Post #3

My time volunteering at APEX center so far has made me, sometimes forced me, to think about things that aren’t necessarily easy to think about it.  Driving to the center every week has become a sort of ritual, just like going to class or work.  But at the same time, I’m still not completely comfortable with it.  I still automatically hold my breath on the drive there, and look around me warily as I get out or into my car.  As many times as I go to the center, I have to remind myself that it’s not getting any safer.  In turn, the center reminds me that I can do my part to help those who are being affected by the violent and unsafe environment that surrounds APEX.  It also reminds me to be grateful for the privileges in life that I often take for granted like attending college or getting support from my parents. 

            I’ve encountered a few moments while volunteering at APEX where people question who I am or what I’m doing there.  I’ve had to explain, or had the employers explain, that I’m a volunteer from Loyola who comes once a week to help. The former head volunteer at APEX once asked why I was volunteering there and for what class. When I said it was for my Shakespeare class, she looked at me in surprise and asked, “Really, why?” Initially, I didn’t know how to respond, but I ended up telling her that we were supposed to relate real world situations to Shakespeare.  She just smiled and said, “Oh, that’s interesting.”  For her, working at APEX was a huge part of her life.  She was there six days a week.  (She just had to resign because the government stopped paying for her to work there) I was just another volunteer who needed hours for a class, and who would move on from the center. 

Sometimes I worry that I’m not helping since I spend most of my time there behind a computer.  But during our cluster conversations this week, someone in my group said something that gave me much needed encouragement.  He said that whether you’re doing data work at a desk or interacting with the children, both jobs are equally as important.  I have to remind myself that without the office work, the center would not be able to run successfully.  It also helps when I see or hear about the great work that goes on in the center.

I recently met a young man who represents one of the center’s success stories.  He was in danger of being pulled into a negative lifestyle, but because of his time at APEX was able to get out and create a new life for himself.  I watched the pastor (who runs the center with his wife) proudly tell me and another volunteer how this man had come back to volunteer at the shelter in order to give back to the community that had helped him.  This moment showed me how the hard work that goes in the center pays off. 

This moment also reminded me of the article we read for class about the kids in Syria who put on a Shakespeare play. I thought about how preparing for the play must have gotten the children’s’ minds off of the bad things in their life, given them hope for the future, and also educated them at the same time.  This is similar to what goes on at APEX.  The children come to get away from the bad things in their surroundings and are given hope for a successful, violent-free life, all while in an educational and safe environment.