BrittanyRothausen

Brittany Rothausen

Homeless Service Reflection 1

March 7, 2009 – Day 1

Today my group worked at the campus for human development. We didn’t really know much about the place before we got there so we had no idea what to expect. I’m kind of ashamed to admit it, but when out vans pulled into the parking lot, a lot of us felt intimidated. There were tons of people standing around and I felt like we didn’t belong there. A man came up to me and asked me what West Virginia was like. He pointed to the Nashville skyline ahead of us and asked if it was like that. I replied no, and it struck me that we really were out of our element. Luckily Wendy quickly made us feel at ease by giving us a great tour of the facilities and explaining the various programs and services available to the participants. Then we split off into groups and we began clipping overgrowth around a fence. Initially I had no idea what I was doing but after a while I got the hang of it. We did this for most of the day, then finished up by sorting toiletries and other assorted jobs.

One rewarding moment from the day came when we were leaving the Nashville Rescue Mission and people kept thanking us for giving up our Spring break to come help out. I think it meant a lot to them and most people were incredibly nice to us.

However, the day was full of a lot of frustrations, too. First, I was upset by some of the members of our group who complained about working or getting dirty. I think some of them are missing the point of the trip. Second, there was a really sad moment that came at the end of the day which made me feel like maybe things can’t get any better. As we stood in the common area waiting to leave, we saw some of the participants watching MTV Cribs and commenting on how much money the celebrities make every year and how they waste it. It broke my heart to hear this because it’s so true. As a society we idolize celebrities and they make outrageous amounts of money while there are thousands of people out there that don’t even have a place to live, much less a multi-million “crib.” I know that what we’re doing is important , but it’s upsetting that society’s priorities are so skewed.