Thrive DC!

This morning, the majority of our group woke up at the early hour of 5:00 AM in order to make it on time to Charley's Place, a local food shelf within walking distance from the Pilgrimage where we are staying. I, however, was lucky enough to go to Thrive DC. This place was about forty minutes away, and offered a couple different services including breakfast, lunch and dinner, shower, laundry, and even time to rest and watch some movies for a while.

When we first arrived, we were greeted by two staff members who gave us immediate directions of what we could do to help. After learning that I speak Spanish fluently, I was asked to be in charge of shower registration. I had to give each person any personal hygiene product they asked for, as well as sign people up for showers and/or laundry, if they had any. This was actually a very cool experience because for the first time, I was actually able to sit down and have a talk with a couple of homeless people. What surprised me the most was how friendly they all were; despite all of the trouble they have to go through each and every day, every single one of them walked up to me with a smile on their face and a very enthusiastic greeting of, "Hey, Miss, how ya' doing?", or "Hello beautiful, so glad to see you here!" Although I was completely nervous at first, the way I was treated definitely helped me loosen up.

After about one hour of me doing shower registration, I was asked to help serve food. All I had to do was pour syrup on their french toast, and give them either an orange or a banana. Again, it was such a great feeling to see how happy and welcoming they all were. However, this is when things really began to hit me.
There was one young man, probably about 18 years old or so, who walked up and asked for some syrup. As I started pouring it, he stopped me right away and said, "That's enough. I can't have too much sugar like that." He said all of this without even looking at me, both of his eyes directly to the ground, and a completely serious expression on his face. It was then that a thought came to mind: what if he was sick? What if he had diabetes, or some other life-threatening disease? He couldn't eat sugar, he was very pale, he didn't look like he was in the most healthy of conditions; it really made me wonder. As I looked down the line, I realized that there were SO many other young men, probably around 18 years old, as well. It amazed me to think of how they are making it in the streets! They were all so young, and they all have so much life ahead of them. I tried to put myself in that situation, and I still try to imagine it, but it's so difficult to even think about. I'm most likely about the same age as them, maybe even older, and I can honestly say I have NO IDEA what I would do if I was ever put in that situation. To top it off, just thinking about how this young man, and many others as well I'm sure, are not only homeless, but also dealing with illnesses that could potentially kill them if they are not careful; it's so unbelievably heart-breaking to me. I tried to push those thoughts aside for a while, though, and continue to serve with a smile on my face (which was not difficult to do with all the nice greetings and comments I was getting!).

This experience has definitely been the best experience I've had so far. The people I met and the stories I heard were all so eye-opening. The look on the young man's face; hearing Tim's story, a veteran who is now homeless; getting to know Erick, and how his article made it big in the Washington Press, then later taking pictures with him because he never wanted to forget me: these are all things that I KNOW, I will NEVER forget. The feeling I get just thinking back to it is indescribable. I can not wait to continue helping this week!!

-Yvette D.