Service Learning #1

Colorado Coalition
Friday, May 2, 2008
1.5 hours
For my first service-learning experience, I chose to visit the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, an organization that works to improve the homeless situation in the state as well as offers numerous medical services. My experience began with my friend Amanda and me venturing downtown on the light rail. We got off at the last stop at 18th Street and Stout, and we walked two blocks deeper into the city to reach our destination. When we got off of the light rail, we were in front of the courthouse, a beautiful older building. However, as we ventured toward CCH, we found ourselves in a less than perfect setting. We saw one man walking with a shopping cart that held all of his belongings, while a middle-aged woman sat on the sidewalk across the street from us, asking for money or food.
When we finally found our destination, there were a few people standing outside smoking. We were very shy at first, but one lady said hi to us, and we made our move. We asked her is she had heard about Project Homeless Connect and when she said no, we offered her a flyer. The other two ladies she had been talking with also asked for flyers. They were all very nice and after leaving their presence, Amanda and I were unsure about their living conditions. It seemed that they were not entirely poor, as one lady had a cell phone and the other had on nicer clothes. We then ventured inside the building, where we found ourselves in the middle of a mid-size waiting room. The room was gray and depressing and everyone inside was silent. None of the near forty people waiting spoke or looked at one another. They all seemed to be there to take care of whatever it was that they needed and that was it. Amanda and I first went to the front desk to make sure we could pass out our flyers and the lady smiled and said that that would be fine. However, the moment we turned around, our task seemed daunting. Nobody in the room looked like they were in the mood to have a conversation, especially with two privileged college girls. What was worse, we did not feel that we could properly identify those who may really need the services offered at PHC. Some people had cell phones while another man carried a briefcase. It seemed that this clinic was more for those who did not have health insurance and not necessarily for those who were homeless. Amanda and I felt awkward being there, looking at the people and attempting to judge who may look like they were homeless. In the end, we found it to be an inappropriate setting to pass the flyers out. Instead, we chose to leave them with the lady at the front desk who promised to make sure they would be distributed throughout the office so people would have many chances to grab one.
On our walk back to the light rail, we felt only embarrassment and ignorance. We were so ashamed that we had stood in that clinic and looked around, judging everyone we saw. Just because these people needed to go to CCH did not mean that they were poor or that we should have looked down upon them as if we were superior. Also, we felt ignorant to the fact that we had not fully understood the organization’s goals and the experience this location would bring us. It seemed that we had just assumed everyone would be poor, but in reality, the people in this clinic were working to bring themselves out of this situation of homelessness. Overall, I was not greatly inspired or pleased by this experience, but it did help me realize how quick I can be to judge and that this is something I need to work on. I felt terrible that I had looked down on these people just because they had experience certain struggles in their lives. I know that it will be impossible for me to never judge another again, but I feel that judging people in relation to who I am is wrong and that I need to look at people as equal to myself.
I still believe that this experience will help my research. I can now distinguish the difference between homelessness and just poverty. I understand that even those who may have a job and a home may still not be able to provide for themselves medical insurance. Homelessness is just one aspect of poverty, and while Denver’s main goal is to end homelessness, it is also working to improve the lives of those who are working their way up. Also, though this was a tough experience, I feel that it is important to volunteer. Places such as CCH are godsends to people who may otherwise have no other options. I do feel that everyone has some responsibility to help others who are struggling through poverty and homelessness and that helping different organizations is a good way to experience and help those in need. I look forward to helping out more in the community, especially with PHC. Hopefully, in my next experience, I will find myself in a better situation to offer my services.