Shout out to Social Workers

Today I was lucky enough to go speak to a class full of future social workers at Grand Valley State University about homelessness. I was pretty pumped about the opportunity from the get go. While I get a tiny bit nervous I love public speaking especially when it is something I am passionate about. Seeing my name next to the words “Guest Speaker” was a pretty cool sight… something I could get used to.

I got there a little early and ran through what I was thinking of talking about before going into the classroom. To be honest I stuck to my notes only a little bit before just going on about the experiences of the summer that might have had some relevance to the class. I will not lie I got caught up in a few moments sharing about some of the guys I got to know and passionately stuttered a few times. I tried my best to express the love I think we’re capable of feeling towards people who are the most down and out. I only hope I was able to communicate a little of what I feel.

I talked a while and took more than the allotted time I was given but was graciously given more time before coming to a close and getting to ask if anyone had any questions. I’ve never asked if anyone had any questions after a presentation and had anybody actually have questions so immediately after asking I started saying “and if you don’t have any ques…” when a few hands went up.

It was kinda cool. I saw they actually cared. They were more than just entertained.

One of the last questions I was asked was what my major in College was (FYI it was Athletic Training 3yrs but graduated with psychology) and if I was currently searching higher education (which I am not… at least not in a traditional manner). I felt like a bum (no pun intended… kinda). I realized I was talking to a group of people with a more dedicated and written out plan than I have. They are preparing themselves to care for people and make it their whole entire life. Something I want to do but I guess I want to do in a similar yet different way.

From that comes my shout out to social workers. The ones in the room today. The ones I’ve worked with before. The ones I will work with and the ones I will never know.

Thank you.

Thank you for going to school extra so you can care about people others have not cared about. Thanks for not complaining about it and putting in hard work on a daily basis. Thank you for showing me how to better love kids, adults, orphans, alcoholics, addicts, the abused and the abusers. Thank you for being enthusiastic in the classroom and in the real world. Thank you for being creative and loving and not losing the heart of what you do. Thank you for taking care of your co-workers when work gets tough. Thank you for putting up with the low pay and high stress. Thanks for not giving up and not giving in to what the world says would be smart/safe to do. Thank you for touching the lonely souls and listening to those who haven’t had anyone to talk to. Thank you for humbly walking in and doing some of the most important work I can think of.

I could go on and on but I just wanted to say if you are a social worker I respect, thank, and look up to you.

Keep it up. Remember you are doing amazing things, in practice and in preparation, every day.

How being a Young Life leader helped me be, be with and reach homeless people.

I remember when I became a Young Life leader. It was right at the end of May 2008 when some guys from the Fraternity I just joined encouraged me to check it out. By the end of June I had gone through a fast track of training and in July I went to my first ever Young Life camp. Ever since then I’ve been hooked. I have been to camp 4 times since then. I’ve crossed off Timberwolf, Castaway, Frontier Ranch and Pico Escondido from the list of YL camps to go to. All along the way I was slowly learning something a guy by the name of Tony Dilaura introduced me to way back in 2008 when I was just a young starry eyed 20 year old going through training.

That one thing was to “earn the right to be heard”.

That one thing has become the basis of whatever I do now with my life.

It started in Young Life and continued there throughout my time in college.

After college earning the right to be heard was really put to the test when I worked with and lived with kids at a group home. These were kids that had grown up in abuse, neglect and abandonment. For some turning to drugs, gangs, guns and anger was the answer while for most it was just their life how they had always known it.

These kids were looked down on, outcast, institutionalized and corrected by others who “know better”. People wanted to talk to them so much telling them what to do but it didn’t seem like many times in these kids life people had taken the time or put in the effort to earn the right to be heard. I was thankful to be a part of a group of people at The Dale House where a relational life where earning the right to be heard was emphasized to be a way of life rather than an exception.

Eventually the decision came to take this to where I couldn’t see it going before. To a place where there is no high school lunch room, there is no sporting event and no best week of your life at camp. A place where very few even go let alone want to listen to the people’s story who are there and take the time to earn the right to be heard.

There were a surprising amount of similarities in doing Young Life and living with homeless people. I’ve experienced the same challenges whenever my intent has been to earn the right to be heard.

The first time I walked into a high school to do some contact work I thought…

What if they don’t like me?

What if I’m not funny at club?

What if I’m the one that doesn’t fit in?

What if I can’t find the right kids?

Walking out to the streets of Denver to pursue the homeless left me with similar feelings…

Where do I go?

Who do I talk to?

Where am I going to sleep?

Where am I going to eat?

Whether it be Young Life at a high school, working at a group home or becoming homeless to reach people I wondered the same horrible thought I think we all wonder…

What if I’m terrible at this?

It’s a good fear to have. I think it’s a healthy thing to wonder so you don’t just go into others lives thinking you have yours all together.

This allowed me to go in quietly and to sit in silence and listen. It allowed someone to slowly lend me their story so that way I could go through it with them.

I’ve sat with so many adults and teens this past year. I’ve learned so many stories. I’ve heard terrible things. A girl’s life that has known little more than being raped, abandoned and then sold into human trafficking. A child whose parent killed themselves right after telling the kid it’s all their fault. A schizophrenic who no one has sat down to talk with in years. A man drinking alone in the rain who is so depressed he’s ready to kill himself. Another man who wishes someone saw one good thing about him rather than disregarding him because he’s homeless.

Earning the right to be heard often left me understanding a persons individual suffering better. Understanding pain better made me realize that the words I was planning on saying would fail and be cliche to the point that they would cause pain. I’ve learned that I can’t fix people. I don’t have the answers. I wish I did. I’ve tried to and I’ve failed. I’ve learned to stay quite more than I used to and just let someone know that I’m not going anywhere. I’ve learned to be consistent, continue to eat with people, walk through town with them, talk about baseball with them, go to their games, buy them their favorite magazine, visit them in the cafeteria or sit in sandwich lines with them just to be with them as they struggle so that they might not have to struggle alone. It’s not always the best time. It’s not always easy or profound. But when we join in that silence, in that waiting and sharing of pain and burden and people coming to know they don’t have earn your love… God is there.

Once the right to be heard has been earned it’s interesting how much less I have to say than I would have wanted to in the first place. I don’t need to say it because it’s understood.

I’m so glad I’ve been blessed to be a a part of so many people’s lives.

I’ll never forget it all started with Young Life teaching me what it means to earn the right to be heard.