By Kassia Kooy
The St. Catherines reading week trip was both fun and eye-opening. Throughout the week we visited the Southridge shelter in St. Catherines to do various workshops and to hear people from the shelter community share their stories.
Going into this trip I didn’t really know what to expect. I had an idea of what a homeless shelter was like, but it is very different when you actually spend time with the people there and listen to their personal stories. There is this feeling at first that we are different from the people who stay/who have stayed at a shelter. A feeling that our personal background would be so different compared to the background and experiences of a person who has faced homelessness. I thought that this would make conversations, and relating to one another challenging. This assumption wasn’t entirely true. Besides the possible difference in our backgrounds, the trip helped us to realize that it isn't hard at all to carry a conversation with the people there, and that we aren’t all that different. As obvious as it sounds, we are all human beings, and every person has a story. Some people may have been through more than others, but that doesn't make anyone’s story more or less important. The concept of “us and them” faded away as we played euchre together, as we talked about/watched the Olympic hockey games, and as we listened to those who shared their stories.
The Southridge shelter is an amazing place. Despite brokenness in peoples’ lives, there is beauty. Many of the people that we met who have faced countless struggles including abuse, addiction, or mental illness were honest and willing to share their story with us. They made themselves vulnerable to us strangers, which was inspiring. This honesty and vulnerability is what makes the Southridge community so strong, and genuine. Going into the shelter, no matter what your background is, what struggles you face, or mistakes you have made, you would be listened to and accepted by the community. This kind of acceptance helps people to be honest with one another. This honesty leads to strong friendships, and to true healing. Even though we were only there for a few days, all of us on the trip were able to see this. I don’t know how to end this.
Going into this trip I didn’t really know what to expect. I had an idea of what a homeless shelter was like, but it is very different when you actually spend time with the people there and listen to their personal stories. There is this feeling at first that we are different from the people who stay/who have stayed at a shelter. A feeling that our personal background would be so different compared to the background and experiences of a person who has faced homelessness. I thought that this would make conversations, and relating to one another challenging. This assumption wasn’t entirely true. Besides the possible difference in our backgrounds, the trip helped us to realize that it isn't hard at all to carry a conversation with the people there, and that we aren’t all that different. As obvious as it sounds, we are all human beings, and every person has a story. Some people may have been through more than others, but that doesn't make anyone’s story more or less important. The concept of “us and them” faded away as we played euchre together, as we talked about/watched the Olympic hockey games, and as we listened to those who shared their stories.
The Southridge shelter is an amazing place. Despite brokenness in peoples’ lives, there is beauty. Many of the people that we met who have faced countless struggles including abuse, addiction, or mental illness were honest and willing to share their story with us. They made themselves vulnerable to us strangers, which was inspiring. This honesty and vulnerability is what makes the Southridge community so strong, and genuine. Going into the shelter, no matter what your background is, what struggles you face, or mistakes you have made, you would be listened to and accepted by the community. This kind of acceptance helps people to be honest with one another. This honesty leads to strong friendships, and to true healing. Even though we were only there for a few days, all of us on the trip were able to see this. I don’t know how to end this.