Solidarity

On Tuesday I went to the Bronx center on 149th. It was quite the learning experience and I took a lot away from the day. One part of the day that really stuck with me was a conversation I had with Janel, a beautiful volunteer at the center. She is involved with diverse work here in New York: befriending the homeless, helping the women at the Bronx center, and the list goes on. She told me that she loves living in the Bronx because it creates solidarity. She explained how much she loved living amongst the very people she was serving. Janel’s thoughts on living in the Bronx touched me because here at the LifeHouse we’re living in the very neighborhood that our girls come from. Living here truly does create a sense of solidarity. The more I realize where these girls are coming from, the more I’m able to reach out to them.

Digging deeper, living in a house with all the other interns is definitely fruitful. The community we’ve established here at the LifeHouse is essential to our work. The encouragement we receive from one another, the power of our group prayer, the fun of sharing our stories at the end of the day: it’s all so important.
And, the more we share with each other and our neighbors here in the Bronx, the more we can share with the women who walk into our centers and who are outside of Dr. Emily’s. That is the beauty of our home here in the Bronx.