Gisella - Lessons I learned at AFG

It has been six months since I started working at Alternatives for Girls (AFG) and after all this time has passed, I could not see myself anywhere else. AFG is a shelter for homeless women aged 15-21. My job requires a lot of energy and flexibility because I never know when one of my clients will need something from me. As a case planner I assist the young ladies under my care in managing their lives. (At the same time, I am attempting to manage my own!) Even though my clients don’t realize it, we are both trying to make the most out of our lives, and so we can help each other to grow.

I have learned many valuable lessons while working with these homeless young ladies. First of all they have taught me that being present to them and their needs can be enough for them. Sometimes I wish I could do something when my clients come and talk to me about all their problems but as one of my clients told me, the fact that I can be there for them, to hear them when they need me, is enough. This has been a difficult lesson because I wish I could do something tangible, something that I can see helps to take their pain away. However, thanks to my client, I have learned that by being present I am doing a lot, even if I don’t realize it at first.

Another thing I have learned is the real value of sharing. I always thought I knew what sharing meant until I had a profound experience with one of my clients. One day when I was assisting my client with an online job search, I mentioned I was hungry, not expecting any response. Without hesitation my client said she had her Bridge card (food stamps card) with her, and that she would walk to the store a block away to buy me some food. I told her not to worry about it, but in my mind I couldn’t help but think how a young lady who has only $155 a month for food was willing to spend it on me when I said I was hungry, even though that act of kindness might mean she would have no food the next day. I thought about this incident for a while and wondered if I would have done the same. I was ashamed to realize that I would probably not have made the same offer. This young lady taught me a lesson on the value of sharing that I will never forget.

One final lesson I have learned from working at AFG is the value of being part of the daily lives of the people I serve. Due to the loss of some grants I had to work an RA shift in the homeless shelter. At first I was a little hesitant about it because the shift includes staying until 10pm on Thursday nights. What I didn’t realize was how much I would end up loving being an RA for the girls. Because I stay with them throughout one full day I am able to share with them in meals, playing games and the task I love the most: taking care of babies J. When I came to the shelter there were 5 pregnant ladies and now all the babies are born. It is such a blessing to be part of their lives, to be able to feed them, burp them (yes, babies need to be burped often – who knew!), read to them and even become mother number four to a very special baby. Kenyon is the baby of the first young lady I met as I started my job; it is for that reason that I feel such a strong connection with him. He is now a big baby, 5 months old, and yesterday we had his first photo session eating real food!!! Enjoy the pictures of my babies that bring so much joy to my JVC life.

Learn more about Gisella here.

Gisella - How I got here

JVC is something I have been looking forward to for quite a while. Growing up in Peru I was used to volunteering here and there but I had never heard about people taking a year off to volunteer, especially in the United States of America where stereotypically everyone one is supposed to care only about themselves. So when I heard about my friends from Loyola Marymount University joining a volunteer program to intentionally serve the population I have always longed to serve, to grow in faith and community with each other and to be challenged to grow, I knew it was for me.

I specifically decided to apply to the Midwest because no one in my school applied there. Whenever I told anyone that I wanted to go to the Midwest, they would look at me weird and say “ . . .But why?” That’s when I knew that it was the place for me. I wanted to go where not many people want to go, I wanted to go to a place that would challenge me to experience different things, a place that will challenge me to grow into the person I long to be – a servant for and with others. What can be more different from Lima, Peru and Los Angeles, California than THE MIDWEST!!!

I didn’t take my application process for granted, I had a systematically organized system of what I needed to do and when. The application was so long but it helped me understand more and more why I wanted to do JVC and what I wanted to do. I waited anxiously for the interview and I cried when I was finally accepted. I was actually taking an Ignatian Spirituality class during the time I decided to apply to JVC so I used Ignatian Spirituality throughout the process. As I got interviewed and heard all the amazing opportunities I would have to experience with JVC I couldn’t stop smiling. I felt what the Jesuits call a sense of “consolation” or God present in my life every time I thought about being a JV. I had so many people encouraging me and helping me read my application and giving me honest feedback, like my spiritual director Brendan and my “advisor in JV life” Tom, both who are former JV’s. I also had my little English angel Maria who helped me correct my application so I would use the best words possible to describe my feelings. In writing my application and throughout the whole process I grew much stronger in friendships and faith, knowing that through the process God was there letting me know that what I was committing myself to was his will for me. At the end of the process I felt that I was following God’s call for me, I knew I was called to be “Ruined for Life,” THE JVC WAY.

Learn more about Gisella here.