People of Housing Security:
Shay Berry

Q: What are you studying at IU?

I started off studying Health Care Administration, but I switched this past summer to Human Biology. I decided that I would rather practice medicine and get to make personal connections with patients then work behind the scenes in administration. I hope to go to PA school after I graduate to be a physician’s assistant. I would love to be in a big city at some point during my twenties. So, I would love to get some sort of job in a larger city and work there for a couple of years. Then, honestly just having a good steady job as a PA, wherever I end up settling down. I’d love to do pediatrics maybe, or some sort of specialty.

Q: What do you do at Heading Home?

This is my second year interning at Heading Home.  I’m one of two interns and I do a wide variety of things. Mary and Tatiana give us a lot of good things to help with. One thing I do a lot of is marketing and graphic design for Heading Home. So that includes, helping run the social media page, making our social media graphics, and then helping post those and keep a consistent feed going. On top of that, honestly, just whatever Tatiana or Mary need help with. Sometimes that includes helping plan ahead for different events that are coming up or, interviewing people for People of Housing Security and writing those stories as well.

Q: Why are marketing and social media important for an organization like Heading Home?

I think it’s something that I didn’t even really think about before starting this position. It’s important to keep people informed about not only what events we’re putting on so people know that it’s happening and know the details of it, but also that just consistently having posts on our feed is good to remind people of the work that’s being done in South Central Indiana to strengthen housing security.

Q: How did you end up working for Heading Home?

I received a Cox scholarship through the Cox Scholar program at IU and they all assign each individual that’s in the program to a nonprofit agency in Bloomington. I ended up being assigned to Heading Home and after you’re assigned there, you spend the next four years interning for them. Some people switch, but if it works out then you just stick with them. And, yeah, so it was kind of just luck that I got this awesome organization. I knew nothing about it before joining, but it’s been fun. I’m very thankful for this opportunity and the organizations it’s helped me become aware of. One organization I learned about through Heading Home was Beacon. I actually ended up volunteering at their day shelter for the entirety of my freshman year which was another eye-opening experience. 

Q: What’s something that you’ve learned or something that you understand that you wish more people in our community would know about homelessness or housing insecurity?

I think how easily people can fall into housing insecurity and how homelessness can happen a lot easier than people assume it can. I think there’s a lot of assumptions made about homelessness and people just assume that it’s all based on poor life decisions, but oftentimes it’s more than that. You don’t know what someone’s story was and it doesn’t change the fact that they are still human. Housing should be a human right.

Q: What are some things that you’re involved in on the IU campus?

This past semester and freshman year I was involved in the Indiana University Dance Marathon. I was on the Special Events Committee. This past year I had the opportunity to be a chair on my committee, and help lead them. I’m also a committee member for the Indiana University Student Foundation. I’ve been on both the Alumni Committee and then recently the Engagement Committee. I enjoy spending time participating in those clubs. I also like going to the gym and working out a lot. Then, I also have my regular Cox scholar meetings that I attend bi-weekly.

Q: What is something that you feel like most people don’t know about you?

Something I don’t really mention to people is that I am a Certified Nurse’s Assistant (CNA). I spent my senior year of High School volunteering at a local nursing home with some of my other friends from school. This experience was very rewarding and provided me with an understanding of the difficult work that a lot of healthcare workers have to do. I hope to get a hospital job this summer to start getting more patient care hours before PA school applications start.

Q: What are your hobbies?

I like to read and watch movies and TV shows. I’m really big into romance and rom-coms. I like that for both books and movies and shows. I played soccer up through high school. I don’t really play anymore, but I still like being fit and staying active, so I work out pretty often. I am training for another mini-marathon this May, so I’m going to start back up with my running journey. Also, spending time with friends and family is always fun.

Q: What have been some of your biggest learning moments with Heading Home?

Being comfortable with being uncomfortable. Just knowing that sometimes in order to learn new things, you have to be okay with not understanding it at first or not being entirely educated on the topic. When I first got here, I didn’t really know much of anything about housing security or about the Bloomington community. A lot of the information we were given, like the websites I was looking at, just seemed overwhelming. It’s cool to be learning new things. The same goes for some of the tasks I have. I would say I’m not a big fan of writing and I never really did do much graphic design before coming here, but those are both two things that are needed a lot for what I’m doing so that’s just something I’ve had to get more comfortable with. Because of that, I hope to say I am getting stronger at it too just from doing it more.

Q: Outside of work and school, what things are most important to you?

I really value kindness. I like to be kind to others, and I don’t think it takes much for us to be kind to one another. I like fairness too, but that doesn’t always happen in the world we live in. But I value my friends and my family. I really value spending time with them and even though I am a busy person, I do try my best to make time for all of them because I do understand how important relationships are and how lucky I am to have a lot of the relationships that I do.

Q: If you had to recommend a book to our audience, what would you recommend and why?

Well, through Heading Home, I read Poverty by America by Matthew Desmond. So that would be a good one if you want to learn more about housing security and just also about the struggles of poverty in America. For a fun one, I’d probably recommend The Inheritance Game series by Jennifer Barnes. It is a very fun book series and I feel like it could work for a lot of different audiences. There’s a lot of riddles in it and it draws you right in.