Perspectives Changing in Grand Rapids

It’s really interesting how many of my perspectives have changed while I have been interning at the Red Project. For starters, my perspective of the city of Grand Rapids has changed quite a bit and I now see how divided it really is between socioeconomic statuses. I’ve had the chance to spend time in parts of the city I wouldn’t normally go to, the more impoverished and underdeveloped parts, and it has made me realize how far Grand Rapids still has to go in improving the lifestyle and health of it’s citizens (probably like many, many places in the US). I'm glad that I'm finally starting to feel much more comfortable with being in the areas of the city that most people refer to as “unsafe” because in all reality there is so much to learn from these places and these people. These are the areas that need our help and there has't been a day at my internship where someone doesn't thank us for the services we provide for the community. I have also changed my perspective on what kind of people society frames as frequent drug-users and what that means about that person. I’ve come to realize that even though someone is involved in drugs and living a very different life than myself, it doesn’t make them any less of a person, which many people assume. I have had many interactions and conversations with frequent drug users who are just the nicest people you will ever meet. As one of my co-workers always says, “nice people do drugs too.” The Red Project has just really opened my eyes to seeing the community of people I work with through a new lens and I’m very thankful to be much more open-minded.

Another perspective that has changed for me is how non-profit organizations work. I know they are most definitely not all the same and The Red Project is a small nonprofit, but I think this internship has brought me to the conclusion that I’m not sure if the nonprofit world is for me. I absolutely love what they stand for and the causes behind them, but if I were to ever have a career in a nonprofit it would have to be a highly organized and well-established organization for me to not go insane. I’ve learned a lot about my work ethic and what kind of environment I prefer to be in from working at the Red Project and that is something I am thankful for and will be very useful for me in the future.