VOA标准英语2010-Homeless Take Refuge Among the Bookshelve

Library social worker reaches out to patrons without a job or a place to live

Rhonda Miller¹ | San Francisco, California 19 April 2010

Leah Esguerra (right) is a full-time² social worker assigned to work with the homeless who frequent the San Francisco Public Library.

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San Francisco Public Library

The San Francisco Public Library is a modern seven-story building on a busy street in the center of the city.

It serves thousands of patrons every day, including Bruce Sokol, an out-of-work carpenter who is staying in a homeless shelter and appreciates the services offered at the library.

"I use it as my home base," says Sokol. "I use the café downstairs and I read a lot."

Most people go to public libraries in the United States to borrow a book free of charge. However, over time, libraries have added other free services like homework help, computers with internet access and community rooms patrons can use for meetings.

Many jobless and homeless people find sanctuary³ at the San Francisco Public Library.

More than checking out books

The San Francisco Public Library is now offering another new service specifically aimed at people like Sokol: a full-time social worker for the homeless. Sokol is one of the many jobless and homeless who find sanctuary in the library.

"This is a public space. This is where people have a right to come in, have a right to enjoy the resources here," says Raj Parekh, a psychiatrist⁴ with the San Francisco Public Health Department, and director of the city's Homeless Outreach Team.

Parekh says extending the right to use the library may come with complications. "We saw a need at the library where a lot of homeless folks, a lot mentally ill folks do come into the library, to use the library, very appropriately. But some of them also come into the library for reasons the library is not designed for."

That includes napping in quiet corners, using drugs, causing disturbances⁵, and shaving, doing laundry or washing more than their hands in the bathroom sinks.

So library and health department officials teamed up and assigned a social worker to work with the homeless inside the library.

Parekh says the first step is to redirect homeless people to shelters and showers, "…while at the same time assisting them to hopefully get out of the homelessness. Hopefully, if they have mental illness, to get treatment through the clinics we have at the Department of Public Health."

Social worker Leah Esguerra has met with 250 people in just over a year. Thirty-five found temporary housing and 15 found a permanent place to live.

Homeless outreach

That's where social worker Leah Esguerra comes in. She's worked with the homeless in a mental health clinic. Now her territory is the library.

"My goal is to be able to link the patrons who are homeless and chronic⁶ substance abusers, mentally ill, to the appropriate services," says Esguerra.

She was assigned to the library job early last year and purposely takes a low-key approach.

"People come here to study. So when they're in their space, they have their books open in front of them I feel like it's an intrusion of their space for me to be able to talk them, even introduce that I am a social worker, even second-guessing, 'Are they homeless? Would they be offended?'"

That's an important consideration, according to Karen Strauss, the assistant chief librarian of the main branch. She says the project emphasizes that library users are not labeled.

"The library was interested in making this a welcoming safe secure inviting⁷ place for all users, and anyone is welcome and everyone is welcome, the more the better," says Strauss.

A hand up

As part of the project, four previously⁸ homeless people were hired to work part time to monitor the library and the restrooms.

Melvin Morris used to be homeless. Now he works at the library and has a place to live.

One of them is Melvin Morris, who found housing and job training through the Homeless Outreach Team. He is comfortable with another important part of his job - being a contact point for the homeless.

Morris says first you get to know them, then ask privately⁹ if they want help. "Cause the only thing they want is respect," says Morris. "You have to respect their boundaries."

Standing¹⁰ in the library atrium, with his clipboard and security phone, Morris radiates pride in his job and the lifestyle it's brought him.
"So now I have my own place and I pay my own rent. I like it a lot. This is the first time in my life I ever had my own place."

Changing lives

The numbers suggest the program is changing lives.

In just over a year, 250 people talked with Leah Esguerra. Thirty-five found temporary housing and 15 found a permanent place to live. Two people got jobs.

And Esquerra says she expects those numbers to go up, as word of the program spreads.

 

1 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

2 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

3 sanctuary   

n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区

参考例句：

• There was a sanctuary of political refugees behind the hospital.医院后面有一个政治难民的避难所。
• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。

4 psychiatrist   

n.精神病专家；精神病医师

参考例句：

• He went to a psychiatrist about his compulsive gambling.他去看精神科医生治疗不能自拔的赌瘾。
• The psychiatrist corrected him gently.精神病医师彬彬有礼地纠正他。

5 disturbances   

n.骚乱( disturbance的名词复数 )；打扰；困扰；障碍

参考例句：

• The government has set up a commission of inquiry into the disturbances at the prison. 政府成立了一个委员会来调查监狱骚乱事件。
• Extra police were called in to quell the disturbances. 已调集了增援警力来平定骚乱。

6 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

7 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

8 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

9 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

10 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。