AnneEndres

Anne Endres

Dr. Sally Campbell

PSY 350

7 March 2009

Alternative Spring Break

I have volunteered at different agencies aimed at helping the less fortunate around my hometown of Charleston, West Virginia, but none of my prior experiences compared to that which I experienced today. We arrived at the Campus for Human Development in Nashville, Tennessee, around 7:30AM and began working shortly after Wendy, one of the directors, gave us a tour of the facility. Wow, was it a large facility! During our tour I learned that there are numerous programs designed to help people on several levels. These people, more specifically, participants, are encouraged to participate in classes such as writing, literature, art, spirituality, and drugs and alcohol awareness that are scheduled throughout the weekdays. Additionally, the participants are awarded points based on different aspects. The encouragement of the people to participate was evident today, although there were no scheduled classes since it is the weekend. I was amazed at the art displayed throughout the campus – each work of art has been accomplished by the participants! It was nice to see how the participants are applying their newly learned skills.

Today I learned a few things. First, I learned that many of the participants at this agency are men, and many of whom suffer chronic homelessness. Second, I learned the true definition of chronic homelessness – it is defined by having been homeless for at least one year, or by having been homeless at least three times in the past four years. Third, I learned that my perception of homeless people caused me to be almost fearful of working with them – when our van pulled up through the alley and entered the parking lot of the campus, we were almost all kind of frantic and worried what we should do with our (valuable) belongings. However, after meeting some people at the campus and learning more about things going on, my stereotypical fears disappeared and I began to realize how much of an eye-opening experience this week would be.

I wasn’t sure what to expect food-wise, either. We went to the Nashville Rescue Mission for lunch, and it was really crowded with participants. Sill being a bit fearful of what was on my plate, I just sampled a little bit of everything. I felt bad doing this, but at the same time I was prepared; I stashed a few granola bars in my pockets. I also felt bad for wasting this food, but maybe tomorrow will bring different food. Overall, I am happy to be here and eager to help many homeless people in Nashville.