Service Learning Logs 1 & 2

Service Learning Log #1

Friday May 9, 2008: Project Homeless Connect:

My client that I escorted was a 29 year old, Sarah. A mother of 3 boys and currently pregnant with her fourth child: a girl she is expecting in July. I was surprised when I met her because she didn’t look homeless, or at least like the version of what I thought a homeless person would look like. She had her hair combed beautifully, a nice pair of sunglasses sitting on top of her head and cute top that I admired. By looking at her, I never would have guessed she was just coming off the streets a month on a half ago. We skipped breakfast to get through the lines a little bit sooner which was nice since we didn’t have to wait very long in the lines. It was also very helpful how prepared she was. She came with all the documentation and information that she thought would be necessary in obtaining an identification card and birth certificate and had a list of questions that she wanted to ask legal services. She seemed so put together, I couldn’t help but think to myself why she was here.

In the video of PHC that we watched in class, one man said that everyone is just one paycheck away from being homeless, and I didn’t really view that as realistic but after talking with Sarah, I learned how quickly life can turn around. Just a year ago she had a house in Lakewood with her boyfriend and her 3 boys. She was planning on opening a boutique and, she had the blueprints and business plan all set to go. Her life seemed to be going just the way she wanted: she had a family and her career was about to take out. But it was not so picture perfect as she was in a physically abusive relationship which ended with her stabbing her boyfriend and going to jail for three months. She was released in favor of the “Make My Day Law” since she was protecting herself from being beat by her boyfriend but in that three month period, her now ex boyfriend sold all of her belongs, stole her identity and took off with her children. It was story that made my eyes tear. Her life took 180 degrees turn in a period of 3 months. For the past year, she was not able to find her children, and said that found no reason to live. She tried to commit suicide but after a few failed attempts she felt that suicide was a selfish way to die. She kept telling me that there was nothing for her in this world without her children and they couldn’t be found anywhere. In that period of 90 days, she lost her family, her home, and her life.

She met a new boyfriend and had three miscarriages the past year while sleeping in sheds around downtown Denver, which was physically and emotionally painful for her, leading her into a life of drugs. New boyfriend was also another abusive relationship that she couldn’t handle, and she was thankfully able to escape without too many damages. In the process of her trying to find housing she went to Colorado Coalition which helped her with her current housing at the Treasure Home, a 2 year traditional housing program. She came to me Friday morning with everything prepared to get a birth certificate, identification card, and a list of legal questions regarding the custody of her children. This was clearly a battle that she have been fighting for a while as she was telling me about the numerous attempts and trips to the DMV and social security she has taken in order to get this documentation. She was beyond grateful that she was able to complete everything in one trip to PHC and how much of a blessing it was for her that she was finally getting help to turn her life around.

Talking to Sarah really changed my perspective on how I perceive obstacles in my life by helping me see what are truly important and what isn’t. Often times, I would get so caught up in school letting life pass me by, missing opportunities to spend time with my family or friends because I always expect them to be there, but at any moment they can be gone and I’m going to remember putting them off for an assignment. Not that I believe school is not important, it is just that I have the tendency to get very caught up in school and only focus on that aspect of my life. She has been through many hard times to the point where she wished she was murdered because she didn’t want to live anymore, but now all she wants to do is help one person from getting in the situation that she was in herself. She told me that if she can save one person from being in an abusive relationship and going down the same path as her, she will be like she has accomplished what God kept her on this Earth for. Her spirits remained so high and I could tell that she was a fighter that was ready to get her life back on track. She has been meeting with lawyers to get her children back because she said that there is nothing she loves more in this world than being a mom and is ready to have a family again. She is working as a seamstress for Mission Wear, a company that produces reusable shopping bags and one day hoping to get her boutique started. It is just so amazing to me how one person could struggle so much, yet still have the desire to change and make a better life for themselves.

I learned that there are events in life that are beyond the control of an individual, but what an individual has control over is how they react to the situations. Sarah really inspired me to have a positive outlook on life and that one can overcome any obstacle with hard work and determination. For the past year, Sarah’s life has been simply hell as she lost everything, but instead of focusing on how much her life was horrible, she put her energy towards gaining it all back. She lost her home, her business, and her family yet her spirits are so high and she is willing to work hard to get it all back. Listening to her story about how she lost everything in her life made me realize that the little things in my life, such as not being able to get one shirt, or having to do a project, is really just the little things. It’s important because there are always going to be little annoying things in life that never go right, but it is important to focus on the big picture and the things that I do have, like a home, family, and an education.

Service Learning Log #2

May 13, 2008: Denver Rescue Mission

When I volunteered at the Denver Rescue Mission, it was after Project Homeless Connect and I thought I would almost be in the same situation that I was in when I escorted a client. Rebecca and I had signed up to go together and we had signed up for dinner prep, but I thought that I would have interaction serving the clients as well…but I was completely wrong. I entered and went to sign in as a volunteer but they didn’t have my name on the list to be there and kept telling me that I was a drop in volunteer, even though I had arranged to come and received confirmation twice. Honestly, I was a little irritated because one the people I would be helping went off on a tangent about how I shouldn’t just drop in to volunteer and that I need to arrange times and that I am lucky there was room for me there tonight. I kept thinking to myself, I’m here to help and he’s making me feel unwanted. After his mini-lecture he told me the plan for tonight and what I would be preparing and that dinner like life is “what you get.” He said that I wouldn’t be able to choose what to eat for dinner, and that I would eat what is being served to me and that variety is often times something volunteers take for granted when they are at home. I just agreed with everything he said and was ready to get to work.

Our first task was to search through bins to find desserts and put them on dessert trays. Simple enough, or so I thought, but the first five bins I went through were full of bread. I was interrupted when an employee, Ray, a DU alum, asked me to update his volunteer board adding “University of Denver” and “Lost and Found.” Lost and Found is a treatment housing unit for seventeen boys who come and volunteer once a week. It was nice having the interaction with them because it was people around our age, just a little bit younger, that we were able to converse with. The program that they are in is a treatment facility with seventeen boys living in one house. Rebecca and I worked with two of them putting the dessert trays together and it was heartbreaking listening to one of them say he wish he had a family. I just couldn’t imagine being 15 years old without the support and love of a parent. I kept thinking about all the arguments that I have with my mom and how I couldn’t wish to go to college to get away from home, but I still can’t imagine what it would be like if I didn’t have her. Working with them made me realize how privileged I am to have a family and an opportunity at a college education when one of them said that all he hopes he can do it graduate high school. And here I am complaining about it not being summer yet. My problems just seem so not important in the big picture.

Although we didn’t get to eat dinner with the clients, the Rescue Mission served the staff and volunteers dinner first and I could feel division among us. It felt like high school cafeteria trying to pick what table to sit at and not interacting with the other people. It was the table of the Lost and Found boys, regular staff, and another table with the DU students (Rebecca, me and another student). Dinner was served on a metal tray and our only utensil was a plastic spork. After eating dinner I returned my tray and said “thank you” to the dish washer and he looked at me in shock as if he had never heard those words come out of person’s mouth before. There wasn’t really much for us to do after dinner since it took about 45 minutes to eat and we were only there for an hour and half. But we stayed a few minutes extra and Ray took us around to show us how beds were given away and we were able to see the clients walking to chapel. It seemed really hectic as people men were trying to get keys and checking in for rooms. It made me think of the movie The Pursuit of Happyness where people were lining up in hopes of a bed, yet so many people were turned away at the end of the night. From taking the tour around the shelter, I learned that they are a family among themselves. They are all there to help and support each other and that was really uplifting to see that even though they don’t have a home to go to at night, they still have each other.

Ray was a very nice guy and dropped us off at the light rail station to make sure that we would be safe and his kindness was just so amazing. I came to volunteer and they were taking care of me as they fed me and gave me a ride. From this session, I felt that there isn’t a job that is too small to help with. Putting desserts on trays may seem like a little task, but there was a lot of desserts to go through and distribute and I learned that every little bit of effort can make a difference. Learning this is significant because often time people don’t want to help or volunteer because they don’t think they can make a difference. But everyone can make a difference and every little bit of volunteering helps. I know that many times I have volunteered, I have focused on what I will get out it, or how I will personally benefit from it and I think that is what takes away from the essence of volunteering. But at the same time, volunteering can be discouraging when it is not appreciated, like how I felt at the beginning of my shift at the Rescue Mission. But I learned that what is more important is being able to help others, in any way possible.