Emma Brunst

IA Service Reflection

For my service requirement, I was fortunate enough to volunteer at the Star House right in Columbus, Ohio. Prior to going to the facility, I did not know too much about their services and who they serve. Their target audience is homeless youth in the Columbus area, ages 14-24 specifically, and they have been opened since October of 2006. Their original mission was to “examine strategies to engage, treat, and reintegrate substance-abuse homeless youth to the mainstream” (Star House Website). They offer resource such as “housing, clinical therapy, and employment opportunities” (Star House Website). In addition to these physical resources they also offer behavioral, social, and healthcare services to their guests’ wellbeing. A very peculiar fact that I remember about the shelter is that guests are not allowed to lay down while they are there. Many guests will sit at a table and sleep or sleep standing up, but they aren’t allowed to lay down and sleep. The founder of the Star House is Natasha Slesnick, PhD who is a current professor of Human Development and Family Science at Ohio State. She has been working and advocating for homeless youth since 1998. She has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health in order to learn more about homeless youth and how this situation can be prevented in the future. This home currently is the only drop-in center for youth in central Ohio and the surrounding areas. In 2018, more than 1,000 individuals and their children were served in a multitude of different ways. Based on the previous information, Star House is an amazing middle ground for young adults trying to get back on their feet. It is a nonprofit organization, and they are constantly looking for volunteers and donations in order to continuing serving the community!

A group of about 10 IA Scholars and myself went on February 16, 2019 from 11 A.M. to noon. Luckily, our service coordinator planned a bus ride so everything was planned and we were ready to volunteer. Once we got there, the volunteer coordinator introduced herself and a little about Star House and immediately started us on our work. Our IA group was accompanied by a Neuroscience group from Ohio State as well. We divided ourselves into two groups, as there were 2 tasks that needed to be done. The first group went outside in the cold to clean up the property and surround area. She told all the students that they have a good-neighbor agreement in order to keep the premises clean and keep their area clean if any of the garbage was from the residents or facility. I was in the second group and we went through bins of donated clothes, organizing them by size and folding them to make it easier. When the guests come in to get clothes, they don’t want to have to sift through all the bins, so organizing and cleaning made it much easier for them. After 2 short hours of volunteering, she thanked up and greatly appreciated our work and we headed back to campus! This directly related to the people in our community and I felt humbled and empowered after this experience!