City Gospel Mission

Dylan Sexton, Summer 2018

This summer, I worked as a UHP intern at the City Gospel Mission on the West End of Cincinnati. The mission works with men experiencing homelessness who have nowhere else to go. While residents, the men are provided with financial counseling, job training, assistance in finding jobs, day program classes, shelter, and three meals a day. All the efforts of the mission are focused towards moving the men into positive housing, and each resident is assigned a case worker to help them work towards that goal. City Gospel Mission also works closely with their two addiction recovery programs, Having the Courage to Change and Exodus, in order to offer services to residents battling addiction. Other partners included Jobs Plus, a local employment agency, and the Lord’s Gym, a nonprofit, low cost gym with programs offered to the residents.

My contribution to the goals of the mission was to run a class focused on health and wellness. This class fit in to the preexisting day program of classes that existed at the mission. As a part of this class, I focused on nutrition, education on common health conditions and prevention, and exercise. I took residents to the local Lord's Gym once every day and helped them to exercise to the best of their abilities given their various disabilities and capabilities.

Similarly, I helped run the day to day aspects of the day program from the front desk. My duties in that regard included answering phones, organizing donations, and dealing with resident issues. I helped residents to apply for medical insurance, find local resources, obtain important identifying documents, and make appointments with case workers and doctors. These efforts helped the residents to make important steps towards controlling their lives and forming a base from which to obtain housing.

Finally, I had an informal role in mediating disputes between residents. This included breaking up fights, acting as referee during arguments, talking residents through their rule violations, and dealing with residents who needed to be exited due to such violations. I also had to deal with drug abuse by residents, including a near-overdose where I served as the first responder. These problems were much less common, and my daily schedule often did not include any of these needs. However, I did need to be ready and able to respond to these concerns when necessary.