Slowing Down and Finding Community
September 2026
by summer intern Jubilee Cunigan
For each of the last three summers, we have been fortunate to host a summer intern from Loras College in Dubuque, IA. This year’s intern, Jubilee, brought enthusiasm, curiosity, a diligent work ethic, and love for life and people that was a gift to our community and those we serve. Her reflection is below:
The very first event I attended at Dandelion House was the weekly Sunday Soup and Contemplation gathering. I remember sitting on the couch chatting with people who were complete strangers and thinking to myself how familiar everyone and everything felt in that moment. I had not known a single person in that room for longer than 24 hours, but I was completely comfortable, and I think my extroversion is owed only partial credit for that feat. The large majority of credit should be given to the community at Dandelion House.
The overwhelming amount of love and acceptance is something I noticed repeatedly throughout my summer as an intern and is what I grew to appreciate and admire most. All of this love I was receiving was the exact fuel I needed to give back my own love, support, and acceptance to the community of Dandelion House and Portland as a whole. When living in a space full of so much support I found my nervous system was being provided with the room I needed to finally slow down. It is extremely easy for all of us to get caught up in deadlines, work, meetings, and appointments. I personally find myself so swept up in my busy-ness that at times I forget my whole life doesn’t have to revolve around it. This was evident in how I was showing up to work for Dandelion House. I prioritized speed and efficiency in all the tasks that were handed to me at the beginning, because I thought it’s what would be expected of me.
I remember sitting on the couch chatting with people who were complete strangers and thinking to myself how familiar everyone and everything felt in that moment.
Jubilee serving our street meal with Summer and Fumi
At the start of the summer there was a pear tree that needed some of its leaves removed to improve the health of the tree and the quality of the fruit. I went out one afternoon prepared in my mind to go and take every single infected leaf from the pear tree by myself within a few hours. As I started working on the pear tree, I could feel myself growing more anxious about how I was going to possibly finish this task. There was a lot more rust than I had realized, and it was going to take a long time to get it all, especially on my own. Still, I had decided in my mind that I could take on this task, and since I had decided that I felt like I couldn’t back down.
After a while Fumi came out and started helping pick leaves from the pear tree with me. We shared stories about our lives and families and eventually he said he had to go to an appointment or meeting of some sort. Then he said, “Feel free to stop whenever you need a break, we won’t be able to finish this today.” I was both grateful to be freed of the expectations I had put on myself to finish the tree that afternoon, as well as confused at what the priority in the work was if not to get it done as soon as possible. A couple of days later Fumi and I were working on this pear tree again and this time I was asking him for more details about the pear rust and what side effects it has on the tree. Fumi explained the negative effects of pear rust, and then also told me part of his reason for taking care of the pear rust is because as a Catholic Worker he is called to the Works of Mercy, including tending the sick, and this pear rust is an illness of its own for the tree. This is when I started to realize how much intention is being put into the work done for Dandelion House.
After this conversation I stopped seeing the work at Dandelion House as just a checklist to complete. It took more effort on my mind’s part to slow down and remind myself that I wasn’t supposed to just be moving through the motions of a job. I had to consistently pay attention to my body and how I was interacting with the jobs I was completing and force myself to physically slow down. Beyond physically slowing down to be more present while working I also wanted to put more thought and intention behind my work. During gardening I thought of the interconnectedness between ecosystems, while cooking I thought of the mouths it would feed, when serving Friday’s street meals, I thought of how the world’s suffering is my suffering. Every week this became more natural and essential to how I was able to feed my own love and support back into Dandelion House’s community.
I am eternally grateful for the space provided for me to slow down and find peace this summer as well as the love shown by so many individuals at Dandelion House. The intention put into the community by Lisa, Julian, Fumi, and all the volunteers who show up every week is so palpable at Dandelion House. I hope during my short time as an intern this summer, I was able to give back even a fraction of the love, support, and acceptance I was shown.