By DAVE THOMAS
Doing their part to help others, a group of Helix High students have been volunteering with the Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness (PATH) program.
Such volunteer efforts involves things like transporting food to previously-unhoused senior citizens.
According to Aleen Jendian, English department chair at Helix High and supervisor of the students involved in the group, the school got involved with the food aspect of helping out after noticing students were tossing away a fair amount of food.
“At that time, students had to take all of the lunch offered them,” Jendian stated. “For example, they had to take the juice, fruit and sandwich, whether they wanted it or not. I wondered if we could have a bin next to the lunch area where students who did not want a specific item could donate it and we could give it to a homeless shelter. I found that it was indeed legal to do that. I reached out to one of our grade-level principals, Elena Smith. She contacted the food services director, bought the bins, and gave me the go-ahead to get it going. I remembered seeing a flyer about a student group on campus that was working with the homeless population.”
The group is led by Helix High student Brayden Pape (pictured above with fellow student Lauren Rainey) among others.
“Brayden was so excited,” Jendian continued. “Brayden and I met with Calvin Herbin, who is our lead chef at Helix, and who already volunteers a ton with local homeless shelters. He’s amazing. We discussed logistics and set the program in motion. The program has been in full swing since the beginning of October. We have student volunteers who take the bins out each morning. The students have also held two clothing drives along with taking food to homeless shelters.”
For sophomore Pape being active with this organization is something that brings him happiness.
Pape is a PATH San Diego (People Assisting the Homeless) – https://epath.org/ volunteer and the founder of PILT (PATH Interscholastic Leadership Team). Helix is tied to PATH through PILT and all projects for PATH at Helix are implemented through PILT. PILT is represented at five schools in three school districts in San Diego County.
“When I was a volunteer at PATH San Diego last summer, I saw there was an urgent need for hygiene products that PATH was trying to meet,” Pape commented. “This was during the middle of the pandemic. I met with Ms. Sigrid Struben, who is my supervisor at PATH and also the associate director of community affairs at PATH San Diego, and got her permission to get other high school students involved to help PATH. Then I contacted a few of my friends from middle school who go to schools throughout San Diego County and founded PILT.”
Pape is one of five Helix High students working to make life better for the unhoused around the area. Lauren Rainey is PILT’s project director of kit projects and there’s the food rescue team of Laraigh Allen, Ka’Mari House and Makayla Brooks also making a difference. The food rescue team is not part of PILT but they help PATH just as much.
According to Rainey, a sophomore, she got involved in the program through Pape.
“He introduced me to the opportunity to come and help and be a part of the team,” Rainey remarked.
Another way the group at Helix helps people without a place to live is by collecting items for care kits, cleaning supplies, items for a new home, food items and masks via Helix’s library. Students can do their part by donating cleaning supplies that go to the Zephyr (Permanent Supportive Housing) site. That site is for formerly unhoused veterans.
“I get enjoyment from knowing that what we do is give people experiencing homelessness hope, put smiles on their faces, and provide them with necessary things all humans should have access to,” Rainey continued. “We eliminate the problem of homelessness by working together and lending a hand to those in need.”
For students and others at Helix interested in helping, Rainey advises them to look for announcements about any projects during Friday’s advisory or look for flyers around campus for information on how to help out.
As Pape sees it, housing and food insecurity go together. “The entire Helix school community is involved in our efforts,” Pape stated. “I design the projects, Lauren helps me lead them, and the entire school participates.”
Among some examples of their work helping others:
• Excess food from the school’s cafeteria goes to “Trinity” every week through the initiative of Jendian and the hard work of Helix’s food service supervisor, Calvin Herbin. Trinity is PATH San Diego’s permanent supportive housing site for senior citizens living with chronic health conditions. (Helix’s “Food Rescue” program was being used as a pilot program for other school districts to follow before the economy started experiencing food shortages).
• Helix donated 1,078 items of gently used clothing for PATH San Diego’s formerly unhoused veterans through a school-wide clothing drive challenge that was sponsored by Gillian Marshall and supported by all grade level academic advisors.
• The group delivered “Welcome Home Baskets” (with items donated by the Helix Key Club and packed in gift boxes that were beautifully painted by Helix Art Club) to some of PATH San Diego’s clients who are moving into a permanent home for the first time.
• Helix has donated 699 items of cleaning supplies to residents at “Zephyr” – PATH’s permanent housing site for previously unhoused veterans since Jan. 10 (this project is ongoing).
• Helix also donated more than 6,000 cloth masks to be distributed to those who are currently experiencing homelessness in San Diego County through the initiative of school librarians Mrs. Potter and Mrs. Bruflat.
• Herbin sponsored (bought ingredients, cooked, and served) a Christmas meal to the 52 senior residents at PATH’s newest housing site “Ivy” who would not have been able to enjoy a festive holiday dinner otherwise.
• The group has donated hundreds of items involving hygiene products to be distributed through PATH San Diego’s outreach teams.
For Pape, it makes him feel less helpless about the problem of homelessness when he is actively involved in helping the unhoused community in some small way.
“The causes of homelessness are many, and I get the satisfaction of knowing that instead of focusing on the problem, I am focused on finding solutions, without judgment,” Pape added.
As Jendian sees it, the program gives the students involved an opportunity to help people in
need.
“I believe that when students are given the opportunities to help with solutions they jump to it,”
Jendian added. “Brayden and the others have had to be consistent and persistent. They have had to work on communications.”
When it comes to student involvement such as this, Jendian believes it is a good thing now and down the road.
“The next generation is compassionate and hard-working,” Jendian noted. “They are eager to help be part of societal solutions. We just need to step aside and allow them to do their thing.”
For any students or staff at Helix High looking to get involved with the program, visit: pilt4path.org and contact Pape: [email protected]. You can also be on the lookout for project announcements and flyers on the Helix campus.
— Reach editor Dave Thomas at [email protected].
Courtesy photo
