[ MAUKA MAKAI ]
CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM
Jeff, Peter and Sara Harris, from left, serve food with Sandi Chun and Amanda Harris at the Institute for Human Services, where they volunteer once a month.
Serving up meals
and smilesOne family’s activities include
monthly help for the homeless
MANY PEOPLE deal with the homeless by looking the other way, but Sandi Chun and Jeff Harris couldn't do that.
"Many of them are just down on their luck," Chun said. Anyone can be homeless."
They decided to help in a way that isn't limited to the feel-good, one-time-a-year volunteer experience common around Thanksgiving.
Once a month, the married couple, assisted by their children -- Sara, 17, Amanda, 14, and Peter, 10 -- helps put breakfast on the table at the Institute for Human Service's men's shelter, which serves about 900 meals daily.
Chun and Harris are attorneys who don't believe in sheltering their children and want them to be able to escape the "spoiled-brat existence." Their intent is to share some of what they have, unconditionally, with someone who has very little.
"Seeing people who live every day not knowing when or where their next meal would come from and who live without a roof over their head was unsettling," Sara said. "It scared me, to say the least.
"When I first went to the shelter, I was shy and reserved. My mom always encouraged me to say hi and to make eye contact."
CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM
Amanda Harris takes charge of the bagels in the IHS kitchen where she and her family extend a helping hand.
One day, Sara mustered up some courage and managed a meek "good morning" and a timid smile. The reaction she received warmed her heart.
"As a person's eyes changed from stony to uplifting, it was an incredible feeling," she said. Sara was amazed that her actions could stir up so much emotion. "To see that my one tiny action could make someone so happy ... it erased the traces of that uncomfortable feeling in the pit of my stomach."
She's since gotten involved in other volunteer projects and is busy with a school or church group every weekend, but she looks forward to the breakfast dates spent with those at the shelter and her family. One may scoop rice, distribute biscuits or pour water, but most of all, they try to serve up smiles and merriment.
"The kids all expressed fear and apprehension when they first started volunteering," Chun said. "But it was not hard to get them to participate.
"I have always tried to involve them in volunteer activities. When they were toddlers, they used to come with me on my Meals on Wheels route. It was so cute. ... One of them said to the other, 'Let's play Meals on Wheels.'"
In the past, the family also helped with the Christmas in July party sponsored by the Young Lawyers Division of the Hawaii State Bar Association.
"I used to be scared, but then you can recognize (the people you serve) and know they are not going to hurt you, because they are just like us," Amanda said.
"The small contribution has helped to raise the kids' awareness," Chun said. "They realize that they are lucky."
Harris said, "Next year, we'll start preparing the whole meal, not just serving it."
Chun added, "We will prepare meals with other families on a quarterly basis." The meals will be prepped with the help of their church group. "I have girlfriends who want their kids to appreciate what they have and to learn to take care of those in need. It was something I already wanted to do to expand our family's involvement, so I helped set it up."
CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM
Jeff Harris and Sandi Chun team up with Eugene So, at far left, and his mother, Myung, far right, for breakfast duty.
AS VOLUNTEERS the family is definitely making a difference, according to Margot Schrire, volunteer services coordinator at IHS. She said about 60 percent of homeless families and individuals who actively participate in IHS programs achieve their goal of finding housing within three months. Those who "volunteer of their time and talents at the shelter play a vital role in our ability to serve the poor and needy," she added.
Group volunteering is a wonderful team-building exercise and helps people learn more about the homeless community, whose numbers are going up due to a climate marked by a combination of unemployment, diminishing social services, high rents, the high cost of real estate and lack of units. "There are days when we need to turn some people away," said Schrire, who pointed out that 30 percent of the men who stay at the shelter are veterans of several American wars.
Many suffer from complications that aren't visible. "They may look young and healthy, but they are actually not well," Schrire said. "Some deal with some sort of mental illness.
"Everyone has an interesting story. Some people are here because they couldn't cover their medical bills and needed to have a major surgery."
Chun said: "Most people ignore the homeless. But acknowledgment is so important."
And her family benefits, as well. "Helping out at IHS has given us one of our few regularly shared family activities," said Chun, who's found that as her children get older, it's difficult to squeeze quality family time into rigorous and varying schedules.
"We try to eat dinner together three to four times a week. It is most effective to do a dinner at a restaurant; there are fewer distractions, and (the kids) are stuck at the table until everyone is pau."
Call Margot Schrire at 845-7150 to learn about volunteering at IHS.
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