May 24th, 2013 - Day 5
This mission trip has been
amazing. I have learned so much about myself as well as the homeless. It is my
hope that I can take everything I learned about myself and apply it to my life
at home. I have never considered volunteering a year but after seeing Christ
House and CSM people, I strongly want to consider applying. Although a year of
service was never in my plan for my future, it is something I am really
interested in. Meeting all the new people I did in DC changed my perception of
service. I was very nervous to come to DC and I thought it wouldn’t be as great
as it is now. We have grown so close and these people, my team, know more about
me than my friends from home and school. I hope that we stay close and aside
from our differences, take this experience as a way to stay connected.
Today I learned about a homeless man’s life – one to one.
He told me how he got laid off after 30 years because the company went
bankrupt. I also learned, according to John (the homeless man), if you buy a
house in DC you own the house not the land. This means the government can take
back your land at any time. That is why there are so many developments in DC.
The shelters are also filled with people who got kicked out of Saint Elizabeths
(a mental hospital) when it closed. Therefore, many homeless men refuse to go
to the shelters. This is also where the idea that homeless people are crazy
comes from.
