Last week I mentioned how weird it felt working for my own community. Well this week I was asked to be on a Youth Panel for Skillman and let me tell you…
This Youth Panel was comprised of me and three other youth from Detroit. The audience consisted of people with the funds that donate to Skillman. They wanted to hear the need in Detroit, what we have experienced and what we think would be useful for kids now. As you can imagine it got deep very quickly as we talked about our troubles.
Throughout the meeting I had to keep reminding myself to push. That I could not be shy and belittle things I have had to overcome because I live in Detroit. I was asked “What would you say to your 12 year old self if you had the chance to go back?” Well this hit pretty close to home considering I have an 11 year old sister.
The answers to my question are not really relevant to what I want to rant about here. I want to just express again how weird it is being part of the community you ultimately hope to serve. The meeting was being held at Focus Hope, as I drove there I realized I had been there and utilized their food pantry.
Week seven and it’s still hard to process, but it’s definitely getting better! I feel like I am making a difference here and hope it continues.
