On Bingo & Haircuts
3/22/2024 - Today Sasha, Zana, Lacie, and myself headed to Hot Metal for some bingo, go fish, Heads Up, and live music! A new comer asked if he could play us some of his original music that he also combines with classical Mozart - it was a more upbeat/poppy collaboration. We were all impressed with his fluidity while playing the piano. Afterwards we all shared a laugh over how some people can play over 20 bingo cards at a time - our highest in the group was 3. Of course the gentleman who played with three cards had the most bingo’s - he’s a regular and states “I come for the games and the company”. He was also very generous with his contribution of chocolate chip cookies and lemonade. We had a delicious spread this respite.
3/29/2024 - Haircuts today at 2nd Avenue commons! Today we collaborated with Uptown Partners of Pittsburgh and they connected us with two barbers from Bonez Barbershop in Pittsburgh’s South Side. Also cutting hair with us was Jamie Scafuri from Alchemy Dry Cut Lounge, who has come to cut hair before. Because we had three hairstylists today, everyone who had signed up to get haircut was able to receive a one! They serviced over 20 people. It’s so much fun watching everyone get hair transformations and watching fellow friends lighten up from their new hair! As haircuts were going on - Zana, Emma, and myself painted nails, talked over coffee, and enjoyed some fresh fruit. We couldn’t have held such a lovely event without our partners, hairstylists, and of course the community at 2nd Ave.
What we’ve been up to this spring!
2/9/2024 - We are back after our winter break! A lot of wonderful things have happened since our last respite. The Mobile Thriving Respite was awarded money by the 100+ Women Who Care of Pittsburgh! We are going to put this money towards a van so we can transport all our supplies and materials to our locations. We have a new crew of students at our respite events - we have enough people to hold two respite events each Friday!
2/16/2024 - Today, we held a respite at Second Avenue Commons and Hot Metal Bridge! Of course, since Valentine's Day was just a few days prior, we had special treats for everyone. Chocolate-covered strawberries and apples with caramel! We had art supplies and nail polish for everyone to use. Our friend John, who we’ve seen at Second Avenue for the past few respites, explained how much he loves the nail polish. He explained how he misses us throughout the week, but the nail polish is something he can take with him afterward to remind him of the fun he had that day. We also got to meet a new friendly face who talked with us about his love for singing and music and his dreams of recording in a studio. We were so lucky enough to hear him sing! His deep baritone voice was amazing!
2/23/2024- You never know what a Pittsburgh winter is going to look like, so of course, we took advantage of the beautiful weather and set up our respite event in North Side Park across the street from Yinz Coffee. Our other respite event was set up at 2nd Avenue Commons, which we attend every Friday. Folks were walking throughout the park - enjoying the sunshine and stopping over to say hello and grab a cup of coffee from us. We made a fresh fruit salad and listened to music on our new giant speaker (the sound was amazing!) As school was let out, all the kids ran over to see what we had brought to the park community. It was refreshing seeing all different aged people share the park space. We are eager to have more park respites as the spring weather approaches.
3/8/2024 - Art was the activity that moved folks at 2nd Avenue Commons today! We are joyed when folks create art and take it with them for their own reflection, but we LOVE it when people let us keep their artwork! We had a secret top notch painter in the crowd today who left us with a painting of a bird in a nature scene - it was incredible (you can find this on our picture section of the website). The commons are always filled with music, laughter, and conversation. Zana and Sasha played a rigorous hand of UNO with three others, Kay held down the fort and assisted everyone with their art supplies and snacks, while I chatted with old friends who I see regularly about what they’ve been up to. After our respite event, all the student ethnographers agreed - we love this location and returning again and again. This is how we build connections and friendships and thrive together.
Holiday Party at Second Avenue
Julia Pugar
Art, games, and holiday music today at 2nd Avenue Commons! We brought hot coco, candy canes, and loads of goodies for our holiday party. Spirits were high – people were singing and dancing to their music! After some holiday art work, we got into an eight person intense UNO game. We love some good competition between friends.
Bingo at Hot Metal
Julia Pugar
Bingo day at Hot Metal! We played countless rounds of bingo and luckily we had a few winners. We were pleasantly surprised by a local community member who offered to cook the entire group dinner! He made seasoned rice, salad, and lentil soup – it was delicious and warm for a perfect cold day. Over this meal we talked about places we’ve lived and why we’ve all made our way back to Pittsburgh. We all bonded over the beautiful old neighborhoods.
Games at Second Avenue Commons
Julia Pugar
2nd Avenue Commons was the location for the respite event today. We saw tons of familiar faces – at this event we of course brought art supplies and games. Sometimes we can never decide on which kinds of activities to dive into. We changed it up and played Head Bands with a handful of folks. It was pretty funny to watch everyone guess what kind of object, animal, or food they were!
Bonfire at Hot Metal
Julia Pugar
Today we gathered at Hot Metal Bridge for some coffee, cookies, and games! Luckily the weather was beautiful for a November day – so we had a bonfire outside! Joined us today were some other students at Point Park who want to join the respite events in future semesters. They got to chat with some returning members from the community. We played Jenga one the picnic table – it was a crowd hit for some who’ve never played before.
Northside Park
Julia Pugar
The weather couldn’t have been better for this November park respite. We all sat around our picnic table and chairs and pulled out the game of Jenga (a personal favorite of the respite crew). A local member of the street community knew our event was happening and made it a point to stop by and stay until we were packing up the event! With art being such a big hit, we always make sure to carry some supplies even if it’s a game day. A few local kids who have come to prior events stopped by and created drawings of trees and scenic fields. It was enjoyable to have a beautiful day for our last outdoor respite for the season.
Second Avenue Commons
Julia Pugar
What an exciting day at 2nd Avenue Commons! Local hair stylist Jamie Scafuri from Alchemy Dry Cut Lounge came with the respite crew to give haircuts for the people residing in the commons. We had total hair transformations – from cutting long locks, shaving off beards, and getting trims! Everyone loved watching Jamie in action and revealing the final look of the community members! Those who didn’t get haircuts opted in for getting their nails painted. Bridget painted someone Halloween nails, Kay painted some clear glitter nails, and Julia painted a multi color set. Because everyone was in a spooky mood with Halloween around the corner– Michael Jackson’s music was requested. A women started dancing and showed us her phenomenal moves! Bridget of course joined the fun and danced along side of her.
Hot Metal
Julia Pugar
500 Rummy was the game choice for this weeks respite! With the fall weather around the event was held indoors at Hot Metal Bridge. There was fresh fruit, coffee, cookies, and great conversation. From old friends, to new faces – we all sat around laughing about how one community member is the king of games! We are in awe every time he wins! We celebrated a local community members birthday with his favorite dish of chocolate chips cookies.
Second Avenue Commons
Julia Pugar
It’s always exciting being back at 2nd Avenue Commons! Art seems to be a very connecting and grounding practice for many who reside in the commons. One of the women from the community produced two paintings that went together – the shades of green, brown, yellow, and teal had everyone in the mood for a cool fall afternoon. Another member replicated a photo of Minnie and Mickey Mouse – we all stated how they could work as an animator for films/drawing cartoons!
Hot Metal
Julia Pugar
At Hot Metal Bridge, people come to play the games! Whether it’s bingo, 500 rummy, uno, or Jenga – the community is ready! A member of the community who’s been coming to the events for almost a year now continuously crushed everyone in bingo! We shared stories or past respites, our upcoming excitement for the holidays, and what other games would be fun for upcoming events. We also devoured the homemade cookies and brownies Julia and Bridget made.
Northside Park
Julia Pugar
It’s so great to be back in North Side Park! It was a beautiful day for some art work. Many folks from the community stopped by our event to chat about the weather, grab a snack, and paint some canvases. We had one member of the community offer us some incense to light so our area would smell like lavender – they told us why the carry and offer the sticks of incense to the community, they see it as a cleansing practice. We loved hearing and seeing familiar faces at the respite event.
Art and Conversation
Julia Pugar
Entering into 2nd Avenue Commons we were greeted by a handful of familiar smiling faces who were so excited to see us with our art supplies! We gathered around a few tables where we painted, ate brownies, and shared why art was so meaningful to our lives. One resident explained how with her medical condition art has become more difficult for her, but her love for art grounds her and makes her days more enriched. Later, a student ethnographer helped the women create a piece that they both collaborated on – the resident verbally designed the piece while the student painted and sketched. A few folks said they will travel to our next location for the upcoming respite because they need more art in their lives!
Respite in the Park
Julia Pugar
Every respite is different, we never know if people will gravitate towards artwork, games, or chatting over a cup of coffee and a homemade baked good! Setting up an event in Northside park allows the respite to integrate with nature. Friendly faces walking throughout the park, school aged children, and folks from the community make their way over to our tent to say hello and introduce themselves – leading to conversations around similar interests, events happening in Pittsburgh, or the shared loved of the warm weather. Being in the park allows for free movement, coming and going as people please. The events in the park have grown to be something the community has told us they look forward to as much as we do.
Springtime Cookout at Hot Metal
springtime cookout at hot metal!
Dr. Robert McInerney
We had our last mobile thriving respite event until June. We cooked hot dogs and hamburgers (Vegan too) outside on the fire and played music. About 20 people came as we have begun to develop a following in all our locations. We watched as folks from diverse communities introduced themselves, rough sleepers stopped by to eat and chat, kids from different families met and played, and some dogs got to know each other too. My students were in tears discussing their new and ongoing relationships with folks, and how much they continue to love this experience. What a joyous time it was!
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.
Rainy Day Movie Night
Bridget McCarthy
We had a very relaxed time today at the respite. It was tough to get the movie set up (as always haha), and I was worried we were going to have to switch to a backup plan, but Zana and I were able to figure it out. There was a lower turnout than last time–– I think about 10/12 people showed up initially and then we had around 8 by the end of the movie.
We set up a semi-circle of chairs in front of the tv, but most people ended up sitting at the tables nearby. I still feel like there is less trust/openness here than at our other locations and I'm not sure what, if anything, we should do to improve that. The atmosphere was definitely a bit moody and disconnected, but just like last time it was pretty cold and rainy today, so that might have affected people's moods as well.
It seemed like people enjoyed the movie! I was definitely crying through several parts. It was sort of hard to read how people were feeling about the movie/event, but I spoke to one guy named Ron who we've seen at Second Ave as well, and he said he liked it and was looking forward to seeing us next week. The movie ended at about 4:50, so we didn't have much time to talk to people afterward anyway. Overall I think it was good! Hopefully, we'll start to see some familiar faces and soon people will warm up to us a bit more.
Saint Patrick’s Day at Second Avenue Commons
Bridget McCarthy
I brought brownies with green dinosaur sprinkles for St. Patrick's day, and Julia brought brownies and some homemade cookies. Once we got going, we had a couple of people who we remembered from last time. One guy who played jenga with me the first time, hung around for pretty much the whole time and was such a hoot to talk to. He called the four of us his "Angels" and had the table laughing constantly. Another fellow remembered us from last time and sang a couple of songs he had written himself. One of our regulars brought St. Patricks' day themed cookies and mini cupcakes and bead necklaces to share, which was so sweet! She also helped us serve some of the treats and had a good time helping out. Since there were fewer people, we had more time to slow down and have an easygoing vibe. We also didn't run out of anything, which I think is a first for this location. This was an excellent setup and there was a really fun and lighthearted group dynamic.
First Respite at the Park
first respite at the park!
Dr. Robert McInerney
Our first mobile thriving summer respite was wonderful!! I am so honored to be with these welcoming, kind, and thoughtful students. Lots of folks came by to talk with us, eat a bit, and paint! Some folks from Light of Life walked over, others were just walking by. A few young kids came to do art and eat, a mom with her child sat with us too. One fellow helped us pack up, said he had a great time, and planned to follow us to our next respite. My favorite part was when people from the community, who did not know each other, met at our respite, and enjoyed a conversation. A young woman came by with strawberries and offered everyone some. The Pittsburgh Park Conservancy staff were great and local businesses donated us food (and Common Place coffee donated us coffee!). We now have our own pop-up tent, foldable table and benches, and huge water/Gatorade dispenser. We’ll be back in a couple of weeks but our next stop is Hot Metal Bridge Faith Community.