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Houda Ajrouche
PS 1010- Dr. Martin
Reflection
Throughout the progression of this course, my groups project
surrounded around tacking the issue on the lack of mental health care for the
homeless in the city of Detroit. That said, there were a couple things that
deeply surprised me as I researched with my group on the problem that we
were tackling. One thing that surprised me the most, was the actual severity
of the problem itself. When I had first chosen this issue with my group, I had
not expected to find out that there were approximately 26,420 homeless in
the metropolitan area, and was alarmed at the statistics of both the
homeless count and those that are mentally ill. Another thing that shocked
me was when my group and I volunteered at the Detroit Rescue Mission
Ministries. While volunteering there, I had not expected to be exposed to the
mental health portion of our project. That said, on the first day that we had
volunteered, there was a man that we discovered that was contemplating
suicide, and the DRMM did not know how to handle the issue nor follow
protocol. This was an experience that would have never been brought to my
attention, if we did not research about this issue, which shocked me.
Volunteering there was very humbling and eye opening, in the sense of
exposing the great efforts of the DRMM in helping to address the issue we
are trying to tackle. In regards to myself, I was shocked to realize that I had
known little about the city of Detroit, prior to taking this class. Although, this
course has ended, I think that I will continue working on this problem within
the context of Detroit. Incorporating more of my time to volunteer at
organizations like the DRMM, Detroit Central City, and nearby hospitals will
allow me to do my part to making a difference in the city when tackling the
issue of mental health and homelessness. To add to this, continuing efforts
by bringing the problem to Wayne State University, spreading word, and
creating projects that will focus on tackling the issue, which can grow as time
permits. Working on this project not only opened my eyes to the issues that
lie in Detroit, but it also opened my eyes on the benefits of group work. Prior
to taking this class, I can honestly say, I was not too fond of group work. This
was due to unpleasant past experiences where one person in the group
would harbor an unfair share of the work in comparison to the rest. After
taking this course, I soon learned otherwise. I learned that group work was a
vital component to success, and that collaboration allowed for equal efforts
to be put in. I was able to grow as a person and group member, and learn
how to tackle issues and ideas from multiple points of views. In terms of
building the community as Detroit researchers, I learned that for the project
to be successful, there needs to be communication, teamwork, leadership,
and motivation when trying to tackle any issue in the city. Overall, it was a
pleasant learning experience that I am thankful for. Lastly, the skills that I
learned in this class include: mapping out aspects of politics, agency, and
structure like both KDK and Dr. Martin explained. These are all skills that I
learned to acquire both in this project and course, and is something I will

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continue to use in my life. As KDK states, politics is everywhere, so applying
that to my life in school and future aspirations will allow for a successful skill
on mapping out any problem that may come my way.