Will Harris

This Tuesday I got my first opportunity to say overnight and volunteer at the Simpson homeless shelter. Each night at Simpson, there are 2 volunteers along with the employees. Since it was my first night, I was a shadow, meaning that I just watched what the volunteers did to get an idea of the process. After getting lost on the way there, I showed up about a half an hour late. When I walked in there were already a lot of people there and I got a lot of weird looks, probably because I was the only person there under 30. I introduced myself to all the employees and volunteers and they were all very nice and grateful that I had come in.
Growing up, I always that thought you it was easy to pick a homeless person out of a lineup. I assumed they would probably look dirty and noticeably depressed. Staying at Simpson helped me realize how wrong I was. Most of the people there looked completely "normal" (whatever that is). This was probably the most surprising thing to me. I got a chance to talk to a few of the people staying at the shelter, which was a good experience. The ones I talked to were very grateful to the homeless shelter and seemed like genuine people. It was sad for me to see them in their situation.
Before going, I thought that it might be kind of weird to sleep at a homeless shelter. Fortunately, I didn't find it weird at all and was plenty comfortable. My experience at Simpson was definitely a positive one, and I look forward to continuing my volunteer experience with them, possibly even after this course is complete.

Posted by Will Harris at 4:39 PM | Permalink

Last Friday I had my orientation meeting at Simpson Housing Services. I didn't know what to expect. All I knew was that it was a homeless shelter, but since I'd never been to a homeless shelter before, that didn't provide a lot of background. I walked in about a half hour late after getting lost trying to find the place. It turned out that it was only me and 2 girls that were being "trained in", so it wasn't a big deal. The lady that was training us in was very nice, and seemed extraordinarily sincere. We went over some papers about their policy, and also some dealing with what-to-do in certain situations. Then, she showed us around the facility. The first room she showed us was the lounge. This is where the people staying for the night watched TV, read, or played board games. She proceeded to show us the storage closet where people were able to get limited amounts of items for free. After seeing a few other rooms, she took us to the "bedroom". The people staying at the shelter for the night sleep in a big room with white walls and a wooden floor. Their beds are simply about 6 by 2 foot mats, that are lined up in rows that cover the entire room. It was sort of shocking for me to see this sleeping situation.
Being at the homeless shelter gave me a very good idea of what I'm going to be experiencing when I actually get to volunteer there. I no longer have any real uncertainty about volunteering. I think it will be worthwhile and I'm sure I will get to see a lot of interesting people. I have never really volunteered like this in my life, and I think it is good to see people who have dedicated their lives to helping those less fortunate. My first night at Simpson will be this Tuesday, and I'm excited to finally get started.

Posted by Will Harris at 9:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I thought this reading was very interesting and I feel like it was worth reading. I think the people who executed this study did a good job of viewing Middletown from an objective point of view. It was very insightful, and did well in showing how things have changed in America over the past 100 years or so. However, I was unable to draw any real conclusions from the article. It is hard to say whether the charity process has gotten “better� or “worse� since 1890. The answer to this question cannot be answered in black and white. Though, I was able to draw a few pieces of information that showcase how charity in America has changed. It seems to me that the charity “system� present in the U.S. today is much more mechanized. As a result of this, it has also become less personal. Face-to-face interactions of charity are much less common today. Instead, donation is often accomplished through large non-profit organizations. An efficient but arguably less adequate system has been developed.
It seems to me that people today sometimes give to charity for the wrong reasons. Instead of giving out of sympathy for the needy and out of the kindness of their hearts, they give for alternate reasons. I think that today there is a substantially greater amount of social pressure put on the average citizen to give. They feel like they should , or have to give to charity, and therefore they do. Another reason people may give to charity is for recognition from others, thereby improving their public image. Of course I’m not saying that I believe these cases are always true. However I feel like the average citizen of the United States needs to wake up and realize that there are real people out there in desperate situations. A relatively minute sacrifice on their part can do wonders for those less fortunate. They need to start giving out pure empathy.

Posted by Will Harris at 7:44 AM | Permalink