Last month a group of Salesian’s embarked on a life changing journey through our nation’s capital. The goal of the trip was to understand the day to day lives of the homeless population in D.C. The group slept at the McKenna center, a homeless shelter for men. While at the center, the group served breakfast and lunch to over 150 homeless people everyday. Beyond serving the community in the homeless shelter, the group along with the student body from Sisters of Visitations , an all girls school in D.C., made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Throughout the rest of the trip the group handed out these peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to the homeless.

Beyond helping the homeless population of Washington D.C. the group saw some of our nation’s most iconic landmarks including the White House, the Washington Monument, and the senate office building. The group also toured multiple of the Smithsonian museums, cathedrals, and colleges.

Perhaps the most impactful part of the journey occured on the group’s final day of the trip. Monday morning, each member of the group was given a food stamp which equates to approximately $6. They were challenged to live off of the food stamp for the entirety of their last day. The idea behind the challenge was to simulate what homeless people have to go through everyday, as the average homeless person lives majorly off food stamps.

When asked about his experience on the trip senior Jeffrey Malick said the trip was “impactful, it allowed me to put myself in the shoes of a homeless person, and helped me experience the virtue of humility”.