So this post was intended to be posted on August 4th, however I've been having computer difficulties and wasn't able to post it until today:
It’s
August 4th, 2013. I am officially a FJV (or Former Jesuit
Volunteer). It’s hard to believe that almost one year ago, I was boarding a
plane for JVC orientation in Morgantown, Indiana. I knew few things before
getting on that plane: I knew the core values of Community, Spirituality,
Simple Living and Social Justice; I knew I would be working with the Odyssey program
at Room In The Inn; I knew I would be living in a house with six other women; I
knew JVC would be providing my housing and that I would receive $100/month
personal stipend. But I quickly learned that these things were just the
foundation for my year.
For
one, nothing could have prepared me for the group of women I would be living
with. All of us are so individual different, yet I think that’s why we work so
well together. I have never met a group of such strong women, and I am so
thankful that they were all brought into my life. We toughed it out during the
“dark days” of things in our house not working proper (especially the
washer/dryer); we were each other’s support systems, especially on those rough
days; we became creative with how to make the most of our monthly stipend; we
built an impressive VHS collection over the year; we enjoyed each other’s
company and shared random moments. I honestly don't think I would've made it through my year without them!
In
terms of my job, when ask what I was going to be doing prior to starting JVC,
all I really felt confident to tell people was that I would be working with
homeless men who have previously been through drug/alcohol treatment. I didn’t
know what the day to day was going to look like or how the men were going to
impact me. Even now, after working with Odyssey for almost a year, I feel like
the “elevator speech” I have for whenever someone asks me where I work/what I
do doesn’t accurately convey what my job truly means to me:
Odyssey is
a post-treatment recovery program for chronically homeless men who are dealing
with drug/alcohol addiction. It was part of my responsibility to help with a
lot of the day-to-day things, doing morning meeting with the guys, writing the
monthly newsletter, organizing their class schedule and being the point contact
for our volunteers, coordinating Recreation Time on Fridays, and any other odds
and ends that might come up.
This description
gets across the basic fundamentals of what Odyssey is and what I do almost
every day, but few words can describe how great this job actually is. One of
the biggest joys for me was getting to see how far all of the men have come
since entering Odyssey. The program opens up only twice a year, so since my
time at Room In The Inn, we’ve welcomed two new Odyssey classes. My favorite
story is from the day my first group of guys moved in. I just happened to be in
the room when one of the men was unpacking his things and put one of his shirts
on one of the hangers and exclaimed to one of his new roommates “This is the
first time I’ve been able to do this in 15 years” as he hung the shirt in his
own closet.
God
knows that there were days when things just didn’t seem to be going right; like
the days when the arguments seemed like they would never get resolved or the
Mondays when I would come in to find out someone had relapsed over the weekend
or that one day when I came into work and was informed that an Odyssey guy, who
had literally just been joking with me in the office the day before, had had a
heart attack and passed away that same night. I never expected working with the
population that I do to be easy, but I am grateful that even on the hardest
days, God always found a way to shine through and remind me why I’m here. I
could be having a really hard day, but then my day would be instantly turned
around by one of the guys could come into the office to share that he found a
job or something great that had happened to him or that today marked X amount
of months of sobriety for them. The first group of men that entered the program
when I was here (in November 2012) has now been in Phase 3 (the Phase where the
men get jobs) for 3 months and I couldn’t be prouder. When I talked to Brian,
last year’s Odyssey JV, before starting my JV year, the one thing he kept
stressing to me was “the guys make it all worth it” and there’s really no other
way to describe it.
I
was fortunate enough to be offered a job at Room In The Inn as a Case Manager
in the Day Room, and will be moving to a brand new 1015 in East Nashville with
3 of my fellow JVs (Jane, Katie, and Veronica). This year has been one of the
most transformational years and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. It’s been
exactly 4 years since I first visited Nashville; the first time I fell in love
with this city. During that visit I got a magnet that says “Left My Heart In
Nashville”, and over this past year I’ve discovered how true that magnet ended
up being. In the three years I was gone, my heart worked it’s way into various
parts of the city; and over the past year, I’ve been discovering the different
places it ended up. I found part of it at Room In The Inn, and another part in
the JV House; many parts were found among the friends I made and the places I
loved to visit. There are many things in life that I’m uncertain about, but one
thing I have no doubt about is that my heart is still very much in Nashville,
and I can’t wait to see what else this wonderful city has in store for me.