Reflection.

Before I really knew how this so called "Capstone project" could ever put an effect on the way I would look at certain aspects, i really just thought that it was another hassle to take on as far as senior year projects. This experience ended up being actually one that I didnt mind doing and really enjoyed. When being told that we had to find a mentor that took on a job that fit the standard requirements for the capstone project but also something that was at interest in what I wanted to be/do in life, I instantly came across to homeless youth counseling and outreach program. Through out my years of living in San Francisco Ive always noticed the significant amount of the homeless head count in general as far as homeless people living out on the streets. Ive also noticed how normal it has become for us to see those homeless people now a days & how we tend to walk past them like its a normal thing to see. Though homelessness has always been a problem even in earlier times, it has only gotten worse and the fact that small organizations such as "At The Crossroads" take initiative in noticing these people that are in need of help, I enjoy surrounding myself around positive & on the rise movements. At The Crossroads is a non profit organization that tries to touch base with getting to know these homeless people within certain areas in the city and take them under there wing in joining there organization as the clients. At the crossroads is able to help them slowly but surely take steps in the right direction for bettering there future. Though it is a youth program, the age requirements do go from as young as 16 all the way up to the age of 35. At the crossroads is an excellent organization because they work as a strong minded team to help others, but you also learn new things from this job from the counselors perspective also. I liked the fact that these counselors were never stuck in an office 8 hours a day, but they switch off with many tasks and duties to keep them active and busy. While some days they would be doing computer and filing work, other days were spent walking the city trying to gain clients, meeting with clients, or running certain errands for there counseling team.

By doing the phyical "go out and experience it hands on" part of the project it taught me patience. Patience because your dealing with many different types of people that have different kinds of needs; no one is the same so it teaches you to interact well with your clients and to listen. When my mentor would not say a word but just listen to her clients and what they had to say, it seemed to give them comfort or make them feel important and more connected with my mentor because of the simple fact that she would hear what they had to say. The physical project also taught me to communicate. Being able to communicate with others is something that will actually come in handy for jobs like these because you will know how to talk to others without making them or yourself feel out of place. Now as far as writing my paper on the Reaganomics era, it ties in with homelessness through the causes and effects of Reagans changes during his presidency. Such changes Reagan had decided to make such as cutting back on medicare, taking away mental health care facilities, and limiting section 8 housing programs ended up leaving many homeless or sick on the streets without a place to go. Now though those changes were made during the 1980's, within time no one has taken the time to try and fix this growing problem which has lead us up to where we stand as far as the homelessness percentages in todays society. The paper gives insight on past errors that were made which has lead us up to where the situation stands today, while my physical project gave me hands on experience of organizations today that are trying to make a statement that this subject on homelessness is a problem and what we can do as far as trying to fix it.

Some successes i have gotten out of this project would be coming out of my comfort zone. The staff that works for At The Crossroads are like a family, they support eachother and look out for one another at all times. They also have many events where you have to continuously introduce yourself and participate in many different activities that work on your speaking and interacting skills. Another success I would say At The Crossroads has helped me achieve was to look at things and people with an open mind. When you don't judge others off of appearance you tend to be more outgoing and friendly towards others. They taught me that you really do not know what others may be going through and vise versa. To be able to treat others the way you want to be treated no matter how rich or poor that person may be shows character. They showed me that people are people, dis-reguarding the title or position they might uphold. I enjoyed every minute with my mentor because she always had fun and exciting things on her agenda. This experience was one to remember and I definatley would like to continue volunteering for other organizations similar to At The Crossroads. Though I did find myself discoverving many successful things within this project there were also a couple of challeneges that came along with it. The whole transportation situation was a hassle as for not always having the money to catch bart to the city and back or transportation timing of it becoming to late for my parents to let me leave. One other difficulty I had through out the project was scheduling dates and times with my mentor. At times when I was usually available (4pm-8pm) was also when she would be out on the street physically doing outreach with other counselors and I was not allowd to follow due to safety regulations. I don't have any complaints about this because the challenges were very minor. Overall I enjoyed every minute spent with my mentor and in the near future I can really see myself persuing a job like this that woulnt benefit just me, but also would give me the satisfaction of knowing It would benefit others in our community. There wasn't a dull moment while working with my mentor and her staff and now I do beleieve when people quote "when finding a job you love, you won't have to work a day in your life".