I was fortunate in volunteering some of my
time at the Shelter of Flint which has been providing Flint residents a safe
and stable home for the last 30 years. Unfortunately, despite the great effort
of the staff and patrons of the Shelter, over 3,000 people in Flint are still
without the basic necessity of a safe home. Over the last four months I have
come to realize the truth in the saying, “a little effort goes a long way.” A
little effort from those more fortunate could easily alleviate the issue of
homelessness.
The families that live at the Shelter are mostly single mothers and their children. The women can find comfort in having a warm place to sleep and a safe place to establish strength and dignity within their family. The environment is warm and welcoming and while I was there I recognized that each family had privacy and at the same time the Shelter offered the strength of a community. I am not sure exactly how many families live at the shelter but during my brief time there I was blessed to work with between 20 and 30 children each night. Together with my group we organized activities to help entertain the children allowing the parents some time to do whatever they needed. I noticed that several of the mothers took the time to do laundry while we worked with the kids. Working with the kids at the shelter was enjoyable and extremely rewarding; I really hope they enjoyed it as much as I did. The kids ranged from 4 years old to early teens and I was truly impressed by all of their willingness to help and participate.
My group and I helped the kids make paper crafts and decorated cookies with a holiday theme. Our first night of volunteering we made the paper-crafts and started by creating a few samples, such as a snowman and reindeer, which gave the kids a visual from which they could recreate. I was happy to see that many of the kids improved on the ideas we gave them and some come up with their own original ideas; They all had great imaginations! After the first night of volunteering the shelter manager, Petra invited us upstairs to introduce ourselves to the mothers who were all very thankful for our time. The second night of volunteering we decorated cookies and Christmas trees (from upside down ice-cream cones). The kids and parents were happy to see us come back and again the kids did a great job working together and using their imaginations.
Grass-roots reform is a viable solution to help women achieve gender equality and ease the hardships of the impoverished. While I was helping with the kids I realized that three hours per week for two weeks was obviously not enough time to achieve any solution entirely but it was certainly helping a little. I also thought about “The Dot” story and believe that by helping out a little at the shelter it could possibly grow exponentially as those kids grow up and realize the value in communal support. Perhaps the six hours that the five of us in the group spent at the shelter may have influenced the 30 kids we worked with to help other people in need and better the community as a whole.
Petra the Shelter manager was very helpful and a very busy. Unfortunately she could not complete the questions we gave her in time for this blog but I spoke with her on the phone this evening and she is going to get them to me as soon as she can. Thank you to all the great kids and parents at the Shelter for allowing us into your home and thank you Petra for your dedication to the people of Flint.
The families that live at the Shelter are mostly single mothers and their children. The women can find comfort in having a warm place to sleep and a safe place to establish strength and dignity within their family. The environment is warm and welcoming and while I was there I recognized that each family had privacy and at the same time the Shelter offered the strength of a community. I am not sure exactly how many families live at the shelter but during my brief time there I was blessed to work with between 20 and 30 children each night. Together with my group we organized activities to help entertain the children allowing the parents some time to do whatever they needed. I noticed that several of the mothers took the time to do laundry while we worked with the kids. Working with the kids at the shelter was enjoyable and extremely rewarding; I really hope they enjoyed it as much as I did. The kids ranged from 4 years old to early teens and I was truly impressed by all of their willingness to help and participate.
My group and I helped the kids make paper crafts and decorated cookies with a holiday theme. Our first night of volunteering we made the paper-crafts and started by creating a few samples, such as a snowman and reindeer, which gave the kids a visual from which they could recreate. I was happy to see that many of the kids improved on the ideas we gave them and some come up with their own original ideas; They all had great imaginations! After the first night of volunteering the shelter manager, Petra invited us upstairs to introduce ourselves to the mothers who were all very thankful for our time. The second night of volunteering we decorated cookies and Christmas trees (from upside down ice-cream cones). The kids and parents were happy to see us come back and again the kids did a great job working together and using their imaginations.
Grass-roots reform is a viable solution to help women achieve gender equality and ease the hardships of the impoverished. While I was helping with the kids I realized that three hours per week for two weeks was obviously not enough time to achieve any solution entirely but it was certainly helping a little. I also thought about “The Dot” story and believe that by helping out a little at the shelter it could possibly grow exponentially as those kids grow up and realize the value in communal support. Perhaps the six hours that the five of us in the group spent at the shelter may have influenced the 30 kids we worked with to help other people in need and better the community as a whole.
Petra the Shelter manager was very helpful and a very busy. Unfortunately she could not complete the questions we gave her in time for this blog but I spoke with her on the phone this evening and she is going to get them to me as soon as she can. Thank you to all the great kids and parents at the Shelter for allowing us into your home and thank you Petra for your dedication to the people of Flint.
I forgot to mention that my sister was very interested in the work I was doing and asked me to get her a Background Check Form so she and volunteer some of her time.
ReplyDeleteWhy did you choose to work at the shelter?
ReplyDeleteIt will be two years in March that I became a team member at the Shelter of Flint. Choosing to work here was a twofold opportunity. First, it gave me an opportunity to grow in my professional field as an advocate. And secondly it kept me in the field where my heart and passion is at. Empowering residents who feel they have no hope for their future or who just need someone to listen to their hurts without someone giving an opinion.
How does your job help women in the Flint community?
We have a great team at the Shelter of Flint that work together daily empowering all residents women, men, and children. The residents receive active case management, assistance with job search, if their resumes need to be revised we help in that area as well. We also assist them with housing search. There is much more provided that I did not mention that enable the residents to leave the SOF to attain affordable housing and be productive in the Flint community once again. This is truly a Shelter of Flint team effort.
In closing:
I would like to say first I am sorry that this was sent to you late. I hope you’re professor accepts this letter and all of you receive the credit all of you so deserve. I cannot thank all of you enough for you’re giving, you’re kindness, and you’re hearts, you’re time, and most importantly you’re interest. We all look forward to seeing you all again.
Sincerely,
Petra Kersey