Slovenly dressed men, with grizzled breads and a foul disposition, glowering eyes and haphazardly dressed women with fearful temperaments- who are these stereotypical individuals that I am describing?  Unfortunately, for many Calgarians, these are the pre-conceived images and notions of the homeless and needy population that overwhelm our streets, due to the distressing income disparity and current recession that Calgary is experiencing.

I recently signed up on the CYFC website to volunteer on the projects involving assisting those who are in need: Inn from the Cold and The Drop-In Center. Inn from the Cold is a facility that allows Calgarians, mainly senior men and families, a safe and secure place, where they may decide to reside if they require a stable residence.  The Drop-In Center provides food and drink to many individuals that do not normally have access to hot, nutritious meals, and also allows patrons to have a chance to sit down in a safe environment, and gives them the opportunity to watch recently released movies on a very impressive widescreen, high definition, television screen.

Coming down to both shelters, entering and leaving was, frankly, the only times I felt fearful and extremely alert to and of the possible intentions of those around me. Hooded, ashen faces, with dust collected in the creases of their clothes, languidly sitting outside the shelter entrances was the first sight I perceived, and sadly, an image that our society fiercely latches onto. Upon arrival at the shelters, our volunteer group was ushered into the kitchen to perform food prep for the patrons.

At Inn from the Cold, I was in charge of packing lunches for the residents, ensuring that they received a piece of fruit, two snacks, a drink and a wholesome sandwich in the treasured, brown paper bags I prepared.  Quite the enjoyable project, I also tended to the needs of residents who requested special, non- allergenic lunches to be made, taking careful note of the slicing a baby’s lunch as required. Later, sitting down in the cafeteria, gradually partaking in eating a meal with the residents that milled into the cafeteria, I noticed the atmosphere to be not one of tension, depression or wavering misery, but of a bustling, family-like environment, with all the residents passively aware of each other, with the senior men graciously clearing and cleaning up the dishes of all the inhabitants, as well as ours.

At the Drop-In Centre, our volunteer group was given the duties of food preparation: peeling potatoes (moi), cleaning and hacking away at cabbage (with noticeably loud grunts as my fellow volunteer’s knives sawed into the cabbage), chopping very juicy and fresh tomatoes (with enormously large spilling “guts” that we often joked was “bloody” juice), and the very pleasantly entertaining buttering of bread, (though there were butter knives at hand, we simply reached into a bucket, pulling out large globs of margarine into our hands, and smeared them into the loaves of bread; of course we had gloves on). The time to serving the food that we had prepared (which turned into a salad, chick peas and rice meal), I must admit I was quite frightened by the prospect of serving the needy population of Calgary. The preconceived notions of glaringly staring men and women, rude and inconsiderate, barking obscenities towards me petrified my mind. Nonetheless, I wound up standing in line, in front of the serving window, waiting with utensils to shove into the dished out meals, ready to serve and face the daunting crowd of hungry patrons. A member of the staff would raise their hand to indicate the tables we needed to serve, and so the routine occurred as such: line-up, grab utensils (in this case metal forks were replaced with disposable, plastic forks), and grab meals situated on glass dishes, the contents quickly and rhythmically plopped on with huge ladles, from huge metal containers that contained the servings; and immediately after grabbing two dishes, you had to swerve between tables and avoid trampling anyone’s bags on the ground, trying to locate the elusive raised arm that signalled the appropriate table to serve. In the line-up, I met a regular  Drop-In Centre volunteer that was extremely friendly and encouraging, briefly explaining her experience at the Drop-In Center.

“I guess I’m volunteering at the Drop-In Center out of the kindness of my heart as well,” she laughs, as she just similarly asked why I chose to volunteered at the Drop-In Centre, replying with a very cheesy, but probably as close to the truth and realism as it gets, response, “and as I started volunteering here more and more, you started recognizing people and in turn, they recognized you as well.” A huge smile never left her face, as she too, started serving the patrons of the Drop-In Center and cleaning up the dishes of those embarking to leave after finishing a hearty meal.

The individuals that also used the Drop-In Centre surprised me. Not just the typical old, slouching and emaciated personnel, but teenagers that carried expensive, name brand bags and clothing,  people of all ethnicities, and people that ranged in ages, who all required the services of the Drop-In Center.

I believe the experience was quite the eye-opener for me. Those sitting down to eat were polite, well groomed individuals, that never failed to give me large smiles as I in turn smiled pleasantly at them, and no obscenities were ever exchanged or thrown in the cafeteria. My preconceived notions definitely went down, as I became more comfortable interacting with my fellow Calgarians, exchanging a quick thank you and smile, realizing that I take for granted many things that the shelters were offering those in need. I guess that with many of them struggling with their lives in their attempts to survive in Calgary, the kindness a stranger may show while serving them a sufficient meal may be the only kind act and peace of mind they receive all the day, every day.

I definitely recommend for more people to, perhaps, volunteer a little of your time to help out those in need, to step out of your comfort zone and become aware of the situation many Calgarians face today. Volunteering here at the shelters has definitely encouraged me to reconsider my prejudice and judgments that I hold against the needy population of Calgary, becoming less afraid of stereotypical “hobos” and becoming less ignorant of the needs of those around me.

Besides, as me and my fellow volunteers exited the building, the patrons started to clap for us, recognizing our contributions and appreciating our efforts to perform a small act of kindness. That’s was the best thanks I had ever received, with respect to volunteering my services.