Eye Opening Experience

On our first day of service, Monday January 11^th 2016, our wake up time was 6:15 am. However, I had been awake since 5:45 am due to Evan's alarm. I was a little frustrated with Evan because he woke me up from my peaceful slumber. I experienced the best night sleep at this church since I slept in my winter jacket and was warm and toasty.

 For the first time on this trip, we did not have to make a group breakfast. Ryan had been making us oatmeal every day, but today bagels were waiting for us at YSOP.

YSOP stands for Youth Service Opportunities Project. This organization is a service learning organization dedicated to giving young people the opportunity to help the homeless in NY City and Washington DC. We broke up into two groups at YSOP and proceeded to our different sites.

I am in group A. We went to Holy Apostles to serve food. When we arrived, we had a short orientation followed by receipt of our station assignments. I was assigned to putting desserts on the trays. I assumed I would put cookies out, but I soon realized that dessert meant an apple. On average, Holy Apostles serves 800-1000 meals a day. Today we served 780 which is a slow day for them.

I noticed several interesting aspects throughout the day. First, some of the guests that walked through the door were unexpected. Some guests looked homeless, but others appeared to be average working people. These people were obviously going through a difficult time but looked like ordinary working citizens. I would never guess their situation if I passed them on the street. I saw a man in business attire and a man who wore a Dominos jacket stop in. They came in on their lunch break. Secondly, I was surprised the guests were not allowed to choose their food. Therefore, a lot of food was thrown away. I was shocked that people did not eat their full plate of food. I spoke with my classmate, Chris, who said bread was the most thrown away food. I am extremely curious as to why bread was the most thrown food away. When we spoke to group B later in the day, they expressed a lot of food was thrown away too. Also, many people were picky when looking at the food. I assumed if I was homeless, I would take what was given to me. Lastly, a volunteer I worked with explained to me that many guests do not eat their fruit themselves but take more fruit from the shelter and sell the fruit on the street to make money. The volunteer found this action distasteful because other homeless people need that food. In addition, he did not think it was right for some to sell the fruit for a profit. Yesterday, my group discussed if we had the right to care what the homeless do with our money we give them? When we give money on the street, can we be upset if the money is used for heroine rather than food? The volunteer’s opinion about selling the fruit is similar to the question we posed in class. Once the apple is given out and becomes the guests, do we have a right to say what they can and cannot do with the fruit?

Holy Apostles had unique opportunities compared to the other service sights we attended. Holy Apostles provides other services besides feeding the homeless 5 days a week. This organization provides counseling to guests who need assistance. These counseling sessions can provide assistance in securing food stamps, legal aid, health care, drug & alcohol rehabilitation and more. Furthermore, numerous classes and activities are offered to guests to assist them in acquiring skills that can help them escape their situation and/or provide entertainment. Writing, music, movies, discussion groups, yoga & meditation events are offered. I believe education is a piece of the puzzle to help individuals out of poverty. Holy Apostles assists people in poverty by teaching basic skills that others learn in school or at home. This education is important because learning how to function on your own can change one’s way of life. If one goes days without learning a life skill, it makes it harder to change the situation. For example, if I sit and watch uneducated TV the whole day, what did I learn to improve my life? For an individual in poverty, if they can learn how to create a resume and look for jobs online, it might change their life. Through the services provided by Holy Apostles, I learned a way I want to give back and where my passion lies. Before we went on the trip, I gave a presentation on the financial literacy in poverty. I indicated schools should include programs to teach students personal financial planning. I would love to volunteer my time to have a class at Holy Apostles on basic personal financial planning. The computer class offered teaches basic skills on the computer and resume building. My personal financial planning class would educate guests on budgeting, cash flow, taxes, banks, savings, and other basic financial information. I am extremely business minded and know my passion is sharing my skills regarding handling money. I want to help end the cycle of poverty, but I realize this is just one small cog in the wheel.

Another item I learned is how to put myself in the mindset of a person in poverty. During my volunteer service I have done through the years, I have never thought what would I do in their situation? For example, I learned at noon guests can come back for seconds. I thought if I was a guest, I would stay until noon to eat round two so I am extra full. Then I thought, if I had a family and my children were at school they would need food. I figured out I would invest in Tupperware and put the extra food in the Tupperware for dinner.  I would act like I want another plate and put it in the Tupperware. Furthermore, many guests threw food away. If one did not want to eat all the food at once, they can put it in a Tupperware and save it for later. After we volunteered, I told Ryan my idea. He said he saw guests use Tupperware! That was an “ah ha” moment, because I was spot regarding what some guests were doing to survive. This was an important lesson because if I can put myself in their situation, I have a better chance of helping them. It is important to figure out what they need and want rather than making assumptions that everyone is the same.

At the end of the day our professor threw a curve ball at us. We were led to believe the church we are staying at was cooking us dinner-- this was not the case.

Our professor handed us each $2.50 and explained that is how much we have to spend on dinner. All of our jaws dropped and Allison immediately cried, "how is this going to happen!?!" Right away we came to the consensus to pull our money together and make something. We have 12 students and 2 professors which means we have $35 to spend. The group headed back to the church to come up with a game plan. We can all agree it was a frustrating and stressful experience. It is extremely hard to please 14 people on a tight budget. Personality traits and leadership styles definitely came out. However, some people’s actions did not match their personality trait, including myself. It was interesting to examine the people that stepped up and took control of the situation. I am a dominate trait, but I found myself not stating my opinion and taking a step back. I learned I do not need to lead every group I participate in. I am not a picky eater so I did not care what we were going to eat.

However, Mia is S trait which typically does not take control. Mia is extremely picky with her food! Since she is picky she stepped up and made her opinion known. She led the majority of the discussion. I realized if we were talking about finance or business items.... my dominate trait may have taken over.

Overall, I had an amazing trip to New York City to study urban poverty. I went into this class with one thought on poverty, but flew home with another mindset. On the last day Lisa asked the class, when you go home, how are you going to describe this class? When I got home, people asked me about my trip but I did not describe the class. I did not describe the service I did or the activities we did as a class. I described how it has changed my life and view point on the homeless. I explained we all need to dedicate time to service and we should not stop volunteering when life gets busy. Erica was 100% accurate when she explained service is usually the first to go when people get busy. I am extremely fortunate for the opportunities I have been blessed with. As I stated above, education is part of the puzzle in helping people in poverty. I have learned skills through my education and work experience. I want to share those skills with others in order to improve their life and give them something to be proud of. Volunteering and service, will be a priority for me.