Day 4 YWCA McLemore

Today my group went to the other YWCA building  and organized clothes. While we were organizing clothes a lady that works at the YWCA told us more about the program, and while she was talking I realized how YWCA is such a helpful and a great place for women and their children. When we finished cleaning the other building we went back to the other YWCA shelter that was 5 minutes away and we organized more clothes. While we were organizing clothes I heard someone coming in. I continued to work, and then there were two little girls that were like 6 and 7. They gave us a stange look and said, "What are you doing here?" and I said "We are volunteers." Then I said "Hi my name is Calsee whats your name?" The two little girls told me their names.

Everyday I am learning something different from this course and today I learned that its okay to have a conversation with people in shelters event hough sometimes they can be distant and dont want to hold a conversation.  But opening up with them can make them more close to you so they can trust you. So on Monday im hoping I can see those two little girls again so I can get to know them and they can get to know me too.

Day4 YWCA Taylor

In the morning instead of riding in the bus we rode with Angela's mom to the home. When we arrived there we ate a donut and then went with Jen in the van to the main building to organize clothes and kindof update the clothing, like if it's too old or not in to good condition. We did that for a while, then we made outfits to hang up around the room that were cute and went together. Then Jen asked us to re-do the sign that said welcome to Sojourners. We decorated it with white board markers, made cute lettering, snow flakes, snow men, and christmas winter trees. After that was all done we went back to the building were we regularly go to do the same thing there that we did at Sojourners.Then we met theese two little girls while we were throwing out old clothes.

Day 4 YWCA Workman

    Today we had a pretty fun day even though we didnt actually do things at the shelter. Angela's mom took us to the shelter first and then Jen took us to their main building down town where we worked in their clothing store called Sojerners closet. There will picked out all of the unfashionable clothes that none of the ladies that would come there would wear and when we were done with that we made outfits for them to put up in the windows and around the store. When we were all finished we went back to the shelter where we went down stairs in the shelters closet and did the same thing that we did at Sojerners. While we were doing that two little girls came out of the laundry room and walked right up to us. They asked us what we were doing there and what we were doing with all the clothes.  I was really surprised at how friendly they were, you would think that because they were so little and there were random strangers where they were staying that they would just walk right by, but they wanted to stop and say Hi first. Soon it was time to leave so we headed out to the bus stop to wait for a bus that never came...and then Mr.Tuit came to get us :) Working at Sojerners was just a reminder to me as to how little homeless people have and how much they actually need. I think its really cool how the YWCA makes sure that the women that go to Sojerners arent just getting crappy hand-me-down clothes but new(ish) stylish fashionable clothes.

Day 4 Shepherds of Independence Bultsma

At Shepherds of Independence we have mainly been cleaning and packing away Christmas decorations all week. We haven't had much interaction with the residents, but we have talked some of them. One of the men that lives there is named Gary. We usually see him later while we are working, but he's always hanging around. He talked to me a little bit about how thankful he is that we are there and the work that we have been doing. He always greets us in the morning with a smile and asks us how we are doing. It's hard to talk to some of the residents because most of them are either sleeping or not around in the morning. Hopefully we will be able to get to know the residents a little more next week and spend more time talking and listening.

day 4 placement Huan

Today I went back to Family Promise and once again played with Markese and Daniel. After we played with them we did something new. I had to make a thank you video to some company or church who donated a lot of hats and scarves and we dumped them all on someone during the video. After the group and I were finished filming the video, Kelsey wanted to send some photos of clients wearing the new hats that were sent in. So they all dressed up and took pictures of themselves. Today it was Kelsey's birthday so as we were making boards for churches we made a card for Kelsey as well.

Day 4 Family Promise Banaszak

This was probably my best morning so far. When we got there, Kelsey wasn't there yet so we got to play with the same two little boys from the other day. There was a new one there too! We went in the toy room, read books, made animal noises, and just had a really fun time. When Kelsey got there we went into her office and she told us about a school that had donated tons of hats and scarfs to them. Family Promise is really good about thanking their volunteers and donors, but they hadn't thanked the school yet. Kesley wanted to make some kind of video with some of the residents in it with the scarfs and hats, so that's what we got to do! The smallest boy, Daniel, came running up to us when he saw us taking out the scarfs and hats. Kelsey's first idea was to dump all of the stuff on someone, and that someone was me. And Daniel! After we got dumped on, which was a ton of fun, four of the moms came in and Kelsey wanted them to put on some hats and scarfs for a picture. Even though I wasn't actually doing anything during that time, it was really cool just to see how close all the moms are and how comfortable they are even in front of volunteers. So all of that was definitely the highlight of my morning. Then we cleaned everything up and went into one of the offices to make some thank you posters for other volunteers. And that was cool too because we got to choose what pictures to put on the posters. There are so many cute ones! Kelsey told us they have a professional photographer come in once a month to take pictures of the families and kids, and they are all so good. If I had to choose one moment from today, it would definitely be playing with Daniel in all the hats and scarfs. Because after we got dumped on, he could pretty much swim in all of it. Which he did, for a while. So we played and took more pictures until the moms came in. It was so good to see people being so happy by just putting on some wacky hats and scarfs and taking pictures.

day 4 YWCA McKeever

Today instead of working at the shelter we worked at the main building and organized Sojourners, which is a place kids and women can come and pick out as many outfits as they need for free. Working in there was a great experience because it made me realize how blesssed I am to have clothes all the time and not have to worry about what I'm going to wear. After we were done working there we went back to the shelter and we worked on organizing the clothes in the basement. As we were working two little girls came up to us and asked what we were doing there. We told them we were volunteering there and then they walked back in to the laundry room where ther mom was. Talking to the girls was a cool part of the day.

Day 11 Guiding Light Mission Olushola

At Guiding Light Mission we are now used to going to the mission and seeing the residents there. We also know  most of the names of the guys who stay at the mission. My group is really happy to be doing what we can at the mission and enjoy it a lot. We feel like we are making a difference there. Today we were in the kitchen and helped make some food.  We made salad, tuna, and lunch for the guys who had to go to work. We also got to sit in an anger-management class today. We had some good discussion about anger problems and how to solve them. That was all for today, but next week I plan to be even better and help even more to make a difference.

Day 4 Hope Community Fethke

Today Mary, Kristen and I made a pancake breakfast for the residents at Hope. We had a variety of food for the residents and a lot more people came then usual, which was really exciting for us. One of the women had her 20th birthday today, so we brought cupcakes and a present for her. It was really fun for me to see her face light up when we gave her the things. There was also a girl who stayed from school in the morning so that she could have some of the breakfast. There were a lot of new faces today, and I think that the residents are warming up to us.

One of my favorite moments today was when I was talking to a women ( I can't remember her name), and she told me that she was really glad we were there serving them breakfast. She said she spends her days alone and she really likes interacting with people. She was saying how her kids are always at school and that she misses them. We are planning on visiting her apartment on Monday to help her clean, because she has a hard time cleaning due to her injured back. She is really excited for us to come, and I am as well.

Day 4, Hope Community Adrianse

Today we got to make breakfast for the women and kids. I made bacon and the other girls made pancakes. It was one of the woman's birthday, so Sam made cupcakes. After the women and kids ate we gave her a cupcake and put a candle in it. We also gave her a gift. I didn't really get to meet anymore girls today because I wasn't feeling really good, but I felt like when the girl opened her gift, she really felt like we cared about her and we wanted her to feel special. It really made me good about it.

Day 4 Guiding Light Mission Briseno

This morning we sat in on an Anger Management class and made lunch again for the people there and made bags of lunches for the workers there.

Today what I really liked was sitting on the Anger Management class and being a part of the discussion. I've noticed that one of the guys there, Pat, is starting to be more open and wanting to help us more than the first day we sat in. Neil, Kuzari and I were given the same handouts as the other guys and we got to talk about the same things, which was cool.

Day 4 Shepherds of Independence Johnson

Today we didn't do much today but clean and put some Christmas boxes away and organized the basement. This course is really more hands on. You're really helping, not by talking to people or helping in an office but cleaning and helping the people who do interact with residents by doing some work for them.

A moment that is most memorable to me throughout this whole experience would be when Mr. Johnson from First Place took us around the different places that help and support people in need. We went so many places, and it was nice to see everyone really making friends and caring for eachother. It was a really good day :)

Day 3 Family Promise Sims

Today we went to Lutheran Baptist Church, to get a bed that was left there from last week. Then we took it to First United Methodist Church. After that we went to a warehouse to get beds from Guiding Light Missions, and that was SUPER creepy. It had one of those old elevators & every floor was dark because the lights had a timer on them, so I was scared because Daniel kept saying that instead of putting furniture inside of them it had people & they were going to come out & eat us alive. Then he scared Claire & me. After that we went back to day center & gave the two men from Guiding Light Missions cookies for bringing the beds. We played with these two little kids named Daniel & Marquise.  Claire started playing with Daniel & he slipped & hit his head on the side of the chalk board. I felt really bad for the little boy. Then it was time to go.

Today I learned that homeless people really go through a LOT to try & get a job, keeping their kid in school, making sure they do their homework, getting around the city when they're trying to get a job or find a house. People criticize them, but they work really hard.

Day 3 guiding light mission Briseno

This morning we sat in on another Bible study and met another counselor whose name was Rodney. Rodney was a chill laid back guy who is super hilarious! When we walked in we were greeted by the guys that we were in meetings with the previous days and they seemed glad to see us again. After Bible study we helped Josh with making lunch for the people there, and Josh let us taste what theywere going to have which was pulled pork BBQ sandwiches with salad. It tasted amazing. That's what we did there with our time.

Lisa's presentation in class today really made me think more about the problems that homeless people go through and made me ask myself more questions about what I could do and help. What really hit me today was how many of the people who are homeless are families. After going through this and helping I would like to become a social worker because i really enjoy helping people out that need it.

Day 3 Hope Community Vis

Putting yourself in someone else shoes really makes you see the challenges other people face everyday. Today I got to hold and take care of a four month old little girl named Mia. Mia is the sweetest most content baby I have ever met. I walked around with her and talked to the mother of a little boy named Amir. When it came time for clean up I helped clean up with her in my other arm. Though with such a content baby it was fairly easy there were many thing I couldn't do or couldn't do as fast. I always had to worry about making sure she was safe on top of cleaning up. I can imagine how much harder it would be if she was fussy. Her mom as a single mother has to clean the house and take care of her. I dont think it would possible if she was still homeless.

Day 3 Guiding Light Mission Berendse

Today we sat in on a bible study. They talked about the story of The Good Samaritan, then asked who people would be in that story. I thought about who would I be in this story? Some people said that they would be the priest and just walk by. There were many other thoughts about it. We then went to the kitchen.  It was very emotional.  We were cutting onions for meat sandwiches and making salad, but the whole time we were doing that the person that was helping us was telling us what we were doing this for. We were making food for men who maybe had a problem with alcohol or drugs or they needed a job and a place to stay. Then he continued to tell us how great the services they have there are. Overall a great day.  

Day 3 Degage Ministries Marquez

Today we had a different person helping us, and when we got there she told us that since we knew what to do that she would be in her office helping other people out.  That was scary because we always had someone helping us that worked there. Most of the people that were there yesterday already knew us by name, which was nice. Gabe and I were already making friends with a man named George Lewis, and he was talking about working. About right when we left George went up to us and asked us for a phone because he was excited about getting his birth certificate so he could start working. He needed to tell his wife. I had to work the showers, dryers and washers. George would help me sometimes with the showers because there was a timer for the showers and they were confusing. 

Today in class, Lisa talked about doing little things would help the homeless, and I thought that was true.  Even if the only thing you have to give is a bottle of water, it helps someone not go hungry. She talked about all the stereotypes we put on homeless people, and I thought we actually do that:  When you see a homeless person you don't go "Oh, lets help them," because we think they're dirty or smelly or his probably going to rob us.  It's wrong to think of a person who needs your help as a man who's going to rob you.