Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen - Assignment Example

From the perspective of how the experience allows volunteers to have a chance to give back, one can see too that it is not just hungry and the unemployed that are being served here, but that those who serve are also getting so much in return. What I got from this experience is very hard to quantify and put into words, and I suspect that for every volunteer it is different too. What I can say for myself is that this experience opened my eyes to the reality of poverty, how it is sometimes beyond the personal capacity of a person to prevent it, and that it is something that can hit anybody at any time.

Looking at the mix of people who were served too, one can see that this is not just about food, it is also about being able to rely on something constant and nourishing, in a world that can be so unpredictable and dangerous, being out on the streets and unable to find work and the means to support oneself. Going to the soup kitchen, they can expect nourishment, and they can expect to have this reprieve from the randomness of their lives five days a week. It is a lifeline. On the other hand for volunteers, this is also a kind of lifeline, something that is likewise constant and something that volunteers can rely on, as a kind of refuge too, in a way. People need this kind of avenue for giving back to New York as well (Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen).

Looking at the people too, and hearing about some of their lives, what they have been through, and what they are currently going through, I realize that sometimes life can hit you hard and there is sometimes no way to prepare for what is going to come next. This contextualizes the readings and discussions in class, in terms of bringing this subjective and personal perspective into homelessness and poverty. Reflecting further, I realize poverty in New York is something that can happen to me too, and that therefore I am doing this work partly for myself. In normal times these kinds of thoughts and insights will not enter my mind, and it is easy enough for people to fall for the conventional stereotypes of homeless people as being unwilling to support themselves, of not exerting enough effort to become independent, or of being flawed in some fundamental way, or on drugs.

This experience made me rethink my old thinking and biases about the homeless. Looking at the people who were served that day, one can see that they can be any person at all and that even though they had to get their meal at the soup kitchen their dignity as human beings were intact. It is so hard to explain how humbling the experience is, seeing how vulnerable poor people are, and how much a small thing like a meal and a show of respect can keep them going and lift their day (Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen).

In terms of the demographics of the target audience, it is remarkable that those served come from a variety of demographic backgrounds in terms of age and ethnicity, with a large portion being of working age, and representing the key ethnic groups in New York. The majority are in families, and there are much more men than women among those who ate (Coalition for the Homeless). It is funded by the Episcopalian Church through donations, and I helped prepare the food for the day. I observed that the focus of the meals was on providing whole food, and there was no processed food served.

From my assessment, the program is coming from several strengths, including its long track record of consistent service, it's humane way of treating the homeless as genuine people needing genuine compassionate consideration, and its focus on nutrition. One weakness may be that it is not offering enough meals, and the time window seems short. My overall impression is that this feeding program is marked by kindness and compassion, and this means consistency too. This program has been consistent in caring for those who are down and out and is a force of good in the community (Answers Corporation). Read More