My Encounter With Homelessness

As a child I grew up with parents who were able to raise me within the “Williamson County Bubble”. It seems growing up in Williamson County is how everybody lives, don’t they? Boy, was I wrong. One trip to Cincinnati to visit family and friends, and that changed my perspective on everything.  I first encountered homelessness as I traveled the streets in Ohio and noticed people with signs asking for money. There were crowds of people nearby, and I couldn’t believe nobody would stop to help. I thought to myself, “There is no way this is right,” Where I live everyone loves each other no matter their differences in Williamson County. I kept my emotions to myself, but when I arrived back home to Nashville, I decided to tell my mom. She explained the situation to me and told me about a program my church sponsors to help the homeless. They take in 20 men, 1 day a week and give them a meal and a warm bed for the night in the winter. Room in the Inn in Nashville connects local homeless people with local churches during cold winter months.  I was able to volunteer that winter, we ate, talked and spent time together and the experience made me realize humans are alike in so many ways.  The misconceptions we have about homeless people is absolutely incorrect. They aren’t lazy, downtrodden and street vagrants but rather some of the most interesting people I’ve ever met. They’ve had families, jobs, houses and many different life experiences. I knew at this moment I had to do something more! Last summer I learned about Threads of Care, an organization started locally by someone my age to help homeless teens, I instantly signed up.  It’s just amazing. 6 months ago if you’d  have told me this is where I would be right now, I would have told you that you were crazy. I’m so happy where I am though. Just thinking about the different ways that I can make a difference to helping others truly makes me happy.