Homeless celebrate at ALIVE event

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Pittsburgh’s homeless had an opportunity to celebrate on Saturday. ‘ ‘ ‘ … ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Pittsburgh’s homeless had an opportunity to celebrate on Saturday. ‘ ‘ ‘ ALIVE is an annual event run by the Love Initiated Ventures Investing in Neglected Groups Ministry. The LIVING Ministry is a Christian nonprofit agency that works with Pittsburgh’s homeless and needy. ‘ ‘ ‘ The event is meant to be a social gathering for the homeless. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘The homeless get overlooked. They don’t have those opportunities to celebrate life,’ said Charles Chapman, who conceived of the event while he was an undergrad at Pitt. Now, Chapman is the community outreach coordinator for the LIVING Ministry, where he still works with the program in its sixth year of existence. ‘ ‘ ‘ But ALIVE does not cater exclusively to the homeless. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘It won’t be just the homeless that come [to ALIVE]. Many people that have the same needs that we’re trying to provide will be there,’ said Chapman. ‘Even if you’re not homeless, you can be a step away and still carry some of the same characteristics and mentalities.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ The event began around 10 a.m. at Allegheny Commons Park. Event workers served hot coffee during an opening prayer. Pitt students and volunteers from other area schools and churches composed the majority of the staff. ‘ ‘ ‘ Christian music, played by a live band, accompanied much of the event. Some participants also played Pittsburgh, Steelers or Bible-themed trivia at a table with volunteers. ‘ ‘ ‘ Pitt senior Rob Wise, who volunteered at ALIVE, appreciated bringing the community together through the event. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I think [ALIVE] helps keep the community centered and focused,’ said Wise. ‘The free food and music, that’s an important part, but ultimately it just comes down to bringing people together.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ The event encouraged the volunteers and the homeless to socialize with each other. It also allowed those unemployed to make job connections via a ‘Social Services’ booth. Volunteers at the booth advertised the ministry’s upcoming job fair and collected available contact information. ‘ ‘ ‘ Free clothing was another main attraction. Abundant stacks of jackets, jeans, hats, gloves, shoes and even purses sat piled on the tables. Attendees received a free ticket, and a lottery-style system chose the order in which they could collect garments from the more than 350 bags of clothing. The ministry and local charities collected the donated clothing to be handed out. ‘ ‘ ‘ North Side resident Venita Ware said the clothing and prayer benefited her the most. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘The clothes and the word of prayer [are my favorite parts of ALIVE]. We all need a little prayer,’ said Ware. ‘ ‘ ‘ North Side native John Greer said he appreciated ALIVE but had trouble dealing with Saturday’s frigid temperatures. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘You have to be thankful for the event. It’s very generous, but it’s just like, ‘C’mon we’re trying to stay warm,” said Greer. ‘It’s like 20 degrees out here. Why don’t they have it [indoors]?’ ‘ ‘ ‘ But the cold didn’t deplete attendance, as around a couple hundred homeless and needy individuals came to the park. ‘ ‘ ‘ One man handed out free reading glasses and gave free blood pressure readings at the event. They also gave out glucometers, which are used to check blood sugar.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ However, Rick Prescott, a North Avenue resident, said he disliked the use of Allegheny Commons Park to host the event. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘There’s plenty of places in Pittsburgh where they can do this kind of thing, and it doesn’t have to be in a beautiful park in an area with incredible potential for revitalization,’ said Prescott. ‘Let’s not destroy areas that are up and coming with events that attract huge amounts of homeless people ‘hellip; Homeless people destroy parks, and they make it undesirable for residents to use their parks.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ It’s exactly this outlook that ALIVE hopes to dispel, said Chapman. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘The problem is, what people want to do is kick [the homeless] out. The mentality that the North Side community has is, ‘This is our problem, we need to get rid of them,” said Chapman. ‘The homeless are here. We need to serve them while they’re here, [and] not force them somewhere else.’