In preparation for hitting the streets of Skid Row this spring, students from The King’s Academy recently turned to a uniquely qualified expert.
That someone would be David Shearin, director of Street Life Ministries, and a former meth addict who called local streets his home off and on for seven years. Last week, he visited The King’s Academy to help prepare the high school students for a service trip to inner-city Los Angeles, coaching them on what to expect, as well as giving tips for connecting with those living a life very different from their own.
At the end of March, a team of 37 students from the Christian school in Sunnyvale, along with about a dozen teachers and parents, will be traveling to one of Los Angeles’ roughest neighborhoods; the 50-block section infamously known as Skid Row.
Partnering with World Impact, the students will walk these tough streets, conversing and praying with residents, cleaning up streets and sidewalks, serving breakfasts, working on construction projects, hearing from the city’s police department about ways to help and hosting a club for youth in the gang-riddled South Park area.
The hope is that the students will come back from the week-long trip “compelled in their spirit to continue helping,” said Matt Nisbet, TKA’s director of operations, who is co-leading the trip with math teacher Justin Proulx.
Nisbet invited Shearin to speak with the students on Jan. 22 to paint a picture for the kids as to what to expect when they get to Skid Row. Shearin now ministers to others on the street and shares his experiences of living on and off the streets.
Shearin hung out with the students during lunch, then returned for a short evening talk. He shared his own story, talked about his ministry and coached students on how to interact with the residents of Skid Row.
“You have no idea what your one connection will do for them,” Shearin said, noting that most of the Skid Row residents are second and third generation who were born homeless and are afraid and stuck in their situation.
Shearin added that many on the streets have been told all of their lives that they are “losers and failures.”
He said there would be uncomfortable smells and that “everything’s on the street.” Shearin advised the students to pray beforehand, and to show respect, noting that as they enter the streets, “you’re going into their home,” a place in which eating, drinking, shaving, sleeping and defecating happen right on the street.
Senior Charmaine Chan asked, “What’s the best way to sustain conversation?”
Shearin told Charmaine and the other students not to start off by offering “free stuff,” as the residents are familiar with handouts.
“Just generally have a conversation, ‘Hi, how are you doing,’ . . . and listen,” Shearin said. “Most of the people who live on the street have a lot to say.”
He also advised students to avoid having debates. He suggested “coming in low” and maybe sitting near a homeless individual to avoid looking intimidating. Getting to know the person was also emphasized.
“People will sense realness from you,” he said.
When Shearin asked what students are looking forward to, senior Alyssa Bercasio said, “meeting people,” noting that last year she spent most of her time doing building projects in Louisiana but missed out on having a personal connection.
Alyssa said she signed up for the Los Angeles trip “because I really wanted to get to know the people down there. … With this trip, I’m pretty sure I’ll get to use that gift” of connection.
True story
Born and raised in Redwood City by adoptive parents, Shearin described his home life to the students as normal.
“I shouldn’t have fallen off the tracks,” he said.
But this normal childhood came with violence and addiction. He remembers the partying, and his father selling drugs. Shearin says that he followed in his father’s footsteps in an effort to feel secure, and sure enough, bringing drugs to school brought the popularity he sought.
And for a time, everything was great before “everything shattered,” he said.
Thus began years of living on the streets, foraging through garbage cans for food, stealing groceries from the local Lucky’s, waiting for restaurants to toss their garbage and using methamphetamine. As he explains in his video associated with Street Life Ministries, he knows what it feels like to freeze at night, with nothing to cover you, and to do anything you can to get drugs.
Recovery came in 2005, after steps that included rehab and a stint with a rotating shelter hosted by local churches. He also befriended a couple from Menlo Park Presbyterian Church who helped him on his journey.
Since 2007, he’s been director of Street Life Ministries, which partners with 15 local churches. Shearin and his team provide dinner, conversation and prayer twice a week in Redwood City, across from Tapestry Church, and in Menlo Park, behind Café Borrone at the train station.
Preparation
Following Shearin’s talk, Nisbet introduced the movie, “Lost Angels: Skid Row is My Home,” a 75-minute documentary that follows the lives of eight homeless residents of Skid Row. The documentary’s director, Thomas Napper, was a second-unit director for “The Soloist,” a movie about a Juilliard School-trained musician living on Skid Row.
Students from The King’s Academy have been traveling to Skid Row and the Los Angeles area since 2009, after connecting with TKA alumnus Hank Voss, a missionary with World Impact. This year the team will also do work in Los Angeles areas neighborhoods of Watts, MacArthur Park, Imperial Courts and South Park.
This trip is one of 10 service trips the school has planned this spring. Service trips, or alternative service, are a school requirement. More than 500 high school students along with 63 staff and 150 parents will be headed this spring to the East Bay, Los Angeles, Kentucky, Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Ecuador, Malawi and India, according to Julie Jahde, TKA’s service outreach coordinator.
The sophomores, juniors and seniors are preparing financially and mentally for the Los Angeles trip. A carwash and other fundraisers have been held, and students have signed a contract stating their willingness to give up creature comforts, like a comfortable bed and unlimited access to electronic devices. The talk with Shearin and viewing of the documentary were part of the emotional preparation.
TKA students are now collecting materials to help with their trip, including hygiene items, socks, pre-stamped blank postcards, large trash cans and liners and brooms.
For more information and to help with the collection of materials, contact Matt Nisbet by email at Matt.Nisbet@tka.org.
