JenniferParsons

Jennifer Parsons

Journal Entries

Alternative Spring Break trip to Nashville

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Today was our first day of activities. I was a part of team 1. We volunteered our services to the Campus for Human Develop. It was a building that provided living space and utilities for people facing homelessness in Nashville, Tennessee.

We passed the street and had to turn around. Upon arriving to the site, I was filled with a little nervousness, curiosity and was somewhat scared at the same time. These unexpected feelings made me think twice about how accepting and understanding I am. I realized that I was very unaware of the extremities and was not fully aware of the real life situations I was about to encounter.

Stepping out of our van, more than one of us turned “pale faced” with a bit of scared, said another girl on the trip. I believe it; I felt it on my won expressions without even realizing until after the fact. I thought about my stereotypical judgments in regards of the homeless people and realized that just because they are homeless does not mean they are not human, just like me and you. Then I realized it was time to step back into reality and help them as I had come to do.

We were given a tour of the Campus. There was a variety of uses for the rooms. It is a very organized setting where the Participants are very willing to do as they are expected to do. They appear as if they really want to make a better life for themselves and I respect that. My favorite room of the building was the art room. It was interesting and showed a lot of talent. I also like that art work of the Participants were displayed throughout the building showing their creativity and making the place more personable.

There were rooms for socializing, learning and sleeping. Certain programs were created to help the Participants get back into the world and start a better life. So far there has been a good percent of success. For example, the Odessey. It is a program organized to help people who have had addiction problems and cannot seem to make a better lifestyle for them selves but are willing to give it another try. They have certain steps they have to go through with reasonable amounts of time to gradually put them out on their own.

After the tour, we were broken up into groups. I was on the painting crew while others were trimming the hedges and cleaning out the storage. I volunteered to paint because I like creativity. However, I do not like that we were cooped up in a very confined area without much ventilation for as long as we were. The fumes were so strong we had to take breaks approximately every ten minutes to keep from passing out. I will admit, I still have a headache from it. I think that they should have asked the others if anyone would have been willing to help us out or switch positions because it cannot be good to be so enclosed with so many fumes. I also wish I would have known what we were doing ahead of time, as I am sure others do as well. I wore my “bad” clothes so I did not mind getting them a little messed up. However, not everyone dressed accordingly.

So far, I find it to be rewarding in the simple fact that I was given the opportunity to come out here and help people who really need it. Not only do they get the benefits of our work produced but I get a new and life-altering experience. As this is my first time encountering homelessness in person and also working with them, I believe this is a trip I will never forget.

Although there are good times have already come out of this trip, work can be frustrating too. I think that what frustrated me the most today was the fact that no one was willing to offer help us paint because we were inside or because they did not want to get dirty. I understand that not everyone wants to get dirty, but we are here to help others, not worry about our appearance, etc. It is not a bad thing to step outside of your own box and help others when needed. I know the crew working outside had been laboring all day and when I had spare time in painting (break due to ambulance), I helped scrub the boxes they were working on and that helped save some time. It is good to help others, after all, isn’t that what we are here for? So I think that it would be great to help each other out more when the time is needed.

Something sad that happened today was that a man at the Campus had to be taken out in an ambulance. He was having very bad pains and they needed to take him to the doctor. After he is released from the hospital, he will have no home to go back to or someone to take care of him. To me, that is sad because if you think about it, what happens when we get sick? – A loved one takes care of us…