Circle) - Eddie, Merry Moore, Stephen Smith, Jenna Kohles, Breanna Rhode
Each group was given $31.75 total to feed their entire group, provide a meal for a homeless person, and pay for their transportation to and from their destinations (which were 3.5miles away). This was definitely one of the highlights of the week and one that will make an impact in the lives of these students.
Franklin Square (Jordan Parker)
My urban plunge experience was nothing less than amazing. My group went to Franklin Square Park to find a homeless man to take out to dinner and get to know him. When we first got to the park I was extremely nervous. There were homeless people everywhere and I had no idea what to say to them, or who to pick. But then we saw this woman sitting on a bench all alone with some luggage. I knew right away she needed our help. Our group walked over to her and asked her nicely if she would allow us to buy her dinner and let us get to know her. After that things did not go as I expected. Diane politely said no she didn’t want to come because she had already had a piece of bologna earlier that day and was not hungry, and that she was too shy. I was shocked. I expected her to jump up at the first chance she got for a free meal, but instead she turned us down and only wanted us to give her money. After this I felt rejected and it was very hard for me to ask anyone else to come to dinner with us. But then there was a man sitting alone smoking and he waved us over. There seemed to be something wrong with him but I couldn’t be quite sure. We asked him out to dinner with us and we got the response that was expected. He seemed really excited and told us a lot about himself. It turns out he had schizophrenia and had some problems talking but we did our best to understand him. After dinner he was so thankful. I cannot even begin to explain how wonderful this made me feel. I was on an emotional high for the rest of the night. Just having dinner for one night with one man really mad a difference in my life and in his. Urban plunge was truly a life changing experience.
McPherson Square (Sammi Smith)
For my urban plunge we had gone to McPherson Square. We had a really hard time to find someone that not only wanted a sandwich, but also wanted to eat it with us! We got there and we sat on a bench and prayed about finding the right person that needed it. As soon as we lifted our heads some man was standing above us and he kept asking for white socks. We all looked at each other and we had thought that we had found the right person but then he walked away. So we looked and looked again and we had got rejected four different times. They all just either didn’t want the sandwich or they wanted the sandwich and did not want to eat it with us. We had bought three foot-long subs from Subway and we cut them in half. In the end we only had two halves left to eat between the five of us! So we just sat there and ate what was left. Then a sandwich truck came and gave the homeless sandwiches so we left that area. On our way back to meet our group we stopped at a person who was running in a city election. We had asked him how he was going to help the homeless population. After that we left and only had $5 remaining to eat dinner. We stopped at Taco Bell and got .89 cent beef burritos. We were happy with the way everything had ended, even though we never got to meet someone and get their story!
DuPont Circle (Merry Moore)
Well, for urban plunge my group was Stephen, Breanna, Jenna, and Eddie. We came up with the team name “Public Urination”, but it was recently changed to “Sleeping Panda” due to various complaints. Our group was given DuPont Circle. We decided we were going to walk there and take the bus back, because it was only 3 ½ miles. It took us a little over an hour to walk. Once we got there it was a little after 4 o’clock, so we had 3 hours to find someone to share a meal with until we had to be back at the church. I don’t know about my other team members, but I thought this was going to be cake. So, we started to walk around, looking for people who looked like they needed some help. It was so hard to differ from the people who were homeless or not. We found a couple people that needed help and started asking. Well, I think we all were surprise when we had people say no to free food. And after 3 rejections, we all didn’t feel very confident. So, we went back to where Eddie had sat down and saw a man that we hadn’t asked yet. Breanna, Stephen, Jenna, and I went up to him and offered to buy him dinner. He gladly accepted. But he had luggage with him, so we walked over to Subway and got our group, and Warren, our homeless man, a sandwich. He told us that he used to be in the Air Force, and that job took him all over the world. He also said he used to be a truck driver, and that took him to ever state in the United States except for 5. He said he was waiting on a VA check from a near by hospital. When we asked him what he wanted to do with the money, he said that he wanted to find a cheap houseboat, because he wanted to get back on the water (He used to work at a marina before coming to D.C.) Despite his sad suggestion, sleeping on a park bench and keeping all of his belongings with him at all times, he still seemed genuinely happy. He had such a big smile on, and he just seemed so thankful that we wanted to help him out. So my urban plunge experience was wonderful, and I’m so thankful I got the chance to do it.
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