Reflecting on the Work of HSHS
Autoethnography Overview
For my autoethnography project, I decided to reflect on my work as a resource advocate and more largely, on the work of the Harvard Square Homeless Shelter. I was really interested to see what not only what drew people to the shelter but also, what students drew from the direct service experience they gained by volunteering at the shelter. Particularly, I wanted to better understand how direct service developed student agency, leadership and impact beyond the scope of campus life and in the community. To address this goal, I focused my study on the experiences of HSHS directors, who typically have the most experience at the shelter, both in terms of the years of service they have committed to the shelter as well as the various roles they’ve held over the course of their undergraduate years. The shelter in entirely run by 14 or so student directors and a few supervisors, who work tirelessly on daily operations of the shelter, running dinner shifts, maintenance of the facility, policy making, finances, staffing and training all volunteers, and more. Because of their unique experience in this type of high stakes leadership position, I was interested to learn in what ways these students thought that the transformative experience of working at the shelter made them more active students in the various communities they were a part of.During my interviews with a few of the HSHS directors, I asked them the following questions:
- What were your reasons and motivations for volunteering at HSHS? Was there a specific experience or encounter that made you passionate about serving in this way? Please comment on all your roles at the shelter.
- How has involvement in HSHS has changed your college experience or perceptions/values/passions?
- Assuming leadership positions in the shelter carries a much greater responsibility than other activities. As directors, you are two of 14 students that run the shelter independently and have to decide on policies that directly impact the population you are trying to serve. How has this experience and the challenges you’ve faced shaped the way you understand what it means to be a leader?
- How this service role has developed your sense of social responsibility and civic engagement? Has it inspired you to be an advocate for other issues of social justice?
- Do you feel that you have been able to address the needs of this population? What limitations or goals need to be further addressed?
- The shelter bears Harvard’s name, serving the people immediately outside its own gates. Do you feel like the University cares about this issue or does enough to aid the Cambridge community, particularly by joining in efforts to address homelessness?
Interview with Directors Molli and Jonathan
Molli is a junior in Lowell House, studying history and Jonathan is a senior in Kirkland House, concentrating in molecular and cellular biology. Together, they are serving as the two directors for the Resource Advocacy (RA) program for the 2017-2018 academic year. Molli first started volunteering at the shelter her freshman year as a weekly shift volunteer and went on to become a resource advocate during her sophomore year. During her second year, she also became a supervisor, managing overnight shifts, before applying for a directorship role at the end of her sophomore year. Like Molli, Jonathan served many different roles at the shelter. He also started his freshman year, volunteering for a weekly evening shift. The following year, he was a member of the Resource Advocacy program as well as the Street Outreach team, and he also served as an overnight supervisor. Jonathan became one of the RA co-directors at the beginning of his junior year and continues to serve in that position. He noted that HSHS has been the only organization that he has been a part of during all of his four years at the college.
Both Molli and Jonathan described that as freshman, they were initially drawn to the direct service component of HSHS volunteering. For Molli, volunteering at the shelter was a way for her to connect her learning in the classroom to the issues she was passionate about. “It’s definitely shaped my future plans in that it’s shown the importance of direct service and direct engagement and really getting to know the community you are trying to serve on a more intimate level and doing service work with them—not just existing on this high ivory tower plane of theory and policy without actually getting involved with the community you are trying to serve.” Jonathan also echoed the importance of his experiences with HSHS during his undergraduate years, adding “…it has helped me appreciate how much agency students have in an issue like this. If we do something, if we say something, it creates a ripple effect. There are always people who are paying attention.”
Stepping into a directorship role further gave them perspective on the “tangible sense of responsibility” they feel to implement policies that provide support, stability, and consistency to a population that is neglected by the community. “Because we’re not just talking about policies in the abstract—we see the impact of them and you get more comfortable thinking about the nuances of what a policy means, what it means to make a decision.” Both Molli and Jonathan also described that the sense of responsibility they feel also comes from the privilege of studying at an elite institution. Because they have gained so much, they have that much greater of an obligation to use their skills, resources, and efforts for the betterment of the community.
The RA directors feel that HSHS is able to meet the short-term needs of individuals experiencing homelessness through the various emergency resources they are able to provide. They note, however, that there are a lot of institutional barriers that hinder more long-term progress for this population. “There is a lot of momentum among college students…the goal would be to collaborate…and build coalitions that can push through some of the long-term changes that need to happen.” The directors, therefore, see the potential of HSHS to be a “powerful advocacy force” that can hopefully drive some of these changes in the future.
Interview with Valerie
Valerie is a senior in Dunster House, studying organismic and evolutionary biology. She joined HSHS during her sophomore year as a Street Outreach team member. During her junior year, she continued on the Street Outreach team and also became an overnight supervisor. At the end of her junior year, she became one of the co-directors for the Street Outreach program and continues to oversee that role until she graduates this coming May. She describes her time volunteering at HSHS as “one of the most rewarding experiences” during college.
Having grown up in the suburbs, it was very jarring for Valerie to see how present the issue of homelessness is in urban settings. “It’s a very raw and emotional experience to encounter that for the first time.” She had always been passionate about public service work and knew she wanted to do something to address this problem in Harvard Square, so she applied to join the Street Outreach team. “The experience on Street Team is extremely moving… you’re really in the trenches. You’re outside with people in the evenings when it’s very cold, sometimes it’s snowing, you’re battling the elements. You’re kind of understanding a piece of what their lives are like.” Like for many volunteers, Valerie described how the direct service made her more aware of how the issue of homelessness intersects with so many issues of social justice and how it can really happen to anyone. “The issue of homelessness really does apply to everyone. I feel a very serious moral responsibility to help address this issue for everyone with all possible enthusiasm and compassion.” Valerie also shared how her two years as a Street Team member have shaped her in significant ways. "It has grounded me so much. It has helped me to be humble…to grow in compassion and grow in tolerance and set me on a course to commit to service my whole life.” She mentioned how her work through HSHS has made her more aware and passionate about many other issues of social justice, such as issues of police brutality, incarceration, and failures in education systems. More largely, Valerie believes that her work at the shelter has made her a much more active and engaged citizen in the community with a greater sense of social and moral responsibility.
Reflecting on her role as a director, Valerie talked about the serious responsibility all directors take on when deciding on policies that affect the lives of many. She also talked about the importance of being on the ground as directors and leaders to be able to assess whether an organization is meeting its intended goals. “It’s so important to always go back to the source, to always go back to the people you’re serving and the decisions that you make are in their best interests and that you’re not making easy decisions but the right decisions. Not to say that there is only one right decision but that we’re constantly trying to move in the direction of the just allocation of resources and always trying to meet the needs of the people we are trying to serve.”
Moving forward, Valerie sees an important role for the shelter not only in providing necessary emergency services but also in advocacy and activism measures. “Student groups have immense power to really bring issues to the forefront, and if HSHS really able to voice its support for various measures that we could affect change on a larger scale in our society.” She also sees a role for Harvard University in addressing the issue of homelessness. “The juxtaposition between incredible poverty and the dehumanizing conditions that people live in in the Square—that juxtaposition next to the world’s richest and most well-known university is jarring. People sense the immense gap there and the inherent injustice of that situation.” Valerie described how HSHS volunteers and students at the college acknowledge their privilege and are committed to caring for their community and she asks Harvard to demonstrate that same commitment. “The University is poised to make tremendous strides in conjunction with student shelters to really pilot truly innovative models of transitional living. We should explore opportunities for partnership with the University…because students want to see the university they go to be actively involved in making the community—the community where they’re situated—a better place…for everyone, not just for the students and shareholders, but for everyone who lives in and around Cambridge, literally at the gates of Harvard University.”
