A Personal Experience at a homeless shelter
I saw a sign at the community center asking for volunteers for the local shelter. The three day required training program was free. As a teacher I have the summer off so I had the time. I thought it would be interesting, allow me to do some good for the community, and give me something else to add to my resume.
The training stressed the privacy issue of all clients at the shelter so I can't mention any one by name. I learned a lot about careful preparation of the hot lunches, how to recognize someone high on drugs or alcohol and how to handle a difficult client. Of course, no volunteer would work alone. We'd have a staff person with us, and a direct line to the nearby police station should their assistance be warranted. All of this made me very nervous. Just what kind of people was I going to help?
My fears mostly dissolved when I walked into the recreation room of the shelter and met some of the clients. They wanted to take advantage of the air conditioning since it was almost 100 degrees outside. A silver-haired woman in her sixties, sat with a couple of other older women at a table playing cards. I nodded to them, and they smiled at me. A couple of men, some as young as twenty, lounged on chairs watching TV.
I helped cut up vegetables for the salad for the evening meal. While we worked and talked in the kitchen, women and men came in with bags of groceries they donated to the shelter. "Whenever the Big Y has a buy one get one for free, or sometimes two for free, our donations of food stuff goes up," the director explained to me.
I learned the shelter also provided meals to others who don't live at the shelter but have limited resources. They even give each person a bag to take home for an evening sandwich.
A couple of neatly dressed silver-haired women walked in with a tray of brownies. "We thought this would make a nice dessert," one of them said.
"People are generous," I remarked, as I cut the brownies into small squares so there would be enough for all those eating. I was grateful our town offered these services to those in need.
The staffer said, "Those ladies come in at least once a week with a dessert they've made. Scout groups, 4H groups, and church groups also contribute. Our clients really enjoy the treats."
Latest Articles