I took my first trip to Atlanta while in high school. I don’t remember what club I was a member of or much else about the trip aside from the college tour. I knew during that trip that I wanted to attend college in Atlanta. During my junior or senior year I went back to Atlanta, this time with my cheerleading coach. Mrs. Fleming’s daughter lived in Atlanta and worked at one of the HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities). During that trip I had more recreational time: my first trip to Dugan’s on Ponce; a ride through the city while listening to Biggie and Puffy; shopping at one of the local malls; and a visit to Morris Brown College. Prior to then, I was sold on applying to Spelman and Clark Atlanta University only. Fast forward and I was attending Morris Brown – the best decision for me – and introduced to faculty who took students abroad on exploration trips to Egypt. Once again, a seed was planted that I, too, would like to take students abroad.
The aforementioned trips were a long time ago. Some twenty plus years later, I am now a full time faculty member and committed to pursuing opportunities to take students abroad. But one thing I hadn’t considered is the impact of service trips. When I met with one of our student leadership coordinators and agreed to be a facilitator at our local student leadership retreat weekend and an alternative Spring Break trip to Atlanta, I just knew I wanted to serve. I hadn’t considered much beyond that. Our ELEVATE Leadership Retreat Weekend was amazing. Over 20 students spent the weekend at Camp Kirkwood learning about leadership, as well as barriers to their leadership growth, and mechanisms to help empower other students to lead.
On last Saturday a smaller group of eight students and one co-lead joined me in a 6-hour drive to Atlanta. I don’t think any of us knew exactly what we signed up for, but we were in it for the adventure. From start to finish, this trip was unforgettable. We arrived at Solomon’s Temple around 5 p.m. in the evening. We settled in to our rooms and immediately began serving. Some of us helped with dinner while others camped out around the small dining area to welcome women and children to dinner. Solomon’s Temple is a shelter that provides 6-months of housing, training and other assistance for women and children transitioning from homelessness. RATL (Restoration Atlanta) coordinates volunteer assistance and provides after school care for the women of Solomon’s Temple.
For one week we served alongside Solomon’s Temple and RATL providing a hot breakfast with prep time starting at 5:30 a.m., after school snacks and homework assistance, play time with the kids, and evening activities for the family. For about four hours each day, we had time to explore Atlanta. It was such a joy for me to see the city again through the eyes of the students, the majority of whom had never visited Atlanta. We: went to Ponce City Market; walked the BeltLine; toured local colleges and universities, including a brief history on the importance and purpose of HBCUs; visited the CDC Museum; visited the Civil Rights Museum and MLK Center; went on a mini tour of the DeKalb Farmers’ Market; and rounded out our trip at Nancy’s Pizza on Ponce.
I know I will be unpacking this trip for many weeks and perhaps months to come, but the following are just snippets of my thoughts and immediate reflections. Alongside my Peace Corps experience, spending a week at a shelter for women and children transitioning from homelessness impacted me in more ways than I thought possible. The most ironic or unexpected aspects of this trip are the levels of engagement afforded. First were my interactions with a co-lead, a recent college graduate with a heart for people. I spent the most time with her, starting with our preparation meetings, the pre-trip meetings with our larger group and our nightly one-on-one debriefs. It was fulfilling to be able to encourage her as she is transitioning and share some of my experiences that closely align with hers. Second was my time with the students. Our drive down, lunch on the road and other meals together, our excursions throughout the city, our nightly debriefs and the one-on-one conversations in between provided ample opportunities to help them process what they were seeing, feeling and compelled to do once we returned to campus. Although not all, I believe this trip opened the door for some deeper mentorship relationships with some of them and hopefully, at least a couple of study abroad ventures. Next up were the children living at the shelter – oh my! All ages and “levels” of personality – they were the heart of my day. From seeing their sleepy faces in the morning for breakfast to welcoming them home from school in the afternoon, I never knew I’d enjoy spending so much time with kids. During our happy moments, we laughed, played, read stories together, and shared funny moments. During some of the more challenging times, they expressed their own hurts about things that happened at school, trying to understand budding friendships or even processing their own “becoming”. Our time together reminded me of the power of resilience, of love, of moments with caring people that can help heal little hearts. But it also reminded me of the impact of childhood trauma and how stolen innocence can have long-term impacts. I also spent time with the moms as often as I could. I don’t know if I ever thought too much about homelessness – how people become homeless and the wide range of events that lead to homelessness. If nothing else, I learned that there is no typical homeless person. The stories the women shared were beyond anything I ever thought of – women who went to work every single day; women with advanced degrees; women who spoke multiple languages and had traveled the world. I now know that homelessness can happen to anyone. As if this weren’t enough, I also had time to chat with the RATL and Solomon’s Temple staff, interns and volunteers. Their commitment to their work reminded me of the importance of living and working with intention. These women and men are doing hard work, but they are equipped and feel called to it. That makes a HUGE difference. It was amazing to watch their love, joy, and commitment shine through as they walk alongside these families. And finally, there was another group from Auburn who served alongside us. Their group was slightly different than ours as they knew one another prior to the trip, many of them had volunteered at the shelter before and they were a part of a campus ministry. But together, we joined hands and served those families without boundaries. To me, that was also amazing!
I have my own feelings I am working through. I am processing my own next steps and what ifs. But one thing I do know is that this trip, those conversations, those families will forever be etched in my heart. I am so grateful that I had this opportunity. I look forward to doing it again. And perhaps more importantly, I look forward to finding a comparable place to serve here in my home city on a consistent basis. I look forward to staying in touch with the students I served with. And I look forward to continuing to do work I believe in, am committed to, and feel called to do. I look forward to continuing to live with purpose and love.