by enA MOAts
Cardinal Staff
As a part of the SOUL trip series over Saint Mary’s University’s spring break, a group of students traveled to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to do what the organization name stands for-- Serving Others United in Love-- specifically serving the homeless population of the city. Krystal Souhrada, student leader of the Milwaukee trip, reported that the group spent three of their days working to prepare greenhouses for spring at an urban farm called Growing Power which focuses on sustain- ability and healthy living. The next two days, according to Souhrada, in- cluded cleaning, sorting clothes, and engaging with the homeless popu- lation at a center called Repairers of the Breach which works to serve the homeless’ needs. Evenings were spent at St. Benedict the Moor church with “the guests,” who consist of anyone in need of hot food, at a commu- nity meal that the church offers six days a week from Sunday to Friday. The church has seventy-five different sponsors that prepare the food and serve it each night.
Kiya Virgin, a sophomore at SMU, says this sharing of the meals every night was her favorite part of the trip. “It was really eye opening to see the large amount of diversity of the homeless population. I definitely didn’t anticipate meeting so many different people with so many differ- ent experiences. It was crazy to meet one of the guests on Monday, and
then have them remember my name on Friday even if I couldn’t remem- ber theirs.”
Souhrada summed up the SOUL trip and the moving feelings that went along with it by saying, “our group came up with the intention to see the truth in people and in their hearts, and I feel like this truly hap- pened for me and a lot of the other trip participants.”
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