Words of compassion and kindness from Florence, St. Anthony Foundation’s Social Work Center and Justice Education, Volunteer and Advocacy intern:

Sometimes I feel a disconnect between what I do on Fridays at St. Anthony’s and what I do the rest of the week, even when there shouldn’t be. I attend school in Berkeley, a city home to many of the homeless, and what is beautiful about it is that it encourages and allows the coming together of students and the disadvantaged. This is a place where students from diverse backgrounds encounter the marginalized on a day-to-day basis.  It could be a daunting experience for some and familiar for others. But ultimately, these experiences spawn a realization, whether conscious or not, that these two populations are treading a lot of common ground and that both carry the same capacity to love and to show compassion.

I think on my part, I have grown to realize that the homeless issue is not necessarily about the hunger for food, but more about a thirst for love, humanity, dignity, and perhaps simply for a listening ear and an open heart. This past Sunday, I decided to bring my service spirit from the Tenderloin to the streets of Berkeley. I brought a bowl of hot soup with me for whoever that needed a pick-me-up in the chilly evening air but never expected to be still holding it after three hours. I met three lovely individuals that evening and had enthusiastic conversations about music, natural disasters, and global warming. They declined my offer of hot soup for different reasons, but all three kindly suggested that I give the soup to someone else that is in more need of it than them. By that time, the soup was a cold mess in my hands, but my heart was warmed by the company and the compassion of three beautiful souls on the streets of Berkeley.

This entry was posted on Friday, April 30th, 2010 at 12:00 am and is filed under Advocacy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.