Wrapping up our time with Haven for Hope we started off the day by asking our volunteer coordinator, John, some last minute questions about how their system worked. After having him explain in greater detail how everything works, we headed to the Women and Children's residence to clean out a storage room so they can begin storing the children's Christmas presents! As a team we finished quickly and were able to begin decorating huge Christmas trees outside. It was so amazing to see all the children watching from afar as we decorated the tree in anticipation for the upcoming holiday season. Some of the children even got the opportunity to help decorate with us! After finishing the tree near the Women and Children's center we left the gated part of Haven for Hope and went to the courtyard. The courtyard is a place where people who are experiencing homelessness stay and are not involved in any programs in Haven for Hope. It was a difficult for most of us to see the raw reality of what true homelessness looked like. We began decorating another outdoor tree while also talking with some of the individuals. Many were so open in sharing their stories which was inspiring to us all. After a quick lunch break at San Pedro Park we headed back to the courtyard to clean bed mats. This was such an enjoyable experience for our group knowing we were cleaning the things that were used by so many on a daily basis. As a whole we were able to communicate more with the community and learn more stories while sharing some of our own as well. I am so proud of the teamwork and effort put in to getting these mats clean to the best of our ability. We ended the day with pictures with the community and in front of the mural painted outside the warehouse. It was a bittersweet ending as we all experienced such a range of emotions at our time with Haven for Hope. I believe I can speak for everyone when I say this is not the last experience we want to have with this organization, now we wait in excitement for the experiences we will have with the children shelter and bistro.
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