For the past few months, I have been interning at a local organization that provides services to families who are either homeless or very low income and in need of assistance in a variety of areas to meet their basic needs. Throughout my time spent here volunteering in several different areas of outreach, I have learned a lot about the organization as a whole including their strengths and their weaknesses. I have been able to see some of the positive impacts that this agency provides as well as flaws that hinder their abilities to serve at their full potential, both of which are important to closely examine when considering the agency as a whole.

Because this agency has been in existence for over one hundred years, it is evident that their model is in many ways successful and they have been able to ensure their continued existence. They are able to serve thousands of families each year, providing more than just basic supplies for survival. They are a staple of the community and without them it is without doubt that there would be a significantly larger number of street homeless individuals. Their staff consists of many hard working and dedicated workers that are truly invested in the well-being of their clientele.

While this organization is beneficial to the community and is able to positively impact the lives of many, like any other agency it too has its downfalls. Many of these shortcomings are directly related to funding issues and are in some ways out of the control of the staff. Because of budget cuts and lack of grant support in recent years, the staff and administration have suffered dramatic cut backs at a time when the community needs assistance the most. These cuts have in many ways been devastating for the organization, with their current strategy seeming to be to focus on maintaining their assistance instead of growing it.

Because this agency has suffered cuts in their staff, there is currently a lack of stability in some ways. This means that when emergency situations come up, the staff has to find ways to adapt and meet the challenges of the situation. An example of this was evident one day when the only child care supervisor had an emergency and had to leave, causing a case manager to have to fill that role and leaving her own position empty. It seems to be a constant juggling act for the workers and this ultimately impacts the quality of care that is provided to the clients.

As a volunteer, the biggest shortcoming on the part of the organization that I witnessed is their lack of willingness to discover the talents and individual skill sets of their unpaid assistants. While they do allow the volunteers to choose which existing areas they would feel most comfortable in, they do not encourage them to use their talents in unique new ways that could advance the organization as a whole. Because the staff of this agency is limited in size and there is such a huge reliance on the help of volunteers, I feel that ignoring the ways in which these people could advance this agency leaves a huge gap in their ability to expand.

Overall, this agency is very successful and during my time spent there I have had the ability to learn about their values and methods of outreach and was able to actually see the ways that these actually impact the community. While it is obvious that they are in many ways successful and undoubtedly help a wide array of people in more ways than most would realize, it is equally important to look at their deficiencies and issues that stand in the way of them expanding and reaching more individuals who desperately need their assistance.