YSOP Week 2

Our trip to Washington DC was a completely eye-opening experience. My group, the Yellow Group, had the opportunity to work at a variety of sites throughout the week. Our work at Thrive DC on Tuesday was our first interaction with the homeless community, as we served and prepared food for breakfast and dinner. Thrive serves around 400 people daily for breakfast and around 300 for dinner. At just one location, these numbers were absolutely staggering. From there, we walked down the street to Open Door Women's Shelter. Although we did not interact with anyone at this location, it was sad to hear the story of this shelter. They have 108 emergency beds available for women ages 18 and up, and every night they are at full capacity. Sometimes they even have to turn women away, with the exception of hypothermic and hyperthermic conditions. As we walked around the center cleaning walls and windows, we were able to see the beds where the women stayed each night. Most of the beds had been made entirely personal, with pictures on the walls, Bibles on the lockers, and comforters covering the beds. The next day, we had an amazing time at Food & Friends, an organization that prepares and delivers food for people in the DC area with life-challenging illnesses. The staff were so lively and excited to see us, that it made our experience that much better. We were fortunate enough to meet a girl named Rosa, who was both deaf and mute. We got to know her by writing notes back and forth on a pad of paper. For me, it was very encouraging to meet someone who did not let her disabilities challenge her. Dress For Success, our site for Thursday, we organized their facility. I was able to work with some of the clients who came in. These are homeless or low-income women who have been referred to DFS by their shelters and are looking to enter the work force. DFS provides them work appropriate clothing so they can go to interviews and feel confident in their appearance. Our final day in DC was perhaps the most difficult. Our work with Elder Buddies has left a lasting impression on me. We cleaned the apartment of an older woman who was mentally challenged. The room was filthy, infested with cockroaches, termites, and a few mice. It was so sad to see this woman, who was very sweet, fall apart when something was thrown away. I'm glad we had the opportunity to see this other side of living, and I'm also glad I had the opportunity to talk with her, but it was definitely challenging to be there.

I had an amazing time on the service trip. I really think that the only way to be fully aware of the issue of homelessness and its effect on the community is to work within it. It was very humbling to be in the presence of the people we met, and to see how positive they were. It was so easy to carry on a conversation with them, and seeing them on the street, I would not have known that most of them are homeless. In all, it was an amazing week, and I'm so grateful to have had to opportunity to go on this trip.

--Andrea