Reflective Essay 'The Tuning In' Process

The “Tuning In” Process
When it was first mentioned that we would have to go volunteer at Street Outreach I was a little apprehensive because I had never dealt much with people experiencing homelessness. Before it came time for me to volunteer I tried to imagine the types of people we might encounter and what their state of health could be, so I could prepare myself not to react negatively to the people we are trying to help. Doing this did not help me, I started to pity people that were experiencing homelessness, and I felt they were incapable of doing things by themselves. So I think that I over thought the “tuning in” process, and I hindered myself instead of helping myself. While over thinking the “tuning in” process, I also developed a very narrow description of somebody who should be homeless. In my mind I thought somebody who was homeless should be filthy, have torn and tattered clothing, should be living outside, and they should carry all their possessions in a sack. I know this seems to be a harsh description, but I think this is also the …show more content…
In the beginning of the day there were a few people who had come up to the table that I didn’t recognize as homeless because they didn’t meet my narrow criteria for a homeless person. Then I realized after they were talking to Liz they were homeless, I was definitely caught off guard. I didn’t recognize them as homeless because they appeared to have good hygiene, their clothes were clean, and they didn’t look like they were living outside. Fortunately that is when everything I learned from class came to me, and I realized I was looking for a stereotype. I remembered for homeless people there are programs and services such as shelters, and soup kitchens, so just because they don’t appear to be homeless doesn’t mean that they