Background
Hi, my name is Lauren McDowell and I am a sophomore acting major at Missouri State. I am on the Atlanta Bear Breaks trip with the focus on self-sufficiency.
Atlanta vs. Springfield
Before arriving at Missouri State last year, I didn’t know how big of a problem homelessness and poverty were in the community. Being in Springfield for over a year now has made me realize that we are not immune to the problems of poverty nationwide. Atlanta has significant problems with homelessness as we realized today in our first volunteering session at Atlanta Center for Self Sufficiency. There were about fifteen clients just at the center seeking out help, but driving around we saw many people sleeping on streets and begging for money, which is not so uncommon in Springfield either.
Knowledge for Our Community
The biggest realization we all came to today was that the people we are working with are human beings who have been displaced in life, whether that be through mistakes they’ve made or circumstances that have happened to them. The homeless are not lazy, they work hard to simply survive, and face a multitude of barriers to get back on their feet. Today we learned we can’t even take our computer skills, like creating an email or using Word for granted. Some people we were working with had never even used a computer prior to being at the center. In Springfield we have the idea that the homeless are dirty or dangerous, we even have the nickname of “boogans” for them. But what I wish Missouri State would know is that those are real people we are tearing down with our words and thoughts, and that with a little compassion, a person’s entire personality can change. Just having a smile on my face and offering words of encouragement made a world of difference to the clients today. I encourage you the next time you see a homeless person in Springfield, don’t avert your eyes and hope they don’t notice, offer a friendly “hello” and remember they are people just like you and me.