Painting and Baked Goods

Bridget McCarthy

We were back over by the clinic again, but it didn't feel as awkward/in the way as last time! I think it was a combination of things that helped with that. Since the weather was nice there weren't many people at the shelter, and we were able to get some bigger tables from downstairs. I think it works a lot better when there's fewer people since we can actually sit and chat with people and it is less chaotic.

It was still uncomfortable that we had to set up right next to people who were sleeping and the staff eventually asked them to move, but I think that just has to be part of it at this location. I could see that Justin was really trying to help us find a setup that worked best for us, the staff, and the residents. 

There are more and more people becoming regulars, which is really fun to experience! We had one person join us for painting who said it had been 20 years since they painted and this was the first time they had felt confident enough to try painting again after having a brain aneurysm. We also had some really nice interactions with the staff! Since it wasn't super busy, everyone was in a good mood and some of the staff enjoyed the baked goods with us. 

The rest of the time we just sat and played cards with a couple folks. Julia, Zana, and I agreed that Second Ave is becoming a special location to us. It's been really cool to see how well what we're doing seems to work at this spot.