By Paul Rush, USA, about his first day of Community Impact
For my first Cultural Impact experience, I along with a handful of my Cast A mates traveled to Urban Peak to provide a number of services to the facility. It was an eye- opening experience for me because I had never before worked with the homeless for an extended period of time, let alone youth and students my age that were on their own desperately trying to get their feet back on the ground. Our day started out by each member of the group providing a giant breakfast for the kids (ages 14-21) consisting of pancakes, eggs, bacon, fruit, you name it. The kids were extremely grateful and it made me feel great, but that was only the beginning.
I met several kids about my age that had many amazing stories to tell. Each of them had very different stories about how they ended up alone on the streets. A couple of students in particular (Joe and James) were young adults just like myself who were very sociable, but had made very poor choices early in life and were not given as many opportunities to succeed in life. Drugs, gangs, family problems, and being thrown out of there homes at the age of 18 were just a few of the topics covered. I didn’t know what to think. I was in shock.
James invited me to a friendly game of basketball outside the youth home and began to share stories about his life and childhood that really changed the way I view homelessness in our world today. Joe followed out soon after to join and share his life story. Soon after, my cast-mates and I were all outside and found ourselves enjoying every minute of it. We felt as if Urban Peak was providing a service to us Up With People students. In the end, we both found that we learned a great deal from each other. 
Urban Peak provided these homeless students with the necessary tools to receive their GED and get a job to eventually support themselves one day. The program really cared about guiding the kids in the right direction without straying from their daily support. After we prepared lunch, we met more students who were eager to learn about the places we were from. I strongly believe our friendships and diversity proved inspirational to the kids. It was certainly a day to remember. I am very proud of all my new friends, staff, and the entire Up With People organization for really pushing to make a difference in the Denver community and in our own lives. Im looking forward to an amazing road ahead!
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