Homelessness / Volunteering

I also had the opportunity to go to Washington D.C. and work with the homeless, the poor, and the hungry as did Carlene. Our stories are similar except for the fact that our group of 10 was split into two groups of 5, she was in the red group and I was in the blue group. Each group went to the same sites except for one site which for our group was Food and Friends. I have been to D.C. many times in my life and I was surprised at myself that I could remember how to get places and use the metro and recognize street names, but I was also surprised that I had never noticed the amount of poverty and homeless people there are in D.C. I was sort of ashamed of myself as I realized that either I never cared or I chose to stay oblivious to that part of the reality of Washington D.C. The service trip was pleasantly surprising as well. I knew beforehand that we were going to work with the homeless and the poor but never at such an intimate level. The day that we cooked and served dinner to our guests who were homeless and staying at nearby shelter was the best day for me. It was also the most productive day and the most tiring since my group had been up since the early morning volunteering at our site. It was amazing to see everyone's energy, after such a long day, as we all went around mingling and interacting with our guests and through this creating new friends, sharing in mutual laughter, trading stories, and playing games. I especially bonded with Clifton, Wayne, and Ron and the saddest part about my new friendships is that I might never see them again. There are no words to describe this experience. It wasn't eye opening since I had a vague idea that our country did have many homeless people and it wasn't a once in a lifetime experience because I hope to have similar experiences in my future. All I can say is that I never knew that a bond could be formed between people so easily and quickly when at this point in my life and theirs we are completely different from one another.