Alyssa Dolly
Journal #3
3/9/19
This week was my first week serving food at my local Union Rescue Mission. What an eye-opening experience this has been already. This assignment has already taught me how much I truly have to be grateful for. I take so much for granted, and each night as I am getting ready for bed, I cannot help but think how lucky I am to have my nice comfy bed, in my warm home to sleep in. As I sit down to have dinner with the family, I think of how grateful we should be that we have food, of our choosing, to eat to keep us happy and healthy.
It was an uncomfortable first experience, not because of the people I was there to help but because of feelings I was having about myself. This day was scheduled last minute while I was at work because my previous scheduled time was canceled. I was eager to begin volunteering even though I wasn’t sure what to expect. Because it was last minute, I only had my work clothes to wear. I work at a Credit Union so dress attire is dressy casual. Thank goodness I wore leggings and a long shirt and nothing too fancy, but I didn’t think to take my jewelry off, so I felt like I stuck out like a sore thumb. Most of the workers were not the most friendly, welcoming group of people which surprised me. I would think they would have to have a little compassion and understanding to work with the less fortunate, but maybe they have just hardened over the years.
The first man to come up and try to make me feel welcome, I assumed was a paid employee because he was in the kitchen helping. He began asking questions such as do you have children and are you from this area. Of course, I politely responded and began explaining that I was a social work student and was volunteering for an assignment and to better my own understanding of the homeless community. It turned out that this man was not an employee but was a resident of the Union Rescue Mission. He was very clean and extremely polite and welcoming. None of those qualities are what I expected from a person experiencing homeless. He had no problem taking time to speak with me to tell me a little about his story. He was originally from New York and has an 18-year-old son, who just joined the military. I could tell he was so proud of him. He stated he would like to eventually make it down to Florida to live and have a fresh start. He plans on staying in Cumberland Maryland for the next year or so. I asked him if he minded telling me what had gotten him where he was today. His responses was not what I expected and shocked me. He stated that he has a large heart and enjoys helping anyone he can, but while helping people took advantage of him and he lost everything. He said he is just trying to start over and rebuild his life. Many people I assumed were homeless because of bad choices they have made for themselves or simply because of laziness. Speaking with this man has proven this way of thinking is wrong.
I spoke with one other individual at the end of the shift before I left. It was a single young woman with a small five-year-old girl. She was also a resident with her daughter. A series of unfortunate events placed her in the Rescue Mission. She was in an abusive relationship and decided to leave the man and get her own place. She said the apartment was in rough shape and was just getting worse. She said the roof leaked and there were mice and different bugs that infested the place. The landlord refused to fix what was needed. She has no other family except a sister which she has no relationship with. She had no other choice but the Union Rescue Mission to put a roof over her daughter’s head at this point in time. When I asked if she worked, she said she did, but it was for a man overseas and that the government shutdown affected her getting her paychecks. I couldn’t help but think that she was exaggerating this story to make it seem like she had more than what she did. I wouldn’t really blame her if this was the case and in fact, would probably do the same thing. The little girl was so happy playing with another small girl. She had no clue how different her life is compared to others. She never looked at others in an odd way, this was just her normal.
It is hard to watch people who experience homelessness and understand how they are still so happy in their circumstances. They cannot pick what clothes they want to wear each day, what food they want to eat, or what sheets they want to put on their bed. These are all the things we take for granted every day. Yet they seem unaffected and happy with their lives. It is hard for me to wrap my head around how sometimes I am so unhappy in life when I have everything I could really want or need. I look forward to the next few weeks while I continue to volunteer and speak with more people about their circumstances. This assignment has already begun to change my thought process of those I am serving and how I view my own life.
Alyssa Dolly 