Examples Of Stereotyping

The Sterotype What image do you see when you hear the word homeless? I use to think of words like dirty, lonely, and also needy. The true definition of homeless is without a home, and therefore typically living on the streets. Stereotyping is a common thought through our human minds, which means oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing. I learned this summer on my mission trip to Madison, Wisconsin, that homeless people are not what we think they are. I woke up feeling physically, mentally exhausted from the day before, packaging meat and cleaning crates for Second Harvest Food Pantry. We sorted and pack meat. I did not think I could look at meat ever again. We then had to cleaned crates, after crates of what use to have food in them. It was a new day, and we had to return back to work. My mission group and I were going to River Food Pantry. I had no clue what to expect. I finally learned we would be serving homeless people. The only thought that crossed my mind was I would be serving dirty, lonely people, but I later found out that I was wrong.
Half of it had folding tables and chairs, with an open kitchen. The other half was filled with food. It looked similar to a grocery store. Our mission group received a tour of this warehouse. We proceeded into the back area and where more mounds of food was stored. You would have thought it would last for months. In reality, it would be out in a week or so. Minutes were counting down until people would start arriving. There were all sorts of different types of volunteers; middle class, high schoolers, kids in college, families, couples, and even homeless people themselves. These homeless people talked about how much they wanted to show gratitude for all the food that this food pantry has given them. With that being said, they volunteer at River Food Pantry,