Kevin Prabhakar

12/17/13
Christian Ethics/Period 6
CSP Reflection Paper
It was Mahatma Gandhi who once famously said, The best way to find yourself is to lose
yourself in the service of others. This year, juniors at Bellarmine College Prep had to do 7. 5 hours of
community service with the socioeconomically disadvantaged: the poor, the homeless and those who
cannot fend for themselves financially. For the first semester, I did my service hours at the Bellarmine
Solidarity Sleepout and at the Bay Area Community Services. The Solidarity Sleepout was an event in
which 50 bellarmine students slept outside on the Liccardo balcony. This allowed us to gain a better
perspective on homelessness, by literally putting us in their shoes. The air was so cold, that I couldnt fall
asleep until two o clock that night. Similarly, at BAY AREA COMMUNITY SERVICES, I spent time
organizing warmth packs for the homeless people. This included getting many different warm materials,
like blankets, jackets and hats, and giving those in small packets to the homeless people. The entire
experience greatly enlightened me to the plights of the homeless people. I feel as if it would be
absolutely necessary for this cold winter season as four different homeless people were recently killed
by the cold weather, due to long exposure and lack of a shelter. Ultimately, my time serving at BAY
AREA COMMUNITY SERVICES allowed me to gain substantial amounts of knowledge about the turmoil of
the homeless.
One particularly moving experience I had was during my time serving at the Bay Area
Community Services. While handing out blankets and warmth packets, one woman walked up to us with
two children: one baby on her arm and a toddler holding her hand. Their clothes were dirty, their nails
and hair untrimmed. Upon handing her the warmth packet, she broke down in tears and began to thank
me repeatedly for my service at the center. Just holding back the tears, I thanked her for giving me the
opportunity and moved on. It really allowed me to understand what troubles people face in the streets.
I probably saw love and gratitude in that one person, for she allowed me to understand what her
standpoint was on the whole issue.