Releases

Jen Price is an intake/outreach worker with Healthcare for the Homeless in Mobile, Alabama.

I was fortunate to spend four amazing years at a Jesuit university where I was able to engage in service, social justice work, and other valuable learning experiences. At graduation I felt on top of the world and ready for anything JVC was about to throw my way. But then I moved to Alabama in the middle of a hot summer with six strangers and walked into a job where I quickly realized my college degree would hold little to no weight.

Every day brings new challenges and experiences that have shown me not only the type of healthcare professional I want to be, but the type of person I hope to become. No one has shown me this more then the people I interact with on a daily basis. Although some may label my clients based upon their pasts, their appearances, or their limited finances, I see these people as my friends.

Just like any other friendship, it is important to learn the homeless’s stories. Taking time to listen and learn my clients’ stories has not only made me a more compassionate person but has often influenced me to try to help them further. Although this influence is motivating, it has also brought with it the biggest hurdle of my JV year. It has been very difficult for me to come to terms with what I can and simply cannot do. Although it sounds simple it has been hard to realize that I cannot change, or even influence, my clients’ health, living, or financial situations.

With this sense of defeat comes a great deal of beauty in realizing that at the very least there are a lot of little things I can do to restore my clients’ dignity and respect, two things that are far too often hard for the homeless to come by.

As a JV I have learned to truly appreciate the value of community. A blessing and a burden of being a JV is being able to put a name and a face to just about every form of injustice you can think of. Being able to go home and share a meal with others who are facing the same harsh realities of the world has made me fee like I am not alone. It has shown me that I still have a great deal to learn.