This past Wednesday in class we were fortunate enough to hear about everyones internships that they are partaking in for the semester. Everyone’s was different, which made it that much more interesting to listen to. Everyone’s varied from dealing with youth, to low income families, to single mothers, to actual shelters. A common theme I found in all the presentations is the language that each facility uses. They did not refer to them as “homeless” or “the needy” instead they refer to them as clients or participants or youth when they are dealing with minors. I thought this was important because being homeless is a situation not a permanent state, but if you are constantly being reminded that you are homeless it can cause you to think differently about your situation.

Another thing that stood out to me was how many services are provided to people, but more specifically the youth. I was pleased to hear that there were still rules about staying in school going to show that there are no free hand outs – if you do your part we will do our part. It is sad to hear about all the youth who do not have homes or a good home life, but it is inspiring to see all the help and programs that are offered to them. A lot of the facilities mentioned that a lot of the volunteers help the youth in more ways then they think. Just by talking to them and listening to them goes a long way with anyone that you talk to and I can only imagine when someone stops to take an interest in someone going through a hard time it makes a big impact on them. Several youth do not know what it is like to be given attention or really listened to, but by giving them this it may seem small to a volunteer who may not even know what they are doing but it means a lot to the youth.