Lindsay was first introduced to the Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky in November 2017 of her senior year at NKU. She was graduating soon and knew that she needed some experience in the field of social work, so she decided to apply there. She said that touring the building was a transition into a new world she felt unprepared to face. She had no experience with people facing homelessness and she felt a culture shock as she took her first tentative step.
She knew she had biases that she needed to overcome, but she felt energized to start this new journey. As she continued to work at ESNKY she felt a metamorphosis happen and started to appreciate the small things in her life like having a home to come back to every night, instead of the negative. She realized we are all the same at the end of the day and want to live a happy life surrounded by the people we love. She understood now how important spending time with her family and friends was and made it a key part of her life. She said one of her favorite quotes from a resident is,
“I am not homeless, I am houseless. A house is the physical building that keeps you out of the elements. A home is wherever you are surrounded by people that you love.”
As Program Coordinator, she bears the immense responsibility of looking after programming within the shelter and running our Men’s Housing Recover
y Program. She oversees the coordination of volunteers and helping staff with guest issues. She also juggles the task of assisting with operations around the shelter like handing out items to guests at the door, answering calls and emails, and accepting donations. She loves interacting with people and often meets with guests who need assistance in getting connected to resources.
She possesses a heart for helping people and believes that compassion can change the world. Therefore, she struggles to not bring her work home with her. She cares a lot about her job and strives to accomplish everything she needs to do for them to move into the next phase of their life. Many days she comes home stressed about mistakes she made or worrying about how she could have done better. With time she learned that she needs to be kind to herself and every day her experience grows to make her a little better at her job.
By: Emily Broyles the Scripps Howard Communication Intern