“These people care for us … more than we care for ourselves.” That’s how Omar Rodriguez describes Punks with Lunch Lansing, a homeless outreach and harm-reduction organization in Lansing, Michigan.
Punks With Lunch Lansing (PWL) was started in 2017 by Julia Miller and Martin Mashon as an alternative to the more religious or government-led homeless outreach organizations in Lansing, after seeing the work the same organization did in Oakland, California.
Miller, who runs PWL, says that she makes it a point to talk with her clients and make sure they are doing ok and are being safe.
“I feel like I get invested in these people and their lives. I want to know how they're doing … what’s going on,” Miller says. “People who are using drugs, they're going to do it, no matter what anybody else thinks about it, what we think about it, whatever their family thinks about it, they're going to do what they're going to do and they're not going to change until they're ready to change. If they're ever really ready to change, our point is to keep them as safe as possible.”
Miller, who is a former user herself, says that she can empathize with the people she works with.
“I can relate to it. We've been in similar situations before. In some capacity (I’m) trying to be the person that I needed back then I guess.”
Along with their harm reduction hub, which is open from Monday-Friday from noon-5 p.m., PWL also holds outreaches every other Saturday at Reutter Park in Lansing and street outreach where Mashon and a volunteer will drive around the south and east sides of Lansing looking for people in need of assistance.
Mashon, who describes PWL as not trying to build a tower, but instead build a community, urges everyone to simply talk to the homeless and substance-using people around them.
“Take a fucking minute and talk, listen, hear what they got to say. Not only is it likely gonna help them feel like they’re actually somebody, but it’s gonna fill you in on the knowledge you need in order to help them out.” Mashon says.
Many needles sit in a sharps container held by Punks With Lunch (PWL) on Thursday, April 27, 2023 at the Punks WIth Lunch Harm Reduction Hub in Lansing, Michigan. While the organization does provide clients with sharps boxes to put their used needles in, there are still people that will bring in loose needles to be disposed of.
Punks With Lunch cofounder Martin Mashon stands beside a homeless camp in the woods on Saturday April 29, 2023 in Lansing, Michigan. Mashon and a volunteer will go out every other Saturday and look for homeless people and drug users in need of food or supplies as part of a biweekly street outreach; however, it is never guaranteed that they will see anyone.
Amber Harrison watches as Punks With Lunch employee Nell Brandon explains how to use a new kind of stem pipe on Monday, April 24, 2023 at the Punks With Lunch Harm Reduction Hub in Lansing, Michigan. During her time there, Harrison expressed immense praise toward the Punks With Lunch Organization.
Punks With Lunch cofounder Julia Miller talks with a client who was waiting for a phone at the Harm Reduction Hub on Wednesday, April 19, 2023 in, Lansing, Michigan. Despite the fact that the client had been waiting many hours, the man who he was waiting for, known as "Free Phone Phil”, never showed up.
Punks With Lunch (PWL) cofounder Martin Mashon (left) and a volunteer named Spencer work to make sandwiches for sack lunches that will be handed out during PWL's biweekly outreach on Saturday, April 29, at the Fledge in Lansing, Michigan. PWL Cofounder Julia Miller says that they will often average around 130 sack lunches made each outreach, which they call distros.
Michael Richmond bows his head as he discusses recent usage patterns with Julia Miller on Tuesday, April 11, 2023, at the Punks With Lunch Harm Reduction Hub in Lansing, Michigan. As part of each visit, Miller will check in returning clients to see how they have been, if they have had to use Narcan, and other things since their last visit. “ I feel like I get invested in these people and their lives. I want to know how they're doing … what’s going on.” Miller said.
Robert Fernandez talks with Punks With Lunch cofounder Martin Mashon about his current living situation on Saturday, April 29, 2023, in Lansing, Michigan. “Take a f***ing minute and talk, listen, hear what they got to say. Not only is it likely gonna help them feel like they’re actually somebody, but it’s gonna fill you in on the knowledge you need in order to help them out.” Mashon said.
Stephen Nolan covers his face while talking with Punks With Lunch (PWL) employee Nell Brandon on Wednesday, April 19, 2023 at the Punks With Lunch Harm Reduction Hub in Lansing, Michigan. PWL staff always makes sure to check in with their clients whenever they visit so they can make sure they are doing ok.
Punks with Lunch cofounder Martin Mashon checks in on a homeless person sleeping under a bridge on Saturday, April 29, 2023, in Lansing, Michigan. Mashon said that the city of Lansing will often remove unhoused people from underneath bridges because they don't want them to get crushed if the bridge collapses, which Mashon finds to be absurd.