Although today the snow has made a surprise return to the motor city, we enjoyed a few days of sun earlier this week. Students wore shorts and asked if we could move class ouside. The delights of springtime's start.
On Tuesday evening, in the midst of these joys, in the middle of the warm snap, I met two members of Operation Get Down, a substance-abuse treatment program in Detroit. Gearing their services toward the city's homeless and working poor populations, the folks at OGD offer counseling for addicts as well as transitional housing for those in recovery. OGD also runs a speakers bureau that consists of addicts giving testimonials to various audiences: schools, community groups, and the like.
Tamika, a member of the speakers bureau, gave on Tuesday her first public testimonial. A gifted, blunt, and fearless public speaker, she spoke of being raped. She described the years she has spent living on the streets in Detroit. She admitted to abusing heroin and crack. She told us about prostitution. She expressed gratitude at having temporary shelter right now and anxiety about what will happen in a month when her tenure in transitional housing comes to an end.
The sun came through the window behind Tamika, brightening the meeting room at Gesu Church. She closed her eyes and told us that even the weather turning warm presents a temptation and a trap. "It's warm now," she said, "and it makes me want to go out and get my hustle on."
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