On July 1, 2010, I went to Skid Row on an outreach with Under the Bridge, which was a bittersweet moment. Next week, I will be concluding my three and a half year internship at The Dream Center. I first came to The Dream Center in May 2005 on a short-term missions trip, which lasted a week. Long story short, I flew back to New York (my home state) and the experience was imprinted in my heart. The images that I saw on Skid Row were etched in my memory as I lived 3,000 miles away, and part of me felt like I would eventually go back to The Dream Center and help with the ministries again.
Just over a month after graduating from college, I was back on a plane to Los Angeles in February 2007 to become a full-time intern. I cannot put into a short blog all that I have experienced during these past several years, but it has all been life-changing to say the least. When people ask me what I learned at The Dream Center and living in the city of Los Angeles, I’ve said that I have learned to be a leader. I am very much an introvert, and God has taken me out of my comfort zone and has stretched me to have more confidence and really depend on Him.
I didn’t go back to Skid Row as soon as I started my internship. I was placed in the Teen Discipleship girls’ home, which was a blessing because I wanted to work with youth. Sure, I had worked with teenagers in the past, including my home church’s youth group and an outreach to the Lower East Side of Manhattan that I did while I was in college, but I was not totally ready for DCTD! Though it was a challenge for me to be authoritative and confront bad behavior and even verbally encourage those girls, God gave me the grace to do so, and I am so thankful for the year that I spent there.
When I switched over to the Marketing department, I was glad because I was wondering how I could use my love for writing at The Dream Center. Needless to say, I have been able to put my writing abilities to use, and in the process, have learned so much from those that I have worked with. In addition, I have interviewed well over 100 people whose lives have been positively impacted by the outreaches and ministries of The Dream Center. I heard so many stories, each unique and impacting, all different ages and walks of life. South Central. Rampart. East L.A. Chinatown. Hollywood. Venice. SRO Hotels. Beverly Hills. Skid Row…
It’s hard not to get choked up when I think of what an amazing opportunity that I have had to be at The Dream Center. Of course, nothing is perfect here, but I have learned from the good and the bad experiences, and I am grateful for each of them. I know that moving on from here, I will have much to take with me, whatever God has for me.
So, I did my last outreach (at least for now!) in Skid Row this week; the very place that gripped my heart on that short-term missions trip. On the way there, I watched, almost as if it were the first time: seeing short-term volunteers with their brooms and barrels, cleaning up garbage on the sidewalks. Food trucks headed to their destination packed with groceries to feed the community. The Dream Center taking over L.A.!
When we got to Skid Row, I just walked around with a couple of other volunteers, inviting people to come get a hot meal to eat on the corner of 6th and Crocker. While there, I saw a few people that I had interviewed for Marketing stories, including two that I hadn’t seen in basically a year. It was as if, in that moment, my time at The Dream Center was beginning to come full circle.
Though it’ll be kind of hard to leave this place, which has become home, it is time. And I want to encourage volunteers who may already be here or are considering coming, it is a great opportunity to learn and become selfless as you address the needs of others. Find a need and fill it, and find a hurt and heal it.
Thanks to all who made this time possible. I love you.
Poeticize for Christ,
Shameka Hamlet
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