Einstein students help the homeless

Britney Warner, an eighth grader at Einstein Middle School, stared out the window of the school bus, barely paying attention to the conversation between her teacher, Eileen Berlin, and her aunt, Sharon Warner. Even the energy of the other students laughing and joking could not disturb her thoughts.

“This is the best hands-on experience for Britney,” Sharon Warner said. “She needs to know that this can happen to anyone, anytime.”

Britney Warner shrugged her shoulders at this comment and continued to look out the window.

“I guess,” she said.

Warner, her classmates, several teachers and school staff and a handful of parents, took part in this year’s annual Einstein Poverty Project, aimed at giving eighth grade students first-hand experience with Seattle’s homeless population.

This year, the Poverty Project took students to various shelters, food banks and other service centers for homeless men, women and children. The students took part in a variety of experiences, including cooking and serving meals, taking a walking tour of downtown areas frequented by homeless people and learning about their lives.

For many of the students, it would be their first glimpse into the lives of homeless people. For most, it would prove to be an incredible experience.

Warner chose to go to Mary’s Place, a women’s day shelter, where she spent several hours every Thursday for five weeks giving manicures and pedicures, serving lunch, teaching Tae-Bo aerobics and playing games with the women.

“At first I was really uncomfortable, and I just didn’t want to be there,” she said.

But by the third and fourth trip to Mary’s Place, Warner said she felt at home.

“We all talked, played games, and they were all really nice,” Warner said. “Sometimes they’d act like our parents; they would tell us how they got to be homeless and not to follow in their footsteps.”

By the end of the project, Warner said she had found respect and kindness in the women at Mary’s place, and that they had changed her view of homeless people.

One of the main goals of the Poverty Project, teacher Cathy Gerber explained, was to do just that.

“It breaks down the stereotypes, and it’s an opening of the school’s walls,” Gerber said.

Students who volunteered at other places around Seattle said they too changed their minds about homeless people.

“At first I had always gravitated away from them, but now it’s exactly the opposite,” said eighth-grader Chase Parker said. “I found that they are really smart, have very interesting stories, and most of the time it’s not their fault that they are homeless.”

Courtney Donohue, also in eighth grade, said that she thought homeless people “had major drug and alcohol addictions, and just didn’t want to pay the bills.”

“I thought they were mean, grumpy and dirty,” Donohue said. “Now I know that they are very kind, and are some of the sweetest people I’ve ever met. And they are not at all dirty-they are very clean.”

The students are not the only ones who benefit from the project.

Leigh Menke, 45, said she had been coming to Mary’s Place for several years, and always enjoyed talking and interacting with the kids.

“They bring such a gentle spirit, and are non-confrontational,” Menke said. “It’s nice not to be secluded to just the homeless community.”

Parents, too, said they support the Poverty Project and what it does for students.

“Where we live is like a bubble, and there’s a whole lot more going on than just what’s in that bubble,” parent Nancy Maxwell said. “Because of the neighborhood we live in, most kids don’t see the different levels of income on a day-to-day basis. I think this will really open their eyes.”