Monday, May 17, 2010
Preparing for Project Homeless Connect
As you prepare for Project Homeless Connect, reflect on your expectations for Saturday’s event. What do you think the day will be like? What do expect to learn? What have you already learned about homelessness or poverty that you think prepares you for volunteering? What did you learn from the volunteer training session? From our experiences thus far at The Gathering Place? If you’re feeling any anxiety, apprehension, or nervousness about the day, please reflect on these feelings, too. Why do you think you feel that way?
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Saturday is PHC and I have to say I am excited. I love helping people get the resources they need, when I cannot make the dramatic change of ending homelessness at the current moment. I am a little nervous because I want to make sure that my client or clients gets all that they can recieve to help them out. I think the day will be well organized but still a little caotic because of the fact that there will be so many people doing so many different things. I expect to learn in more detail how some families or clients manage in Denver. Sometimes life can be hard in Denver especially with the weather. I also just want to learn more about the clients I am paired with because sometimes people have the most interesting stories and if you get to know your client they will feel at least a little more comfortable spending the day with you.
ReplyDeleteWhat I think that I have learned about homelessness or poverty that prepares me for volunteering is that like each battered woman case each is special and has its own share of surprises. From the training session I learned that there will always be someone to help you along the way, even if your a volunteer, so that you don't feel like you have to know all the in's and out's of PHC, which is a big relieve. Saturday should be a really great day.
I am feeling excited but also a bit nervous for Friday. When I read Ostrow's study, I felt that I could relate to a lot of the students. They were nervous about what the homeless would think of them, how they should act, etc. Mostly I just worry about being as respectful as possible. I just don't know what “kind” of client I will get and I don't know if I will be able to relate to them or how to just simply start a conversation on some level. I know that homeless people can come in every “shape and size” and I am interested to see the reactions of my peers as well as myself when we interact with different people for the day. From being in this course I feel that I have become a bit more comfortable around people experiencing homelessness especially at the Mother's Day tea. At the beginning of this tea, I was really nervous about just sitting down at a table without other DU students, but in the end I had a great conversation with a few women and I know that the stress I feel about PHC will probably disappear after the initial awkwardness. I know that on both sides (homeless person and volunteer) there can be pre conceived stereotypes but I know that we can move past these and hopefully be as spontaneously authentic as possible. I hope that through PHC I will become a bit more comfortable around the homeless population and make some kind of genuine connection with my client. I think it will be interesting to interact with clients while in this environment because I know that they normally don't have easy access to these services on a regular basis and I want to hear about how they think Denver does or does not help cater to their needs. I'm also worried that I won't be able to get my client to all the different services offered because of the chaotic atmosphere, but I will try to prioritize and make sure that they at least get to the services that they need the most.
ReplyDeleteI think that much of my previous research and experience conducting interviews and seeing the diverse face that is homelessness has aptly prepared me for my work on Saturday. Had I not studied the common misconceptions nor seen firsthand the many different shapes in which homelessness presents itself, I feel that I would go into Saturday with more of a self-righteous outlook and the expectation of serving the ungrateful or lazy or hostile "man with the cardboard sign".
ReplyDeleteBut instead, I have every expectation that I will instead be building a bond - more of a friendship than a one-way relationship - with someone who could very well look like, speak like me and appear as though he or she could be in my shoes, enjoying the opportunities of higher learning - but are instead plagued with a certain misfortune that marginalizes them in the views of society. I look forward to Project Homeless Connect, and expect to grow just as much as (if not more than) the person I will be working with.
Holy beans. I am so nervous for Project Homeless Connect. I want so badly to be able to help my client and really make a difference by assisting them in getting all the resources that they need, but I’m worried that I wont be able to. I know nothing about the resources that a homeless person needs access to or how to go about getting them where they need to be. I worried that my client will be frustrated with me and wonder what this blonde, DU college student could possibly know about being homeless or navigating the project. And the truth is, I don’t know anything. But I am outgoing and I truly want to help. Hopefully that will be enough! I learned at TGP that sometimes people aren’t always looking for all the right answers in an individual, but just someone that is willing to help them figure out the answers and to listen to what they have to say. Also, I have the training in 2 hours and I feel like I will be better prepared after that and better equipped to be an advocate.
ReplyDeleteI'm anxious; I can't do anything with it yet, so I look forward to putting on the Client-Services shirt and taking the bus to Coors Field. My stomach will hurt because I won't be able to eat. We'll move through lines and wait and get stuck on stern prose from overwhelmed desk-holders. But, we're in it together; we'll get something out of it. Then, I'll leave and take the shirt and spread it out flat on the desk. I'll write in some dashes---it's connected---it's transitive---it's coming and leaving. I'll figure out where to put it; but, I can't do anything with it yet.
ReplyDeleteI'm anxious for today. Last night I didn't sleep well, my cold still hasn't left completely, I have butterflies in my stomach, and my R hand is slightly shaking. Though I always get nervous for things like this, things that I care about and don't want to screw up. The training session was good, but left me worried...I don't do particularly well in big crowds. Hopefully someone today will speak German-that way I could help them and practice my Deutsch (probably won't happen though).
ReplyDeleteMy biggest fear has to be fear itself. I'm afraid that if I'm nervous and stressed that will transfer to my client, or worst that my client will perceive my anxiety as being afraid of them! TGP helped get used to meeting new people and asking questions so I hope that will calm me.
I want to help--I want my client to get the most help they can--I hate feeling useless when someone needs me.
I don't really know what to expect at Project Homeless Connect, which is why I'm a little nervous. I wonder how they are going to match people up together, if they will have any system of same gender or anything. I hope to gain more insight on what it is like to be homeless, if it is the most salient thing in their lives, or if they have other concerns like family relationships. I think I'll have an advantage knowing what some homeless people are really like, which is anything but the stereotype most of the time. The volunteering training was mainly just getting everyone familiar with where the various services will be located in the stadium. Many of the other things they said I already knew based on our course like the fact that some homeless people are really attached to whatever belongings they may have, making them apprehensive about leaving their things at the bag check.
ReplyDeleteI most nervous about not being able to relate to the clients. I also wonder if they will take me less seriously because I'm young or if they will frown upon the fact that I'm there technically because of a class.
I forgot to post this before PHC so I will do the best I can in describing my feelings before the event.
ReplyDeleteI was feeling nervous mostly because this was much more uncertain than meeting people at TGP. At TGP I knew the clients would be women, I knew what I would need to talk to them about and I probably most importantly they would not have any real expectations of me. But for PCH I would have no idea who the client was, or what their needs where, or what they expected of me. I felt confident in my abilities to get them place to place and to to get their questions answered, because I knew I would always be able to ask other volunteers for help but still I was afraid of letting them down.
I was also afraid that they wouldn't trust me the same way I gained trust with the women at TGP. I felt as though PHC was much more systematic and less personal therefore the clients would be less trusting of us. I thought it would be harder to gain a relationship that way.
For the most part I was just scared because I didn't really know what to expect at all. I knew I would be able to adapt to any situation, but I was still nervous that it would be hard to deal with.
I think this day will be very busy. When I envision it, I see a lot of people everywhere, and long lines for each station. I also expect to see a lot of men just because I have mainly seen homeless women at The Gathering Place. I expect to learn more about homelessness, but perhaps in a different aspect. I feel as thought the knowledge I have already gathered ill help me ignore the common public stereotypes and expectations. I also have earned more respect for the homeless, and I feel like the training session really emphasized that the homeless were our clients, and we are to treat them as so. I also gained confidence at the training session because it has made me more equipped to deal with Saturday. I think I understand my job better, and we received a lot of reassurance that it was okay to not have an answer for everything. I am feeling a little nervous for Saturday. I think that always comes with going to a new place and not knowing exactly where to go at the beginning. I am a little worried that I will look stupid in front of a client, not knowing where to go. Nevertheless, I am very excited for Project Homeless Connect because I will get to meet someone new and I will be able to help them.
ReplyDeleteThrough my research, readings, and interviews I have overcome many of the stereotypes I had about homelessness. This prepares me to better handle the situations that will be given to me at Project Homeless Connect. The volunteer training session mostly just gave me instructions for Project Homeless Connect, I really didn't learn much about the homeless issue itself. I've never really talked to someone dealing with homelessness one on one before, so I am a little nervous and anxious. But I am educated on the subject so it makes me feel more confident than if I volunteered without the experiences that I have already had. I feel that this event will be very busy and I hope that it will not be so hectic that it will become inefficient.
ReplyDeleteAs Saturday approaches, I am becoming more and more excited. All of our work from this quarter kind of comes together for this event. From what I have heard, I feel like this day may be somewhat hectic, depending on the client, and could be somewhat overwhelming. However, I am hoping that it will also be beneficial, not only for the client but for the volunteers as well. I expect to learn more about the system and what things are in place to help those experiencing homelessness. I feel like I have learned more about those experiencing homelessness and how I can relate to them on a more personal level. After the volunteer training session, I learned more about what the day looks like schedule wise and what is expected of me. I also learned how to prioritize the client’s needs. Though I haven’t worked much at TGP, my new perspective on homelessness will be used on Saturday at PHC. I am feeling a little nervous about how much I will be able to help whatever client I get assigned to, but I think this nervousness will help because it will put me on the same level as the client, because I’m sure they will be nervous too.
ReplyDeleteBefore approaching I was very unaware of what I could expect, but since I had spoken to many second years at the University of Denver who have participated in Project Homeless Connect 8 last year, it put my mind at ease as I had conversations with them. They had nothing but great things to say about their experiences last year, and that they signed up to do it for they had heard great things about Project Homeless Connect as well and they confirmed that it was. The only thing that I was nervous about was the fact that who ever I served could have many needs, and considering the amount of people there may be there could be achance that we could not make it to every stop. I really wanted to make sure that the clients got exactly what they needed and left a bit satisfied with PHC 9. I was aware that not every client may not be "nice", but what can you honestly expect when they have to go throught a never ending battle; there could be lingering stress that may not disappear once they meet me or even walk into Coors Field but I would still be greatly honored to help them as much as I can.
ReplyDeleteThrough this class i have already learned much about the homeless. Geri's story has shown me that through kindness and continued work people can make it out of homelessness. What I still don't know is why they saty there in the first place. To my mind it seems obvious that people would go out and find a job and eventually a home but since this is not the case i know I am missing something. Perhaps it is something else that keeps them down.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit that the volunteer training session was unneeded because it was two hours long to cover eight pages of paper. Most of it actually was spent having a good number of past homeless people speak in front of us and thank us. I think at one point i feel asleep but i am not sure. However i was excited for PHC because i knew it couldn't be nearly as boring as they were making it.