My junior year of high school I immersed myself in a Denver homeless shelter by volunteering every day for two weeks. The shelter, Haven of Hope, focuses on the “invisible” members of society. I had never thought of homeless people as invisible before, but often they are treated as if they are.
“We will continue to be a place of safety and comfort for our guests for as long as we are able.”
I spent those couple of weeks getting to know the regular patrons of the shelter, while doing whatever needed to be done to keep the shelter running at its full capacity. I went in thinking that I would just serve food to faceless people and be done with it, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. I met so many amazing, kind, beautiful people there, and I promised myself never to judge a book by its cover again.
