Service Reflections

I chose to donate food to a potluck style meal for the house-less population and help with serving the meal. This meal has been held every Saturday (for the last six years) at a park in Kansas City. I was able to get the link to sign-up for food from a friend and then I came to the park and helped serve the food and distribute supplies. A good friend of mine collected food and prepped lots of food for this meal throughout the height of the pandemic. I had donated food to her before to share and I saw her posts often but had never taken the time to go and be a part of serving the food. My coursework at Rockhurst encouraged me to take the chance to get involved.

If it were not for the encouragement from my university, I would likely have continued having this service on the back of mind as something to do ‘someday,’ but not taking the time to get involved. Serving this population was nerve-wracking for me. I know that mental health struggles, and drugs are common issues in this population and sometimes the setting can be tense due to the desperate needs. Fieldwork and my profession as an OT will require me to get involved instead of leaving things for ‘someday’ and to work with populations and individuals that take me out of my comfort zone. This experience reminded me that taking the step to connect with people is sometimes the hardest part. It was intimidating to show up and see a long line of people waiting and many house-less folks standing in every area with their belongings. In the face of a new situation for me, I stayed calm, and used positive mind-set strategies. Fieldwork and OT as a profession will have plenty of days that I am intimidated by a new situation or an individual I am unsure of how it will go. This opportunity contributed to my practice of staying calm, moving forward with what needs to be done, and remaining positive; all things that require practice regularly to be effective strategies long-term.