Thursday March 18
th.....our last day. Today we got to spend some time working directly with the homeless. At Thrive DC, a program that serves meals, offers showers, use of washer and dryer, and
hygiene supplies, we prepared food and served the morning meal. Although I was in the kitchen the majority of the time, I did get a glimpse of the prevalence of mental illness within the homeless population. I was amazed at the amount of food that gets prepared and served every single day.
When thinking of donating food to the homeless, we realized the importance of really knowing the barriers and needs of the people. They can't be given canned foods such as pasta and sauce because they don't have anywhere to prepare it. I've noticed that often people donate the foods they don't like, or extra foods from their pantries. After seeing and learning what I have in DC, I will picture an individual who might need the food when I donate, and I will donate from the heart. I feel it's important to treat homeless with respect and dignity (like the mission of N Street Village); not like someone who is sub-human who should be happy with
every one's unwanted items.
In the afternoon we did some teaching on exercise and nutrition at Christ House, which is a health care facility for homeless individuals who are not sick enough to be kept in the hospital, and not well enough to be out on the streets. The men we met were amazing people. Some are dealing with addiction issues, most had recent surgeries they were recovering from. They are treated very well by staff, and allowed the time they need to recover. The men were very interactive with us, and were happy to share their stories with us. One man talked about how his sense of humor had returned since he has been clean from drugs. He really enjoys seeing people laugh. It makes me wonder how sad it must be living on the streets and dealing with all the troubles that come with it. Everything about being homeless just seems so unhealthy; physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually. And how ironic that they live such unhealthy lifestyles, and don't have any health insurance to pay for health care. I believe homeless people don't ask to be homeless, and they wouldn't be there if they could help it. It takes a strong person to struggle and suffer the way they do on an ongoing basis. I have learned to acknowledge the homeless, not ignore them or pretend they don't exist, to treat them like equal human beings, and to take the time to learn what their needs are so I can help in an effective way.
Thursday March 18th.....our last day. Today we got to spend some time working directly with the homeless. At Thrive DC, a program that serves meals, offers showers, use of washer and dryer, and hygiene supplies, we prepared food and served the morning meal. Although I was in the kitchen the majority of the time, I did get a glimpse of the prevalence of mental illness within the homeless population. I was amazed at the amount of food that gets prepared and served every single day. When thinking of donating food to the homeless, we realized the importance of really knowing the barriers and needs of the people. They can't be given canned foods such as pasta and sauce because they don't have anywhere to prepare it. I've noticed that often people donate the foods they don't like, or extra foods from their pantries. After seeing and learning what I have in DC, I will picture an individual who might need the food when I donate, and I will donate from the heart. I feel it's important to treat homeless with respect and dignity (like the mission of N Street Village); not like someone who is sub-human who should be happy with every one's unwanted items.
In the afternoon we did some teaching on exercise and nutrition at Christ House, which is a health care facility for homeless individuals who are not sick enough to be kept in the hospital, and not well enough to be out on the streets. The men we met were amazing people. Some are dealing with addiction issues, most had recent surgeries they were recovering from. They are treated very well by staff, and allowed the time they need to recover. The men were very interactive with us, and were happy to share their stories with us. One man talked about how his sense of humor had returned since he has been clean from drugs. He really enjoys seeing people laugh. It makes me wonder how sad it must be living on the streets and dealing with all the troubles that come with it. Everything about being homeless just seems so unhealthy; physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually. And how ironic that they live such unhealthy lifestyles, and don't have any health insurance to pay for health care. I believe homeless people don't ask to be homeless, and they wouldn't be there if they could help it. It takes a strong person to struggle and suffer the way they do on an ongoing basis. I have learned to acknowledge the homeless, not ignore them or pretend they don't exist, to treat them like equal human beings, and to take the time to learn what their needs are so I can help in an effective way. 
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