What really happens at shelters?

At the shelter, there was a man who always sat by the door, waiting until everyone else had eaten before he took a plate. One day, I asked him why, and he said, “My mother taught me to feed others first—some habits don’t go away.” When we redesigned the meals with nutritionists and safer distribution, I brought him a plate before the line opened. He stared at it for a moment, then smiled and said, “You changed something here.” But the truth was the opposite—people like him changed me, teaching me that service isn’t about fixing people, but seeing them.