Be a Voice — an intern’s point of view

“My name is Wendall Hallam, and I am a 21-year-old Christian male pursuing a bachelors degree in social work at Western Kentucky University. I am currently serving my internship at St. Benedict’s and would like to share my experience thus far.

“Since starting here in January, my experience has allowed me to embrace a lot of the things that I have never been exposed to. I had no idea what St. Benedict’s had to offer these men or what exactly they did here. My knowledge of St. Benedict’s was that it was just a place for homeless men to come eat and sleep. Since being here, I have learned how much  St. Benedict’s does for the men and how big of an asset this organization is for the community.

“St. Benedict’s has helped me as an individual and a professional by teaching me about tough love and how to appropriately give it, why you shouldn’t base your success off the success of others, and the importance of knowing what is actually helpful and what is not.

“While being at St. Benedict’s my perception of homeless men is one that has become more real and personalized. Before St. Benedict’s, I knew homelessness obviously existed, but it wasn’t real to me and it wasn’t something that truly broke my heart.

“Now, after spending a few months here, I can say my heart does break for these men and others who suffer from homelessness.

“I think an organization like St. Benedict’s does need more support from the community because of what they are truly doing for the community and for the well being of others. The best kind of support though is knowing what it really needed.

“I believe the only way to know what is really needed is to become educated. I highly recommend for any individual to come to St. Benedict’s or at least give the shelter a call and just learn as much as they can.

“St. Benedict’s is an organization that is helping making a legitimate difference in the lives of others. I’m not sure what your beliefs are, but I think we can all agree that we are supposed to help and love others, and that is exactly what is happening here at St. Benedict’s.”