In August 2008, I began volunteering at Healthcare for the Homeless Houston (HHH). Prior to this, the only dental experience I had was shadowing an endodontist. He allowed me to stand in the corner while he performed root canals. From my viewpoint, all I saw was the dentist sticking his hand into the patient's mouth. Needless to say, these were the longest hours of my life - I stood awkwardly from afar without having the capability of seeing directly into the mouth, which is where dentistry happens. Obviously. What makes HHH stand out from other dental clinics is twofold: firstly, I actually get to assist the dentist with hands-on experience, and secondly, I work with the homeless.
Honestly, before HHH, I always had a condescending yet frightful view of the homeless. If I saw homeless people on the street corner, I would immediately assume that they were lazy and incompetent individuals who had no desire of bettering their lifestyle. I would pick up my walking pace and even circumnavigate them. Over time, my view of them began to change into understanding and compassion for them. In the following posts, I hope to shed a new light onto these underserved people.
I'm at the dental clinic every Monday from 1-5pm. We'll see what next week has in store for me.
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