According to the State Research Group on Homelessness and Poverty (2009), on an average night in our community there are approximately 9,500 individuals and families without a place to stay. For this reason, there is a desperate need for shelters and volunteers to serve in these shelters. There are only 1,995 emergency beds, which is not enough to accommodate all the homeless, and there are even fewer workers willing to volunteer. The Homeless Center provides food and shelter to the homeless, the working poor and the unemployed. There is a need to do service learning in this place because volunteers are needed to serve as greeters, serve meals, lead daily prayer time, lead worship, work with the Big "A" Club, have fellowship with attendees, prepare the newsletter, help with maintenance and repair projects, organize clothing rooms, and help with many other tasks. The purpose of this study was to serve the people of the center and lighten the workload for the Homeless Center staff. This paper will address the purpose, research questions, literature review, findings, discussion, and implications of my service-learning project at the Hope Center. The research questions guiding this study are:1. Do people sometimes choose to remain homeless? If yes, why?2. How do these programs help the homeless/working poor/unemployed?3. Do these programs allow the homeless/working poor/unemployed to stay in the same place in life? If so, how are clients enabled? Literature review service learning is a fairly new concept, but it has proven beneficial in connecting students with their communities when paired with reflection and when included in the school curriculum. . Weigert's (1998) vision of ser...... middle of paper ......ice and learning – Connecting students and communities. Journal of Social Issues, 58(3), 517-534.Johnson, E. B. (2003, October). Service learning stimulates the brain. [Electronic version]. World & I, 18(10), 146-153.Strage, A. (2004, June). Long-term academic benefits of service-learning: When and where do they appear? College Student Journal, 38(2), 257-261.Toro, Dr. Paul.. Wayne State University Research Group on Homelessness and Poverty. 2002. Retrieved December 3, 2007, from http://cotsdetroit.org/cots/aboutus.stats.wml?section=aboutusWaldstein, F. A., & Reiher, T. C. (2001). Service-learning and personal and civic development of students. [Electronic version]. Journal of Experiential Education, 24(1), 7-13. Weigert, K. (1998). Academic service learning: Its meaning and relevance. New directions for teaching and learning, 73, 3-1