St. Vincent de Paul | Louisville

Editor's Note: Thanks to all the 8th-graders from St. Athanasius School who visited St. Vincent de Paul last week. We invited them to share their reflections afterword, and here are 10 of the students' very thoughtful reflections:

* "Going to St. Vincent de Paul was really moving for me. It showed me that not everyone is as they seem on the outside. People we know and socialize with could have home problems or be homeless. It really opened my eyes to the world around me."

* "My trip to St. Vincent de Paul was very eye-opening. It showed me homeless people are not lazy or always dirty. Anyone I know today could be homeless, and it inspired me to want to help." -- Maddie Miles

* "My visit to St. Vincent de Paul was a very good experience for me. It taught me that life can be really tough and anything could go wrong at any time, even you make a small mistake. I also learned that not all homeless people are just bad people, they are normal then something bad happened that changed their lives. I loved going to St. Vincent de Paul. I learned a lot!"

* "When I went to the soup kitchen, I learned that normal people like me could be homeless. I also learned that they don't want people to feel sorry for them." -- Sam Dykes

* "Last week I went to St. Vincent de Paul and had a wonderful experience. When I first went down there, I was a little bit leery, but it wasn't bad. I really felt something inside that was telling me to come back because I had that great of an experience. I would encourage anyone to go down there to help and volunteer. You will not regret a second of it!"

* "I loved going to St. Vincent de Paul. It really opened my eyes to see how homeless people really are. Before, I thought they would be in tattered clothes, living in a box, but I was way off."  -- Sierra Hoagland

* "My experience at St. Vincent de Paul was great. I never knew people would go so far for somebody for free. I would definitely think about going back to do service."

* "My experience at St. Vincent de Paul was very enlightening. I never knew that people who I have seen walking on the street could be/were homeless. I now realize that a real homeless person can look just like me."

* "My experience there was great! I expected the people there to be dirty, not shaven, have raggedy clothes, and long hair. But when they came through the door, they looked like normal people. I felt like I could talk to them like a friend instead of asking them what their story was." -- Joe Watts

* "I felt [going to St. Vincent de Paul] was life-changing because I realized that all of the people were someone's dad or son or even daughter. Seeing what everyday people have to deal with and knowing that others look down on them … it’s crazy."