Read

What I Learned from a Year in Service after College

Published:
December 22, 2023
September 24, 2018
This is what a year of volunteer service looks like.|What is a year of volunteer service like? Here's a quote from the article answering that question: "When we are called to love others as ourselves, it means more than thoughts and prayers. It means action that makes a difference in someone's life."

For the last year, I woke up at 6 a.m., hours before my first class in college started. I got dressed, ate breakfast, made lunch, and hopped on my bike by 6:50 to travel the four and a half miles to my service placement. I biked in the dark, down three hills, over a bridge, and along the waterfront of Portland, Oregon. Since I was in the Pacific Northwest, it often rained, and I commonly began my day at Street Roots by dripping water all over the floor. I usually arrived before dawn and snuck in through the back to give whoever was sleeping in the front doorway an extra ten minutes to rest. I made a pot of coffee, hoping it would help warm up the dozens of people waiting outside for me to unlock the door. As the Jesuit Volunteer Corps/Americorps member at Street Roots, my days were spent standing on the frontlines fighting homelessness and poverty, a stark contrast to the ivory towers of my college experience. The mission of Street Roots is simple: to create economic opportunity for those experiencing homelessness and poverty by producing a newspaper and other media. The vendors who sell the paper get to keep the proceeds as a wage, and often it’s the only source of income for them to survive. They rarely have savings and live day-to-day, hoping to make enough money off the papers they sell for some food, cigarettes, and maybe even a hotel room. Many of the people I served slept on the street and arrived at the office long before the 7:30 a.m. opening time in the hopes they could get inside to warm up, drink a cup of coffee, and rest in a space that felt relatively safe. On any given day, I found myself handing out socks, hats, or sunscreen; editing an article to help a man with paranoid schizophrenia tell his story; mediating conflicts between men a foot taller than me, hoping no one throws a punch; or calling 9-1-1 while holding the hand of a woman who has fallen in the street and cannot get up, blood on her face while she cries that she is not sure she can do this any longer. I learned more about drugs, homelessness, poverty, and American society than I thought possible. I surprised myself with my ability to hold it together for my vendors even when I could not fully process what they were telling me. Street Roots is the hardest job I’ve ever had, but it was easily the most rewarding experience. Nothing can compare to the moment when a vendor came in excited about life, telling me he has received a $100 tip that day. My heart swelled when he told me he took a group of his homeless buddies to breakfast. When he pulled out his wallet to give $10 to another vendor, who had just complained of a lack of cash for food, I could hardly believe this generous, considerate man was the same person who yelled at me a week prior. As a rather privileged millennial, I’ve grown up in a world that encouraged me to follow my passion, own my differences, and post everything online. I attended an undergraduate institution that challenged me academically and socially — asking me to try harder and achieve more. I loved my college experience, and in many ways I thrived in an environment where I was constantly inspired and driven by my talented and skilled peers. I wanted to return to school after a year off but I needed the reminder that work does not simply have to be about padding a résumé. I wanted a year to remember that life was not all about internships, tests, and Snapchat stories. My experience at Street Roots has given me that — I’ve learned far more about myself and the world than I thought I would. Though I learned many lessons at Street Roots, I think the most important may have been the essential need for human connection that we all share. To experience homelessness is not simply to be bereft of shelter, to constantly be striving for survival; it is also to be part of a society that constantly ignores and belittles your very existence. Everyday-housed people walk by people living on the streets, looking away, ignoring their greetings and requests, pretending they don’t see or hear anything. I do the same thing sometimes — it’s easier in the moment. But until I worked at Street Roots, I never realized what the cumulative effect of that might be on the individual experiencing homelessness. To be made invisible, a nuisance people would rather not acknowledge, is horrible. The vendors I worked with had a fundamental human need for attention, for someone to talk to and joke with, for someone to know their name. Most days when I staffed the front desk at Street Roots, I fielded a thousand tiny requests for attention. I did my best to honor those while also completing whatever other tasks were in front of me that day. When we are called to love others as ourselves, it means more than thoughts and prayers. It means action that makes a difference in someone’s life. In serving at Street Roots, I saw more generosity, hardship, kindness, compassion, trauma, and love than ever before in my life. As I start law school and my career beyond that, I know I will hold the lessons I’ve learned at Street Roots as a core part of whatever I do.

What is a year of volunteer service like? Here's a quote from the article answering that question: "When we are called to love others as ourselves, it means more than thoughts and prayers. It means action that makes a difference in someone's life."

Creators:
Caelin Miltko
Published:
December 22, 2023
September 24, 2018
On a related note...
The Commencement Address We Can’t Stop Thinking About

The Commencement Address We Can’t Stop Thinking About

Mike Jordan Laskey

Some Questions Have to Be Lived, Not Answered

Some Questions Have to Be Lived, Not Answered

Christian Santa Maria

End Your Year with This Simple Reflection Exercise

End Your Year with This Simple Reflection Exercise

Anna White

The Song that Made Me Rethink Classical Music

The Song that Made Me Rethink Classical Music

Grace Spiewak

How to Set Resolutions — Without Setting Off Your Anxiety

How to Set Resolutions — Without Setting Off Your Anxiety

Lauren Lawson

How Do You Find Friends After College?

How Do You Find Friends After College?

Grotto

How to Hack Your To-Do List to Find More Time

How to Hack Your To-Do List to Find More Time

Molly Gettinger

The Bergamot Sings 'O Holy Night' | #SeekChristmas

The Bergamot Sings 'O Holy Night' | #SeekChristmas

Grotto

How Venerable Matt Talbot Turned His Life Around

How Venerable Matt Talbot Turned His Life Around

Molly Gettinger

The Reward of Patience in Nature Photography

The Reward of Patience in Nature Photography

Grotto, Kevin DeCloedt

Make Community Mean Something in this Pandemic

Make Community Mean Something in this Pandemic

Ben Wilson

5 Tactics That Will Transform Your Time Management

5 Tactics That Will Transform Your Time Management

Maria Walley

10 Films That Will Shake You Up (In a Good Way)

10 Films That Will Shake You Up (In a Good Way)

Maria Walley

From Online Searching to Marriage: A Story of Love

From Online Searching to Marriage: A Story of Love

Grotto

"Blood Moon"

"Blood Moon"

Clare Rahner

"Bike Man" Has Kept His Community Moving for Decades

"Bike Man" Has Kept His Community Moving for Decades

Grotto

“Dying with Dignity”

“Dying with Dignity”

Molly Cruitt

5 Tips For Loving a Partner Who’s the Opposite of You

5 Tips For Loving a Partner Who’s the Opposite of You

Claire Collins

Finding Hope in a 100-Mile Race

Finding Hope in a 100-Mile Race

Lillie Rodgers

A Global Citizen: 30 Countries Before 30

A Global Citizen: 30 Countries Before 30

Grotto

newsletter

We’d love to be pals.

Sign up for our newsletter, and we’ll meet you in your inbox each week.