A day in the life of the less unfortunate!

Eman Dahan a 20 year old nursing student at the University of Toledo and Diane Harper a volunteer nurse look up names for upcoming appointments for the residents on November 16th. PHO245/Jocelyn Chovan

Stephanie Walker and Dam'qua Dothard nursing students at the University of Toledo are preparing for a project that they put together through the course of interning at the Cherry St. Mission. PHO245/Jocelyn Chovan

Mathew Dixon a nursing student at Univeristy of Toledo helps cure Dale Smithers bad diabetic feet. PHO 245/Jocelyn Chovan

Mathew Dixon a nursing student at the University of Toledo checks out Dale Smithers infected feet. PHO 245/Jocelyn Chovan

Martha Pituch comes by to help student Mathew Dixon figure out what is wrong with Dale Smithers feet. PHO 245/ Jocelyn Chovan

The Cherry St. mission is beyond the words that can be typed in this blog. For the people that do not know about this ministry it is a very big deal in Toledo, Oh. Homeless people, drug addicts, and alcoholics come together to be come one and help each other through this thing we call life. The staff gives them shelter and food and helps them to find good jobs or even go back to school. For the addicts they help them to find something better then drugs, most of the time it’s a higher power but others it’s a hobby or an interest.

I was very fortunate to meet the extraordinary staff as well as the residents. My teacher Lori King had assigned me to the clinic, which is used to help the people with doctor visits and check ups since some of them do not have insurance. While in the clinic they were also helping someone go back to school as well.

I met a woman by the name of Martha Pitruch who has been at the mission for over 25 years. She said it was by accident but I say it was for a reason. She has been volunteering as the head nurse for no pay what so ever. She is so inspiring that she made it into a book called “200 most important women in Ohio”. I asked why she does what she does and she said “ I have lived my life already, I have accomplished what I needed to accomplish, so therefore I feel it is my desire to help people accomplish what they need to accomplish.”

Martha Pitruch a.k.a Mama Nurse is helping Randy Mominee a resident figure out his near future by helping him find a way to go back to college. PHO 245/Jocelyn Chovan

Again, while shooting the clinic I met a man by the name of Roy Lee Snow. He was in the alcohol rehab and loved it so much he stayed to volunteer for the last two years. He told me “all my life I have been helped by someone without me showing anything in return, if I could just save one life I feel I have paid back all the people that have ever helped me along the way.” This guy truly had a tear running down my face the whole time he shared his story.

Roy Lee Snow a voulenteer at the Cherry St. Mission and a past graduate of the rehab and alcohol program at the mission. He said "I came back because my life was saved so my mission is to save one life or ten lives." PHO 245/Jocelyn Chovan

I have learned so much from this assignment, possibly more than any project throughout my schooling career. I went in thinking I was just going to learn how the newspapers do it but I was wrong. These are people’s lives that we document on a daily basis. They welcome us in and tell us their stories and sometimes it is so inspirational that people like the media feel they should share it. Well, I don’t belong to a newspaper so my blog is the only way I can get this out!