Before volunteering at the ECHO-El Camino homeless organization, I had a pre-existing image of what a homeless organization looked and acted like homeless person, the images I had in my head were based on the typical homeless person. stereotypes that many average Americans grew up with. Like many American citizens, I believed that the majority of homeless people chose to become homeless or that the reason they were homeless was because they had an alcohol or drug problem. With these previous notions, I was a little hesitant about spending the night at a homeless shelter, especially one that I had never heard of and was in a city I had never visited. I didn't know what to expect or how to react around people who didn't have permanent housing over their heads or stable jobs. I didn't expect to leave ECHO with a completely different perspective on homelessness; but that's exactly what happened after my fourteen-hour night. Most importantly, my eyes were opened to a new perspective on the issue of social class structure; instead of looking at the problem from my perspective, a middle-class student client told me to look at the problem of homelessness from his perspective. This new view of social class structure, homelessness, and his account of his journey to gain stable employment and housing forever changed the way I viewed homelessness and class structure. In order to delve deeper into the subject, it is important that I first summarize my experience at ECHO since my arrival. I arrived at ECHO at five o'clock, scared and confused because I didn't know what to expect. My fears were shared with my classmate, Riley; after carpooling to Atascadero we find out... middle of paper ... why many people continue to be in poverty or homeless because people refuse help from individuals belonging to the middle or upper class. Instead of accepting this help and using it to get out of poverty, they refuse it because they feel pitied. Bonnie explained that this is the reason why many people continue to live in poverty because they are prejudiced against those who want to help them instead of accepting help. My time at ECHO was filled with many joyful experiences and meaningful conversations with completely different people. than I expected. The image of the typical homeless person that I had in my head was completely erased and replaced with the image of loving, hard-working individuals who were just one good opportunity away from a job and a stable home. . Overall, I enjoyed my visit to ECHO and plan to return in the near future..