Stories
An Intern’s Notes: Part 2
We’re kind of a big deal, aren’t we? I realized this as I went into my second week as an intern here at Friendship Place. Before arriving, I had no prior knowledge about this organization and I really didn’t know what I was getting myself into. I didn’t realize the incredible impact Friendship Place has on the community through its many programs.
After my first week of attending meetings and learning more names than I can remember, it finally started to come together. This week – my second week here – has been busy to say the least. I started by laying out plans for the rest of my time with our Veterans First program. I attended a screening of a documentary about women veteran’s issues at the Russell Senate Office Building, where I was able to hear a touching panel discussion with the women veterans featured in the film. After that I sat in on a board meeting for Friendship Place to see the inner workings of the organization and meet the board members. Then on Wednesday I was able to sit in on a meeting with a member of the Department of Labor to see what is being done and what can be done about homeless women veterans.
From now on I will be spending every Wednesday and Thursday doing outreach: I will be traveling to different veteran-focused organizations to make them more aware of what they can do when they come across veterans who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. The other three days of the week I will be working on all my other projects. By mid August I will have facilitated three Fannie Mae Help the Homeless mini walks with various military organizations, helped to organize a No Wrong Doors event, and worked with my counterpart at the National Coalition for the Homeless to create a pocket guide for homeless veterans.
Reflecting back on this week, I have only become more excited about my internship here. I hope that I can make an impact on someone’s life before I leave, and I am confident that the people at Friendship Place can help me do that. And if all my efforts only make a difference in one person’s life, that will be a very big deal.
