Written by Gabriel Burton, Khamya Malone, Cielo Lopez-Soto, and Jadica Roberson
As high school students, we either see the homeless sleeping on benches or we are the people sleeping on benches. This year we were searching for a community service project that could have a direct impact on most individuals in our community, so we looked into the necessities of our region. After completing extensive research, reaching out to our community partners, and considering our National Service Project; our JAG team chose to serve the unhoused individuals in our community.
In the beginning of our research, we reached out to St. Benedict Women’s Day Shelter, and invited Case Management Specialist Jessie Schartung to visit during our officer’s meeting. Ms. Schartung mentioned that the number of people the Day Shelter can serve is very low considering the number of unhoused. She also noted, the donations most frequently given to the shelter are clothes, covers, and food — which are basic needs but may not satisfy all of an individual’s personal needs. She wanted us to focus on the people the shelter has to turn away due to the limited number of resources. We recognized the needs of the unhoused aren’t very prioritized. The big question was: What could we do?
In mid-November, the weather was cold and windy. We realized the biggest need was warmth; therefore, we decided to make tie blankets. In our JAG program, we consider ourselves to be like a family, so we wanted to make sure everyone in JAG could be involved with this project, regardless of age or abilities. The “day packs” were an idea our Apollo JAG president created in order to prioritize personal needs such as: toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, hand sanitizer, feminine products, and deodorant. In order to make sure we had enough supplies to fill the day packs, we reached out to our community partners. These community partners include: Aid the Homeless, the Army National Guard, Owensboro Health Regional Hospital, local realtors, Owensboro Technical and Community College, and teachers and staff at Apollo High School.
As we went out to personally deliver these bags to the shelters and the Sheriff’s department, we had the opportunity to see women and children’s faces light up with joy when they received the bags, and realized that other people were looking out for their well-being. Helping those in need made us think about how often we take things for granted when there are so many people struggling. In those moments, we realized that this project didn’t just benefit those individuals, it affected us too. The feeling of giving back to those in need is one of the ways we are rewarded and fulfilled.
This project opened up conversations with our peers we never thought possible. One student even had the courage to share her own personal experience with homelessness. We hope to motivate more people in our community to step up and help those around them. In the end, we learned that we can truly be the change we want to see in the world.