So I'm helping one of my clients figure out what classes he is going to register for and he goes into this speech that "people can't help other people if they haven't been there". It wasn't meant specifically for me and the fact that he's spent the last 3 years in various programs I'm sure has made him jaded. To me this is my own "white (middle-class) (wo)man's burden". How do I relate to someone from the hood that has spent time hustling drugs and has been in tons of foster care systems. Which is pretty much the complete opposite of me. I was literally stumped thinking about it. Yeah, I spent a year in poverty and that taught me a lot, but I still haven't "been there". Finally, I thought about what I learned at Loyola, the concept of helping vs. serving. When you help someone it is a greater than relationship while serving is being in solitude with the person. By not approaching the situation by saying I'm going to do this, this and that for you but rather we're going to do this together. I think that's the answer.