Hi, I'm Karina, I'm the Executive Assistant to Jeff Dyer, our COO here at The Mustard Seed. Visiting Heritage Park drastically changed my perspective. No, not of how much more modern our society is today compared to the past, but of people experiencing homelessness. Last year I had the opportunity of visiting Heritage Park in December with 8 of our clients and a few other volunteers. We all loaded into the 15 passenger van and, when we arrived at the park, seemed to naturally split off into a few small tour groups. My group included Carissa*, John* and Silvia*, along with another volunteer.
I admit, before going on this outing, and before joining The Mustard Seed, I was scared of homeless people I’d see on the streets. I made the generalization that they ALL were dirty, did drugs or drank non-stop, didn’t have thoughts or feelings and enjoyed begging for change. In short, I de-humanized them in my mind.
As we wandered through the park, I was able to talk with several of the other group members, and got to hear their perspectives and feelings about various things. Carissa, in particular, shared with me throughout the afternoon about her struggles with mental illness, but how she’s doing much better and how her relationship with God is her source of strength. After a few of such conversations, it hit me: each person experiencing homelessness has a unique story & struggles, and at the end of the day is just a human being like me. There’s nothing to be afraid of. This seems like such a small shift in thinking now, but at that time, it was a big step.
Since that day, I’ve made it a priority to connect with the people we serve, and often the small conversations we have at lunch are a highlight of my day. I’d encourage you to reach out and simply talk with someone you have a certain notion about or otherwise wouldn’t. This doesn’t necessarily have to be a person experiencing homelessness, but could be that seemingly unapproachable neighbour or the quiet immigrant. It just may change your perspective and generalizations, something that if we all did more often would lead to increased mutual understanding and ultimately societal change.
- Karina
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