by Natalia Valencia Zometa (UGA MSW Intern)
During my yearlong internship, I had the opportunity to witness our guests’ hardships and listen to many wonderful and sad stories. Their stories have prompted me to reflect on the causes of homelessness and the fortunate state of many. We never consider factors outside of our world, which revolves around us to provide our home and safety. We think it could happen to other people and never to us. We believe that we are safe and that we will never be experiencing homelessness, but after listening to the many histories of our guests, my concept of homelessness changed. Life changes, unexpected situations occur such as illness, accidents, natural disasters, and wars, and suddenly you could be without anything or anyone in your life. Families are becoming smaller and smaller, leaving fewer people to give you support. One or two changes can leave you alone in the world, without any support to help you navigate abrupt changes in your life.
During my experience at OAC, I learned that I should be more sensitive to our guests’ stories, understand their life situations, develop humility in the relationship with them and learn how to change the local and national structure that will lead to a stronger community.
We should not forget that life changes; some of our privileges could be fleeting, and someday we could lose everything and become homeless. I have heard the stories of persons who had all the things needed for a great life, but they regrettably lost everything in one second. They have found at OAC a voice of hope and an extended hand that wants to help them transition through the challenging moments of life.