In going to Washington D.C. my eyes where opened to both a new group of people and way of life. Within few minuets at the soup kitchen I went to with my smaller group, I realized that the people that worked or volunteered at this place where so thankful, appreciative, and excited that my smaller group of four students came to help. This first made me feel incredibly welcome and safe.
In all of the service I partook in over the course of our trip to D.C. there where two main themes that stuck out to me. One was that a smile can go a long way, whether it was to a homeless person sitting on the side of the road, or passing a lunch out to a person who needed one. A smile brightened there day just a little. Also treating any other person as if they where a human being. In serving the meals with a "hello" or "enjoy your day" the person on the other end of that plate realizes people do care!
The importance of both a smile and treating the people like they where human really hit me when I was walking down the street with a few other girls. A homeless man was sitting on the sidewalk asking for money. Unfortunately we did not have an loose change, but instead we looked the man in the I and said with a smile "Sorry we do not have any chain, but we hope you have a good day!" In return this man said "thank you for your kind words." This made me realize that the people living without a home or a meal have life a little tougher, but in the end all they want is took be acknowledged.
All in all I feel that over the course of the Washington D.C. service trip I have truly realized two different things. One is how blessed I am with a healthy and loving family that can afford to live the way I do. Secondly that I really enjoy helping out and being able to brighten up someone's day. Even though I am not solving anything, in just helping out a little a lot can be accomplished.
Thank you so much to Mr. Gustave, Mrs. DiChiaro, and Houda!
Best,
Eliza Jalbert
Monday, May 31, 2010
Washington DC
When we first got to Washington D.C., I saw around five homeless people on the streets just going from the train station to the hostel. There was someone in a sleeping bag on a bench in front of government buildings. This first sight definitely stuck in my head throughout the trip. We saw the White House the first night and then a conversation came up a day or two later that in this city, our nation's capital, there are leaders who have power over the whole country but yet there is such a juxtaposition in the same area. Just down the street from Capitol Hill are community members living on concrete sidewalks going around every day for soup kitchens or other places to live.
The worksites that I went to were The Milestone Place (a single room occupancy building), Thrive DC, and DC Central Kitchen. The YSOP Community Dinner and Thrive DC were both my favorite and also the most memorable service experiences in DC. After we prepared and served food to our "guests", I met Jerry and Burt. Burt seemed to be in his 40's and dressed like an average man. As we were talking over food, he mentioned that one of his professions was a chef/cook. This caught me off-guard but then made me actually realize that homeless people all have histories, families whether they be present in their lives or not, and are normal people (most of the time) just like the rest of us. Burt was educated, laughed at Jerry's jokes, interested in asking me questions about my life, and also knew about current sport topics. We had average conversations about things such as New England, seafood, Newport, and sports just like I could have with any other person even if they weren't homeless. The whole time at dinner, Jerry was laughing, telling jokes and riddles, and simply smiling.
The morning after the community dinner, I went to Thrive DC. I'm not sure the exact number of people they serve, but it was at least a hundred per meal. We served plenty of food and people still wanted more in the end. A couple people were taking advantage of the extra food and got fourth servings when some people had just come through the door looking for first servings of food. That's not what I will remember from Thrive DC though. Jerry and one other person from our community dinner the night before were at Thrive getting breakfast from us! As soon as I saw him, he still had a smile on and laughed at the coincidence. He even told the volunteer director at Thrive how good the YSOP dinner was the night before. The only difference between him and our group was where we had slept that night. At the end of the community dinner, he was smiling and when I saw him the next morning, he was still smiling. This gave me a new perspective about the homeless. The experience of working with organizations in Washington DC was remarkable. Instead of thinking of the stereotypical grungy homeless person, I now think of those average men and (few) women we met and conversed with at a community dinner or who we saw at a soup kitchen trying to provide for their family. These people who had a rough life in past years still have hope for a better life thanks to the help of these services.
--Andrea
The worksites that I went to were The Milestone Place (a single room occupancy building), Thrive DC, and DC Central Kitchen. The YSOP Community Dinner and Thrive DC were both my favorite and also the most memorable service experiences in DC. After we prepared and served food to our "guests", I met Jerry and Burt. Burt seemed to be in his 40's and dressed like an average man. As we were talking over food, he mentioned that one of his professions was a chef/cook. This caught me off-guard but then made me actually realize that homeless people all have histories, families whether they be present in their lives or not, and are normal people (most of the time) just like the rest of us. Burt was educated, laughed at Jerry's jokes, interested in asking me questions about my life, and also knew about current sport topics. We had average conversations about things such as New England, seafood, Newport, and sports just like I could have with any other person even if they weren't homeless. The whole time at dinner, Jerry was laughing, telling jokes and riddles, and simply smiling.
The morning after the community dinner, I went to Thrive DC. I'm not sure the exact number of people they serve, but it was at least a hundred per meal. We served plenty of food and people still wanted more in the end. A couple people were taking advantage of the extra food and got fourth servings when some people had just come through the door looking for first servings of food. That's not what I will remember from Thrive DC though. Jerry and one other person from our community dinner the night before were at Thrive getting breakfast from us! As soon as I saw him, he still had a smile on and laughed at the coincidence. He even told the volunteer director at Thrive how good the YSOP dinner was the night before. The only difference between him and our group was where we had slept that night. At the end of the community dinner, he was smiling and when I saw him the next morning, he was still smiling. This gave me a new perspective about the homeless. The experience of working with organizations in Washington DC was remarkable. Instead of thinking of the stereotypical grungy homeless person, I now think of those average men and (few) women we met and conversed with at a community dinner or who we saw at a soup kitchen trying to provide for their family. These people who had a rough life in past years still have hope for a better life thanks to the help of these services.
--Andrea
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Washington D.C.
Hi everyone,
My trip to DC was enlightening as I met people that changed the way I view homelessness and hunger. Each service opportunity challenged me and also provided an opportunity for my own personal growth. When I was younger and saw a homeless person, I would be scared & nervous. I didn't want to talk to them because they were dirty, smelled bad, and made me uncomfortable. This past week in D.C. changed my opinion completely. Although it sounds cliche to say this, it's the truth. For me, the two most humbling experiences all had to do with actually meeting homeless people and conversing with them about their histories. At the YSOP dinner on our second night in DC, we all met very educated people which honestly shocked me. A man named Dell moved to Washington in order to go to graduate school and after a stroke of bad luck found himself on the street. He wanted to study International Business and Security Studies, a very similar path that I would like to follow in school. Throughout the dinner, I realized that there were not many women and those that were there seemed to be mentally disturbed in one way or another. This saddened me because I would have liked to talk with the women but they were very quick to shut me down due to their condition. We also met a man named Bill who was truly inspirational. He had been homeless many times because of his family - he was so moved that we cared enough to be there cooking and serving him food. He kept blessing us and thanking us and asking questions about our future. We were all moved by Bill's story and after that night, I couldn't imagine Bill and Dell sleeping on the street. It saddened me to think that the only thing I could give them was a dinner and conversation. But, we learned that the lack of conversation when being homeless was worse than trying to find shelter and food. Feeling invisible and being regarded as nothing worsens the already lonely situation. My favorite day of service was at Thrive DC. I was able to greet the guests coming in the door to eat, shower, and use the computer lab. Half of the guests at Thrive DC were Hispanic and I was really excited to be able to speak Spanish to them. I was able to converse with many people including a young guy named Eric. (Gianna detailed his story in her post.) He was so smart and very politically aware, carrying on conversations about the Palestinian and Israeli conflict, and religion in a very factual and open-minded way. The people that volunteered at Thrive DC were interesting also because they knew many of the guests by name as they walked in the door. I even saw two of the same people that I saw at the YSOP dinner. The head of Thrive DC, Nick, said that the most important job was to smile. That phrase embodies what I learned on this service trip; you can't always give money to people on the street but it's even more important to give time, service, energy, and a smile.
- Melia
My trip to DC was enlightening as I met people that changed the way I view homelessness and hunger. Each service opportunity challenged me and also provided an opportunity for my own personal growth. When I was younger and saw a homeless person, I would be scared & nervous. I didn't want to talk to them because they were dirty, smelled bad, and made me uncomfortable. This past week in D.C. changed my opinion completely. Although it sounds cliche to say this, it's the truth. For me, the two most humbling experiences all had to do with actually meeting homeless people and conversing with them about their histories. At the YSOP dinner on our second night in DC, we all met very educated people which honestly shocked me. A man named Dell moved to Washington in order to go to graduate school and after a stroke of bad luck found himself on the street. He wanted to study International Business and Security Studies, a very similar path that I would like to follow in school. Throughout the dinner, I realized that there were not many women and those that were there seemed to be mentally disturbed in one way or another. This saddened me because I would have liked to talk with the women but they were very quick to shut me down due to their condition. We also met a man named Bill who was truly inspirational. He had been homeless many times because of his family - he was so moved that we cared enough to be there cooking and serving him food. He kept blessing us and thanking us and asking questions about our future. We were all moved by Bill's story and after that night, I couldn't imagine Bill and Dell sleeping on the street. It saddened me to think that the only thing I could give them was a dinner and conversation. But, we learned that the lack of conversation when being homeless was worse than trying to find shelter and food. Feeling invisible and being regarded as nothing worsens the already lonely situation. My favorite day of service was at Thrive DC. I was able to greet the guests coming in the door to eat, shower, and use the computer lab. Half of the guests at Thrive DC were Hispanic and I was really excited to be able to speak Spanish to them. I was able to converse with many people including a young guy named Eric. (Gianna detailed his story in her post.) He was so smart and very politically aware, carrying on conversations about the Palestinian and Israeli conflict, and religion in a very factual and open-minded way. The people that volunteered at Thrive DC were interesting also because they knew many of the guests by name as they walked in the door. I even saw two of the same people that I saw at the YSOP dinner. The head of Thrive DC, Nick, said that the most important job was to smile. That phrase embodies what I learned on this service trip; you can't always give money to people on the street but it's even more important to give time, service, energy, and a smile.
- Melia
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Service in D.C
Hello Everyone,
This past week in Washington D.C was both an enriching and humbling experience. I had worked with the hungry and homeless in Providence before, but this trip really taught me more about the people we served. On Tuesday afternoon, we had a speaker named Alan who spoke of his experience being homeless. Before becoming homeless he had had a fabulous government job, a great house, and a family. He talked about how homelessness can strike anyone regardless of age, race, gender, or socio-economic background. It made me think about how comfortable I am in my lifestyle and how I would feel if it disappeared and I was left without a home. Most of the people who are homeless in D.C are educated, but due to their economic situation or other unfortunate losses have found themselves homeless. I was surprised at the segregation in the city. Walking around the Georgetown area it is hard to imagine any poverty, but walk a few blocks downtown and there are people sleeping in doorways. On Monday night, we all prepared a meal at the YSOP headquarters. We then served it and were able to sit down with our guests and share a meal with them. This was one of the most meaningful and interesting experiences on the trip. Meeting people who were homeless I was struck by how educated and informed most of them were. One man came to D.C to go to graduate school and found himself homeless so he is not able to continue his education. I met a man named Jackson who is 82 years old and remembers everything. He told me that people can give money, clothes, and food, but giving your whole self is the most important. I found that especially inspiring and now know that giving your time and self to serve those is need is the most important.
-Amy
This past week in Washington D.C was both an enriching and humbling experience. I had worked with the hungry and homeless in Providence before, but this trip really taught me more about the people we served. On Tuesday afternoon, we had a speaker named Alan who spoke of his experience being homeless. Before becoming homeless he had had a fabulous government job, a great house, and a family. He talked about how homelessness can strike anyone regardless of age, race, gender, or socio-economic background. It made me think about how comfortable I am in my lifestyle and how I would feel if it disappeared and I was left without a home. Most of the people who are homeless in D.C are educated, but due to their economic situation or other unfortunate losses have found themselves homeless. I was surprised at the segregation in the city. Walking around the Georgetown area it is hard to imagine any poverty, but walk a few blocks downtown and there are people sleeping in doorways. On Monday night, we all prepared a meal at the YSOP headquarters. We then served it and were able to sit down with our guests and share a meal with them. This was one of the most meaningful and interesting experiences on the trip. Meeting people who were homeless I was struck by how educated and informed most of them were. One man came to D.C to go to graduate school and found himself homeless so he is not able to continue his education. I met a man named Jackson who is 82 years old and remembers everything. He told me that people can give money, clothes, and food, but giving your whole self is the most important. I found that especially inspiring and now know that giving your time and self to serve those is need is the most important.
-Amy
Washington DC
For my service trip I went with a large group of girls to Washington DC to volunteer with the organization YSOP. On the first day we were assigned a small group to be in which we were to do our service with all week. In my group was: Melia, Kara,Mimi, Ruta, and Sarah as our chaperon ( Lincoln 2005 graduate). As many stories were shared and I met many new faces at each and every work site, a particular few incidences are the ones I feel are most special.
The first day we volunteered at Martha's Table ( a soup kitchen, thrift store, and day care), the second day was DC Central Kitchen, and the third day was Thrive DC. I have uploaded a news interview of DC Central Kitchen because out of all places, I felt as though this soup kitchen really knew what they were doing. They feed about 1400 hungry, homeless people each day and they do it with quite a twist. Their kitchen is extremely organized and they have a precise system that makes certain each day the hungry is getting fed without disappointment. The twist that they incorporate is on the staff. They train, hire, and implement actual homeless people to make the food and serve it to their peers. By doing this they are not only feeding the mouths of the hungry but also providing them with work opportunity and keeping them off the street during working hours.
On one of the first days I had been walking through the city from my service project and seen a homeless man on the street sleeping in front of the side door to a government building. He was completely asleep, snoring, and breathing heavily. The angelic look on his face was so simple and innocent that for the first time I realized he was just a regular guy like any of my family or friends, the only difference was that he was asleep on the pavement, instead of a bed, and had a stirofoam cup next to him for the collection of money. Later that day the YSOP leaders arranged for a speaker to come and tell us his life story. He told us how he was a comfortably wealthy guy with a good job that supported his two kids schooling and college tuition, his wife, and helped pay for vacations he would take. When his second child was going to college he and his wife got a divorce and he moved to a separate apartment. Soon after he lost his job and was evicted from his residence, that was the first time he turned to the streets. He said for 3 months he did not open his voice to talk to anyone and lived a life of solitude on the streets. One day he was reading a paper and laughed at something funny, when he laughed he jumped out of terror because he did not even recognize his own voice. The moral of his story was that homelessness can happen to anyone and can strike at any time. No one is invincible that is why everyone must help and be aware of the danger that can be around any corner.
A similar story was told to me on my last day of service at Thrive DC, a kitchen that also offered laundry services, showers, legal help, and a computer lab. One of the guys who came for breakfast was pretty young, around early 20's, and he had a mouth that could talk all day nonstop without taking a breath to breathe His name was Eric and when I walked up to him he was in a deep conversation with Melia telling her about school topics that he knew about. The facts and info he knew was astonishing, He must have been extremely smart. When we were talking he showed us a scare on the back of his head and told us that when he was 8 months old his birth parents tried to kill him, when he was found by a neighbor he was then brought to a foster home. He was adopted, along with 29 other kids, by wealthy family who already had 7 children of their own. He said they lived in a huge mansion in Maryland and had an even grander summer home in Florida. Due to the fact that the family consisted of 39 people he got lost in the shuffle and again became homeless.
The people I met made my view on homelessness change forever. For someone who has had such a traumatic life, they were so open to sharing their stories for the purpose of educating the public on the severity and vulnerability everyone has to homelessness. I feel great about being able to make 500 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to feed hungry mouths, and cooking 50 pans of past and I truly look forward to continuing servicing the needy in my community around home and in college. The stories I have learned have changed my view of homeless people and opened up a new way of thinking. No longer will I shy away from a dirty man begging for money on the street, but rather I will look him in the eye as a would with any human being, and give him the money I have in my pocket, because any little contribution can make a difference.
Thank you to my chaperons, girls in my group, volunteer organizations, and the community of DC for providing us with a truly life touching experience...
x0x0
gianna
The first day we volunteered at Martha's Table ( a soup kitchen, thrift store, and day care), the second day was DC Central Kitchen, and the third day was Thrive DC. I have uploaded a news interview of DC Central Kitchen because out of all places, I felt as though this soup kitchen really knew what they were doing. They feed about 1400 hungry, homeless people each day and they do it with quite a twist. Their kitchen is extremely organized and they have a precise system that makes certain each day the hungry is getting fed without disappointment. The twist that they incorporate is on the staff. They train, hire, and implement actual homeless people to make the food and serve it to their peers. By doing this they are not only feeding the mouths of the hungry but also providing them with work opportunity and keeping them off the street during working hours.
On one of the first days I had been walking through the city from my service project and seen a homeless man on the street sleeping in front of the side door to a government building. He was completely asleep, snoring, and breathing heavily. The angelic look on his face was so simple and innocent that for the first time I realized he was just a regular guy like any of my family or friends, the only difference was that he was asleep on the pavement, instead of a bed, and had a stirofoam cup next to him for the collection of money. Later that day the YSOP leaders arranged for a speaker to come and tell us his life story. He told us how he was a comfortably wealthy guy with a good job that supported his two kids schooling and college tuition, his wife, and helped pay for vacations he would take. When his second child was going to college he and his wife got a divorce and he moved to a separate apartment. Soon after he lost his job and was evicted from his residence, that was the first time he turned to the streets. He said for 3 months he did not open his voice to talk to anyone and lived a life of solitude on the streets. One day he was reading a paper and laughed at something funny, when he laughed he jumped out of terror because he did not even recognize his own voice. The moral of his story was that homelessness can happen to anyone and can strike at any time. No one is invincible that is why everyone must help and be aware of the danger that can be around any corner.
A similar story was told to me on my last day of service at Thrive DC, a kitchen that also offered laundry services, showers, legal help, and a computer lab. One of the guys who came for breakfast was pretty young, around early 20's, and he had a mouth that could talk all day nonstop without taking a breath to breathe His name was Eric and when I walked up to him he was in a deep conversation with Melia telling her about school topics that he knew about. The facts and info he knew was astonishing, He must have been extremely smart. When we were talking he showed us a scare on the back of his head and told us that when he was 8 months old his birth parents tried to kill him, when he was found by a neighbor he was then brought to a foster home. He was adopted, along with 29 other kids, by wealthy family who already had 7 children of their own. He said they lived in a huge mansion in Maryland and had an even grander summer home in Florida. Due to the fact that the family consisted of 39 people he got lost in the shuffle and again became homeless.
The people I met made my view on homelessness change forever. For someone who has had such a traumatic life, they were so open to sharing their stories for the purpose of educating the public on the severity and vulnerability everyone has to homelessness. I feel great about being able to make 500 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to feed hungry mouths, and cooking 50 pans of past and I truly look forward to continuing servicing the needy in my community around home and in college. The stories I have learned have changed my view of homeless people and opened up a new way of thinking. No longer will I shy away from a dirty man begging for money on the street, but rather I will look him in the eye as a would with any human being, and give him the money I have in my pocket, because any little contribution can make a difference.
Thank you to my chaperons, girls in my group, volunteer organizations, and the community of DC for providing us with a truly life touching experience...
x0x0
gianna
Friday, May 28, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Boston Trip
Monday May 17th to Friday May 21st, Gigi, Marilyn, Miriam, and I went to Boston for our service trip. Each day we had two activities, which included The Greater Boston Food Bank, Boston Rescue Mission, Community Servings, Nutrition Works, and Cradles2Crayons. Each place was different, yet very rewarding. The people were so nice and welcoming. They deeply appreciated that we were there to help, and were glad to help us and direct us in our work. We did so many things throughout the week, such as package food and other items, serve food to people straight out of Detox and prison, package meals for people with long term illnesses such as HIV, AIDS, and cancer, make pancakes for people at our hostel, pass out bags of food to people living with AIDS and HIV, and make clothing packages for kids who don't have any clothes.
This trip was so rewarding because we could really see that we were making a difference in people's lives. When giving out food to people that needed it, it felt so good for that one person to come back and say, "Thank you." I got the chills because that is when you realize that these people have practically nothing to look forward to, and that you probably just made their day. Many of them seemed shy and ashamed, but many of them were so happy and full of life! It was so inspiring to see that these people still kept a smile on their face, despite the difficulties and struggles they had to face everyday. They were also so nice! Some of them just began to joke around and start up conversations with us. We were having so much fun, it didn't even seem like we were doing any work. The people that we worked with were amazing as well. Sometimes, it was special needs kids. Other times, it was just other volunteers. We learned to work together, and it was great seeing other people that had their own needs helping others. This experience was just so humbling and amazing. I loved working with and for everyone we met.
This trip was so amazing. Our chaperones were great, and I loved seeing them get in on the action as well! I feel as though we accomplished so much, and I'm glad that the four of us could do something together. We are really a close group of friends, and doing it together meant so much more. As Miriam said, we also made so many new connections in Boston through our work, and I think we will definitely have to return to these places. We had a great time, and experienced so much through this trip. Thank you to everyone who helped make it possible. Hopefully other students will get ideas from our trip and make it even better in the future!
-Amanda <3
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