My Experience Volunteering at a Homeless Shelter Essay

Cultural Immersion Project – Part 2
Student's Name
Institutional Affiliation
Cultural Immersion Project – Part 2
1. Volunteering at a homeless shelter in my neighborhood
Homelessness in most of the world's cities has become one of the emerging societal predicaments. They are several nonprofit organizations and government agencies that have been mobilizing resources to set up a shelter for the homeless. I have been volunteering in one of the homeless shelters supported by a religious community organization. The center caters mainly for the homeless youth. Most of the teenagers come from marginalized families that register nominal earnings. My decision to volunteer in the shelter was due to my interest in mentoring the youths who were struggling with several issues that could expose them to drug addiction and mental health problems. In the course of my volunteering duty, I focused on helping the youths to clean up shelter, engage them in drug addiction talks, and train them on the significance of being responsible and practice basic hygiene.
Due to the lack of proper parental training, I realized that most of the youths at the shelter were careless and lacked proper personal grooming. By engaging them in a series of activities that made them be occupied and not be idle, they subsequently began to realize their role in the family and the entire society. Despite several challenges, a majority of youths came to appreciate the virtue of hard work and personal hygiene. After engaging them in the activities, I found an opportunity to talk to them in groups and on one on one basis on drug addiction issues. The interactive moments were insightful and helped in unearthing several problems that required professional counseling and consistent coaching. I also realized that there were cases of gross cognitive disorders among homeless youths living at the center that required comprehensive interventions.
2. Actual cultural events experience compared with my expectations
First of all, before beginning to volunteer at the shelter, I anticipated difficulties working with homeless youths. In my cultural immersion part 1 project, there was a highlight of a culture of defiance. However, in the center, I developed a rapport with the youths that were responsive and accommodating. Information in the media about homeless teens does not represent the realities. It is apparent that only a few journalists have interacted with the homeless people, yet most of the information they publish is based on speculations. The best way to get facts from this community is by spending much time with them and not having lofty expectations or believing in suppositions. The act of defiance came as a survival tactic in a world that is hostile towards underprivileged persons. Most of the homelessness youths engage in drugs in pursuit of identity and to be able to belong in a superior class among the community members (Winetrobe, Rhoades, Rice, Milburn, & Petering, 2017). Drug traffickers use teenagers since they are vulnerable and need money to cater for their basic needs.
Secondly, I had issues with the sheltering of the homeless as I supposed the centers encourage idleness and irresponsible comfort that encourage laziness and drug use. However, I came to realize that most of the homeless youths are optimistic and will be more willing to undergo reformation and be responsible members of society. The choices they make are far from society's perception that labels them as delinquents without unearthing the root causes for such misdemeanors. Also, there are no good role models among community members, making it difficult for young adults to make the right life choices. Most of the shelters provide accommodation and food but do not grant resources that can empower the youths to become responsible persons in the society. The young adults require life coaching programs that would help them to make the right career choice and be able to choose the right career for those anticipating joining college or attending any form of post-high school training.
3. What it is like to be a minority
The marginalized in society suffer in silence since, in several instances, the society negatively distinguishes them. Being homeless and depending solely on well-wishers deprives a person of his or her self-worth. Most of the youths I interacted with feel isolated by society, and are helpless. They are unable to overcome various difficulties they face daily. There is a relationship between homelessness and crime (Remster, 2019). There are only a few people who are willing to be identified with and help them. The sorry state of the homeless with the inability to fend for themselves and isolation makes life difficult for this community. Interacting with homeless youths reveals a judgmental society that feels helping this exclusive group is propagating crime and addiction. Seeing an entire family sheltered in a homeless facility emanates emotions and realization of a failed society.
Young people from homeless families find it challenging to integrate into a healthy social life as they grow, knowing the centers as their homes and handouts as a source of livelihood. The children are not only exposed to stressful life but also violence. In the homeless shelter, I was volunteering, the centers were only accessible in the evenings and on weekends. The occupants were expected to check out during the day, exposing the youths to disruptive activities in the day that makes them lose concentratration on their schools' work. It is clear that though the shelters are making an effort to help the homeless, it is not the permanent solution for the community. The society seems not to have regard for the minorities. Their desire to lead meaningful lives is often ignored, and their human worth underrated. The government ...