Today our group went to a sister congregation with central united methodist church called, Haywood Street. This was an experience I don’t think I could get anywhere else. It was motivating, inspiring, encouraging, and so much more. This has been one of the biggest demonstrations of what unconditional love can amount to and how, just in general, caring for people as people… brings a whole new dynamic to volunteering and devoting time to giving back.
Haywood Street placed an emphasis on bringing dignity back into the equation when it came to people in the circumstances of homelessness or on the verge to it. First, volunteers were not called “volunteers,” they were called, “companions.” And those who may have been experiencing homelessness or something similar were called, “friends.” This terminology in itself broke down barriers of social and economic status, and made the organization ahead of others by ages.
Secondly, Haywood Street designed their, “Welcome Table,” (which was like a dining hall) to look essentially like a restaurant. There were flowers, candles, two pitchers of sweet tea, and two pitchers of ice water with lemon on each table with plated seats with linen wrapped silverware on them. If anyone asked for seconds, or thirds, the answer was always “yes.” This cultivated an environment where everyone was friends, everyone served one another, and everyone was welcomed and taken care of. I sat with one of the tables to eat my lunch and spoke with the people around me; something I sometimes can’t even see myself doing in a dining hall at campus. And the people I met weren’t extremely extraordinary, and others were, but something to acknowledge was that they were just like me in many ways. Just people living this same life, and not dirty homeless addicts that sadly society portrays them to be.
Lastly, there was a church service, offered among many other outlets Haywood supplied, that was a very unique and moving experience, and also my favorite part of the experience. It had a loose structure, three men gave their testimonies after we opened in hymn each allowing us to gain insight to their lives, and where they were at, and how they were planning to move forward. And the amazing thing is that each one of these men had a positive future in store. Two men were definitely homeless, one had health problems from previous heart attacks, and one had been shot and lost his relationships with his wife and daughter during the road to recovery and due to his previous way of life. Despite those things, these men, and most likely all the others who attended service that day, had hope for the future and where it would lead them. The man who had been shot that I just mentioned, also got baptized that service and we were all invited to place a hand on him or the people surrounding him and be apart of that turning point in his life. I could clearly go on and on about Haywood and the appreciation I have for this experience, but I’m not writing a book here. But, I do believe that Haywood has the right idea and it’s working. Their philosophy about life and humanity is something I will strive to advocate and embrace as my own mindset when addressing homelessness and any other future interactions I may have in this walk of life.