Several of Naval Medical Center Portsmouth's Transition Interns answered a request to help a local shelter, with about a dozen interns and spouses volunteering their time to clean, paint and decorate on Sept. 26.

"The H.E.R. (agency) recently had to open a new shelter in Chesapeake, and they put out on Facebook that they needed help cleaning, painting and decorating the old shelter in Portsmouth," said Sharon Mason, Transitional Year Intern coordinator. "It was an easy decision for the interns - they gladly volunteered to help out."
H.E.R. stands for Help and Emergency Response, a private, non-profit agency that provides leadership, advocacy and resources to survivors and communities affected by domestic violence and homelessness in Hampton Roads.

For four years, the transitional interns have been volunteering with H.E.R., assisting in many ways from activities with the children to male mentoring on the 4th Thursday of the month. This new project was an additional way the interns could help the shelter.
The interns, a few of their spouses and the transitional year intern coordinator started by cleaning, then they went on to painting and making minor repairs, like replacing electrical covers, and installing new mini-blinds and curtain rods.

Lastly, they made the shelter feel more like home by decorating.

"We had the opportunity to go to the shelters and see the conditions of the rooms that the families where living in," said Lt. Lane Pope, Transitional Year intern. "The rooms themselves before we got there weren't anything too exciting. By going out and completely redecorating, we were able to make it warm and friendly - a place that anyone could call home."

In addition to cleaning and redecorating, the interns donated about $500 to the shelter. The money donated didn't come from fundraising or through soliciting money from others to donate; all money donated came from the interns.

"Being in the Navy, we all have an inherent desire to serve, both foreign and domestic, and our community is a big part of that," said Lt. Peyton Johnson, one the interns who volunteered at the shelter. "We agreed as a group that domestic violence is a pretty big problem, and we recognized that through volunteering, we might be able to make the women and children at H.E.R. feel more comfortable."

For Johnson, volunteering with H.E.R. hits close to home.

"Domestic violence is something that I have experience with," Johnson said. "I had a friend, and she and her husband had some issues in their marriage, so that was my personal motivation to participate. "It was an honor to be able to give back to the community," Johnson added. "It really meant a lot to us."


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