Day 365

It was the PERFECT night at SafeHouse!! It started with some conversation with the man who lives under the bridge - he told Cindi and I the story of him getting hit by a pick up truck, and explained what egg custard is since neither of us has ever heard of it.

The crowd was smaller than usual, it being New Year's Eve and all, so I said hello to a few more people before heading inside to help make grilled cheese sandwiches. There was no church serving tonight, but the group visiting there and a few of us volunteers were more than happy to help put something together!

While doing that and having random NYE conversations with one of the ladies outside it seemed like something was going on there tonight, especially since some of my family members SHOed up! I was asked to come inside for something and walked in to see cake and cards set up in the serving kitchen! Once getting through the thank you's, the hugs, and some cake we started making plates with cake, sandwiches and bowls of potato soup.

We served the meal, had some conversations with a few more people inside, hung out with the awesome group staying there (Happy Birthday David!!) and of course the best volunteers anywhere!

It was definitely the perfect end to this project! Looking forward to going back tomorrow :)

Day 361

It was a really really cold day in the city - thank goodness for the group serving there tonight! The doors were opened early to get people out of the cold, and the volunteers with the group made hot chocolate and served everyone while they were waiting for service to start. And they were making hot soup to serve with dinner!

I went inside and said my hellos to as many people as I could before it got crowded, conversation topics included weather, rainbows, leprechauns, and frogs! One gentleman spoke to me about doing good for others (even if it's just a friendly hello) no matter what kind of day he has had. He has a wonderfully positive attitude about everything and it's so refreshing to talk to him!

Since this has come up a few times :)
...the project will be over in a few days...all that means to me is that I won't have to write a blog at the end of the day. I still plan on volunteering about 3-4 days a week, primarily at SafeHouse but also Open Hand, Atlanta Community Food Bank, Global Soap, and Books for Africa, and then any other opportunities that interest me. This project has made a huge impact on my life, there's no turning back now!!

Day 360

The past few days have been emotionally draining but my night at SafeHouse was a welcome break from it all, filled with some good conversations and helping in the kitchen. I started off catching up with a gentleman I haven't seen for a few weeks. The last time I saw him he told me that he would be moving in to a winter shelter and would not need to come to SafeHouse for meals while he was there. But he stopped by today to socialise and it was great catching up with him.

The gentleman who lives under the bridge shared food stories with me :) We talked about fried chicken, butter milk and corn bread, and his all time favorite seasoning - Mrs. Dash lemon pepper seasoning. I'm definitely going to have to try this one out!

Before I left for the night I had a cathartic discussion (I think discussions can be cathartic, maybe). This gentleman talked with me about relationships in his life and the emotions that arise when some relationships end. We talked about making life altering decisions and how those decisions are clouded by emotions, as well as how sometimes it's better to wait and control the emotions before making a decision. We talked about trust and respecting yourself and the other person, because any relationship without those things will fall apart. He was talking specifically about his relationship but this is the basis of so many relationships.

As this project comes to an end, I'm once again reminded of how much this year has given me...

Day 359

SafeHouse hosted a Christmas Party this morning/afternoon for some wonderful families! I arrived at about 9am and helped get some of the basic setting up done. Before I knew it, it was time to get to the apartments to pick up families and bring them back to SafeHouse for lunch. After 3 trips we had everyone there enjoying some delicious food and waiting in excitement for their presents.

A LOT of volunteers were able to make it out (they're amazing!) so we had several people making plates, serving food and soda, interacting, cleaning up and just doing whatever was needed at any given moment. Santa also made a special appearance and the kids loved it! With his arrival, the gifts were handed out and all you could hear was laughter and excitement in the room!

The event was perfect! And it was a great way to start my day :)

Day 230

Today's SafeHouse conversation was about energy and how it can pretty much make you (positive energy) or break you (negative energy). I was talking to a gentleman about his plans for the future - he said he was hoping to stop having to come to SafeHouse by the end of the month and that he has been working on getting his life back together. He said he was trying to focus on being positive and that that would help him in getting things fixed.

We talked about his life experiences and how much he enjoyed each, regardless of it being a good or bad experience, because he always learned from them. In this sense he said he was rich, because when he looks back on his life he only feels happiness. He doesn't measure his wealth by money; he measures his wealth by the relationships he has with people and the experiences he has been through.

Our conversation ended with a compliment he gave me that reminded me of the power of a simple conversation. He is someone I have talked to regularly since I started going to SafeHouse. He reminded me of this and told me that I have always given him lots of positive energy just from talking to him and that it has finally rubbed off on him. He went on to say that he thought my positive energy would eventually "rub off" on most people there. I was pleasantly surprised by the reminder that a conversation goes a long way for all of us :)

Day 229

The weather was PERFECT for walking around the city.

Lablanc and I headed out this evening to pass out subs, water, and socks to our friends in the city. We started off at Hurt Park handing out food and talking to some people who come to SafeHouse most nights. These guys were so grateful because they hadn't gotten any food today. We talked about vampires, food, the weather. Another group of us talked about living on the streets, sleeping on the streets, people who are homeless stealing from one another, the atmosphere at one of the shelters - this conversation was really informative for me, especially some of the details on living at a shelter. The guys also talked about the service held at Garnett Station and the chaos that it usually is. Before we left here I got to see something wonderful - one of the guys asked another if he had eaten yet. The second responded that he hadn't. The first then told him what food he had and offered it to the second - he made my day, and I thanked him for being so generous :)

We moved on to a popular church spot and saw some more familiar faces. Here we met a gentleman who goes to Home Depot early each morning in search for a job as a day laborer. He also talked a little about the things he sees from sleeping out on the streets. From there we walked down Peachtree, handing out socks to people that needed a pair, and made it back all out of food, water, and socks!

It takes so little to make a difference, and this random giving was amazing - can't wait to do it again!