A few days ago I realized that I had never written a blog post about the awesome organization that I work for in Atlanta! I have the pleasure of working at a place called Clifton Sanctuary Ministries, known to most as just "Clifton." 

Clifton is a transitional shelter for men ages 35+ who are working towards self-sufficiency. The men who come here are referred by outreach centers, hospitals, large agencies such as the VA and small agencies alike. These agencies work with the men from Clifton so that they can find jobs, get benefits, and housing. When the men come here they are offered support services such as counseling/case management, help with computer skills, A/A and N/A meetings, Bible Study, Empowerment, and more. They are also offered health services such as blood pressure checks,help with medication, advice from a certified health professional, and three meals daily. On any given night, there are about 10,000 homeless people in Atlanta. Atlanta is a big city with wonderful agencies, but there is definitely a shortage of places for people to sleep. Clifton Sanctuary provides a safe space for up to 30 men every night.

I serve as an office administrator who does intake, payroll, and all of the other office tasks that we stumble upon daily here at Clifton. This is an especially meaningful experience since I am fresh out of college. I have never worked in a professional environment, so the past few months have definitely been a roller coaster ride. I've had times where I was overwhelmed and frustrated but those feelings are all voided when a man comes in and says he found a job or that he was able to see his children that day.

So the following post was intended to be a short grad school admissions writing sample and has nothing to do with what I normally post about on this blog, but it has everything to do with why I'm doing a YAV year here in Atlanta. 

          I was once sitting on the sidewalk in Downtown Atlanta talking to my friend John-John about college and what I wanted to do with my life.  I wistfully expressed my frustration with school and how I wanted to quit.  I told him that even if I did finish my undergraduate studies, I would never enroll in school again.  It was the summer after my junior year at Tiffin University and I had just finished the most difficult time in my entire academic career.  I had family problems, financial problems, health problems, and to top it off, a good part of my major classes were packed into one semester!  I had so much to complain about and I was making sure John-John and our other friends gathered on the shaded sidewalk downtown heard me.  As I was discussing this taxing period of my life with the man whom I only knew as John-John, I realized that he was having none of my whining.

          John-John, a man whose residence was the sidewalk that we were sitting on had just gotten out of the hospital.  He had been having problems with his legs and was consequently on crutches.  As we sat in the sweltering Atlanta heat he listened to me for a few minutes and then gave me the best advice I have ever heard in my life.  He told me that although it seemed tough, I was not earning a degree for myself.  He told me that the degree that I was working towards was not just Kenya Phillips’ degree, but it was his too.  It belonged to all of our friends hanging out on the sidewalk with nowhere else to go, to my family, to my friends; it belonged to all the people who didn’t have the chance to pursue higher education because of life circumstances.  He told me that I am more beneficial to him and others struggling with homelessness in an office helping influence policy than I am sitting there on the street complaining.