Wow. I knew it would, but... WUMP is seriously going to mess with my head. In a very good way.

We spent the morning getting lectured by a few doctors on health policy, availability of health care, what public health entails, etc. It wasn't boring, but it wasn't exactly earth-shaking.

And then we spent the afternoon touring the Salvation Army shelter. They do a six-month, hm, sort of re-orientation program for men with substance abuse problems, with additional time for men who want to spend some time on the spiritual side of things. Dude, I'm not a spiritual person, but it's amazing how empowering it can be to believe in a higher power, and for these men, God might be the only thing they can hold onto. These were people that I'd probably cross the street to avoid walking past if it was dark - or even maybe if it was light. But they held doors for us, they all work together and keep the shelter running on a shoestring budget - they were so amazingly respectful.

And the staff! We met the woman who runs the phase 1 program, teaching the men to take responsibility for themselves to get clean, and she. was. strong. You could tell, she believes in all the men - even the ones who relapse, the ones who can't hack it the first or second or third time. And I know she gets paid next to nothing for it. I don't think I'm that strong, but.. I'd like to be. Am I going to go out and make a difference, administrate a shelter or work giving health care to homeless people? No, probably not. It's too scary. But I think this is the first step - knowing that there are things that can be done.