Real Stories

As I talk about in many of my stories, last summer I went on a service trip to Washington D.C. to help the homeless and those living in poverty. This post isn't really to tell you a story that is inspiring and influence you to volunteer, but to warn you about something that could happen while working with the homeless and how to get yourself out of this situation. One warm night in D.C. I went out and volunteered at McKenna's Wagon, a truck that travels around the city to feed the homeless. I have never worked with this particular organizations, but it was similar to ones I've worked at in the past so I wasn't very nervous. But in the middle of my service, things changed.

At the beginning everything was fine. I was ladling the soup into boxes that they could take, then handing them a spoon and a napkin. Like most service projects it became routine. Occasionally someone would ask me my name or about my day, and I would respond casually with a smile. But one man kept trying to talk to me. He said that I had a beautiful smile. At first I was flattered and thanked him for his kind words, but then it became weird. He said how I should be in the movies in Hollywood, and that he would take me there. It was clear to the person supervising that I had become uncomfortable, so she yelled at the man to go away and had me go back in the van to make sandwiches. I don't want you to think that this happens al the time, because in my multiple service projects I have only felt scared this once. Like in all aspects in life you meet people that aren't always who you should help.

If you are ever in this situation where you feel uncomfortable you should get out of it immediately. This is also another reason you should never go out alone, because you never know who you might encounter. I was lucky to have someone there who knew how to handle the situation, and I want everyone else to also have that. My blog is to encourage you to help others, but to also make sure you are safe while doing so.