Doors of Change: An Environment of Trust

Homeless young people in Ocean Beach

It’s been a pretty rough start to the year. And if you’re like most folks you’ve probably had a few Savoy Brown lyrics running non-stop through your head… ‘troubled by these days and times…’ With such widespread angst, the question remains how do we make it better? Well, I have a recommendation. Instead of ingesting the constant barrage of bile through your insta-technology, put down your electronics for just a little while and find a community service project that you can get behind and support.

Try this one: it’s called the Doors of Change and it has been working to solve youth homelessness in San Diego since 2001. The program meets every Sunday from 4 to 6pm at the Episcopal Church Center on Sunset Cliffs Boulevard in O.B. Headed by founder, Jeffrey Sitcov, it’s a voluntary music and arts outreach that specifically targets San Diego’s disadvantaged and homeless youth. It’s an opportunity for young people living on the streets to experience, if only for a few hours, a safe haven that provides services most of us take for granted; including but not limited to a healthy meal, the freedom to choose from an array of hygiene products, a variety of sizes and styles of shoes and multiple boxes of clean, warm clothing.

The unique aspect is the music. Doors of Change allows participants to select an instrument of their choosing, whether guitar, mandolin, ukulele, drum, harmonica, keyboard, or violin to experiment with and explore. Each student is mentored and given instruction of their prospective instruments from some of San Diego’s most talented and generous musicians.

So quit stressing over things you can’t control and make an immediate difference in something you can; a young person’s life. The next fund raising event will be this month, February 26^th at the Episcopal Church Center. For more info check the website… www.DoorsOfChange.org.