A Day on the Streets Leads to New Attitude

Kristine Kellermeyer will march in UC’s All-University Commencement as a woman with new attitudes, especially when it comes to the homeless. Her new outlook was sparked by her participation in an optional assignment in a communication course taught by MJ Woeste in the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences.

For Woeste’s course on intercultural communication, Kellermeyer volunteered for an Urban Plunge, a 24-hour experience that would place the college senior from Toledo in an unfamiliar world – the streets of Cincinnati’s inner-city. The program made such an impact on the 21-year-old UC communication major that she became a volunteer intern at CityCURE.

Located on the border between Mt. Auburn and Over-The-Rhine, CityCURE is a Christian-based ministry that works holistically to help urban children and families overcome poverty – addressing spiritual, emotion, physical and financial needs.

Although her time is unpaid, Kellermeyer has gained valuable experience by creating promotional materials and a logo for the non-profit organization’s In Their Shoes program.

When she first arrived for her Urban Plunge, she and her classmates received a briefing and some background information on the life of homeless people. Then, organizers asked her and the other participants to sort second-hand clothing. “You don’t find out until the last minute that you must change your clothes and put on the donated clothes, except for your underwear and shoes,” says Kellermeyer, who quickly grabbed a pair of black men’s pants, a leopard-print silk nightgown and a T-shirt to change into. She also snatched up some warm coats for herself and her teammates because of the February cold outside. “You then spend the next 24 hours living the life of a homeless person. You go outside and join the line of people coming in off the streets to eat at the mission,” she says.

At the soup kitchen, the spirit of camaraderie among the homeless people impressed her. “Before they can eat, they must sit through a Christian service, whether they’re Christian or not,” she says.

“I tried to sit with as few of my classmates as possible to try and meet some of the people. I would say that the epitome of the experience could be summed up by one of the statements of a man sitting with some of my classmates. He said, ‘If you really want to experience what it’s like to be homeless, you shouldn’t have come in as a group. You should have come in alone and scared like we all did.’”

“That quote alone – it hit home a lot. It put into perspective what the homeless experience,” says Kellermeyer, a 1999 graduate of Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan. While the experience was eye-opening, it also proved exhausting. “When you’re done, your whole body is aching, and you want to go home and go to bed. You’re really tired.”

As she finished up her inner-city immersion, Steve Andry, the CityCURE director and minister who runs the In Their Shoes program, asked Kristine if he could get a copy of some of the photos she had taken. She told him yes, adding “I’ll make it look really good because I also do graphic design.”

That comment led Andry to observe that In Their Shoes really needed someone to create communication materials. Without hesitation, Kellermeyer volunteered to serve as an intern. Already, she has developed a logo for the In Their Shoes Program, of which the Urban Plunge is just one part.

She also is helping to revamp the Urban Plunge experience and now is in training to become a leader in the program, helping others to open their eyes to the plight of the homeless. “It’s just as amazing to see these people go through the same transformation I did. To see that is the greatest reward.”

Kellermeyer signed on for a one-year, unpaid commitment to the In Their Shoes program. Her work there will continue for several more months. Even if she takes a full-time job or pursues further studies, she says she will continue to volunteer at CityCURE because of the satisfaction it gives her.

Says Andry, her supervisor and mentor: “She caught a passion for helping these people in a real way.”

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