Russians Who Work with Homeless Children Visit Bay Area
by Lydia Gans
In October, people who work with Russian youth visited Bay Area programs for homeless youth. The delegates are, from left, Oleg Tretykak, Aleksey Khandiy, Anna Volodina, Irina Vershina, Valeriy Tvetkov, Natalia Devoyan and Oksana Torina. Lydia Gans photo
Homelessness is almost a universal phenomenon in countries small and large, "developed" and "developing," but different societies deal with the problem in different ways. It is interesting and valuable to make comparisons; people can always learn from each other.
The Bay Area had that opportunity in October when a delegation of Russians who work with abandoned children and dysfunctional families spent a week here, visiting some of our local agencies that serve similar populations.
Three of the visitors live in Nakhotka, Oakland's sister city. Nakhotka is not quite as big as Oakland, but it is an increasingly important port on the far eastern coast of Russia. The others came from St. Petersburg, a city of 4,500,000 in the European part of Russia.
This was their first visit to the United States for most delegates. Only the group's facilitator, 27-year-old Oksana Torino, had spent time here before. She is fluent in English (and also in Japanese).
The group came here under the sponsorship of Open World Russian Leadership Program, which was established by Congress in 1999 and is headquartered in the Library of Congress. The program is organized around several different themes, and brings small groups of people working in a particular area here to meet with professionals in their field. The theme of this particular group was Youth Issues.
Russia is facing a huge problem due to an overwhelming number of abandoned children. AIDS and other poor health conditions are leaving numbers of children orphaned. Mothers addicted to drugs and alcohol are giving birth to children that they cannot care for -- often with severe handicaps -- and they are simply abandoning them. Furthermore, unlike just about every other country in the world, the population of Russia is declining precipitously. It's no wonder that they are concerned about their children.
The delegates had a busy week visiting Bay Area agencies that work with families and youth who are dealing with substance abuse and various medical issues. They observed programs that are working to rebuild dysfunctional families, or recruit and train foster and adoptive families.
They also met with Oakland City Councilmember Nancy Nadel, who has an interest in these issues, and City Attorney John Russo, who had visited Nakhotka in connection with the sister city program. The Russian visitors were charmed by Russo and impressed by the sincerity of Nadel.
In Berkeley, they spent an evening at the Suitcase Clinic, where young homeless people can relax, have a meal, and get some counseling and basic medical services. The program is run entirely by student volunteers, a fact which made a big impression on the Russians.
The extent of volunteerism in our country was, for the visitors, the most outstanding aspect of their observations in the Bay Area. Volunteering is very rare in Russia. It is a concept they need to promote in their country because the state does not have enough money to fund all the desperately needed social programs.
A day spent at the Larkin Street Youth Shelter in San Francisco impressed the delegates. Larkin Street not only provides shelter for young people, but also offers a full range of services to help get them off the streets and into productive lives. The Russians said they have many institutions that house children and young people, but nothing on such a comprehensive level.
One of the delegates, who is in the process of establishing a halfway house in St. Petersburg, found the Larkin Street model particularly useful. A delegate from Nakhotka is the director of a home for 120 orphans and abandoned children which he is struggling to improve; and he, too, appreciated learning from the Larkin Street experience.
The group visited several Bay Area agencies that work to reunite and create functioning families. One of these, PRIDE (Parent Resources for Information, Development and Education), an Alameda County program, made a profound impression on them. They were invited to observe a session in which clients talked about their experiences.
Parents talked about their addictions and having their children taken away, about going through rehabilitation and eventually having the family reunited. One of the mothers described how the program helped her overcome her addiction and reunite with her six children.
The delegation facilitator said afterwards, "It was so touching that almost everybody burst into tears. Even the official translator found it hard to keep from crying." This experience highlighted a big difference in our cultures. The Russians declared they would never speak so openly and publicly about their problems and their feelings.
There is also a difference in how our two countries deal with at-risk children and families. Unlike the United States, the Russian government plays a big role in these issues. There are many laws protecting children and most of the institutions are financed and run by the government.
In the informal get-togethers with the delegates and the hosts, we talked about the advantages and disadvantages of such intensive government involvement in child welfare. We concluded that, as always, the best approach would be to find some middle ground - and enough money to do all that's needed!
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