Starving to Serve

New shores

2011-06-07T07:42:00.000-07:00

One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time -- André Gide (via @PandoProjects)

I am facing approximately 4 days left in the office to complete my term as an AmeriCorps VISTA. This week ends with a Clippers Game in place of the Quarterly Meeting with my VISTA compatriots across the state, and Friday starts my vacation. When I return next week, I will have two days left.

I am not as good at reflecting as Molly Dull, who I would call a professional reflector, so the last few posts before June 17th will not include such golden nuggets as "AmeriCorps shines the light on poverty but doesn’t recreate it, and that is because poverty is far too complicated to simulate for just one year. I think my understanding that my temporary void-of-a-bank-account was just that—short-lived—really allowed me to ask the more intimidating questions about poverty, like what I will do in my life to continue actively combating it once June 20 rolls around." See? She's awesome.

These last couple weeks are a frustrating point in my service, mainly because of a lack of significant activities. My organization/program cycles through VISTA terms constantly, and staggers terms. Therefore, my work is going to continue (hopefully) without a hitch when the next VISTA comes in, and will be ushered along by fellow VISTAS and staff who have been doing the work for a long time. I can't schedule meetings or start new projects. I don't have any major events or ends to tie up, I'm not panicking that people won't know what's going on after I leave, and I'm not using these last few weeks to set my legacy. I've worked extremely hard that past 12 months to propel the program forward and integrate my talents into the program functionality, building my legacy along the way. Now I am left with 4(ish) days to write end of service reports, guides, send good-bye emails to my contacts and clean my desk. (ut oh on that last task...I'm extremely bad at parting with pieces of paper).

My new shores look to be a new media consulting job in Washington DC. I hope to never loose my "starving to serve" calling, and plan on continuing this sporadic record of service into the next chapter of my life. Both my sister and I have become coincidentally involved in sex trafficking organizations here in Columbus, and I would love to continue advocacy/outreach to human trafficking victims in DC as my new form of service. Hunger and poverty have a lot of very powerful voices out there, fighting for our fellow citizens basic needs. Hunger is a bipartisan issue, and typically gets a lot of ground covered. I'm not sure if the sex trafficking industry is as bad in DC as it is in Ohio, but I want to be a voice to the voiceless and advocate for a group of people who are often overlooked, or more likely looked down upon. I've already found organizations like the Polaris Project based in DC, but am looking for other opportunities.

My "land" has been Ohio for my entire life, but I'm pumped to loose sight of it and try my hand in DC. For a while at least.

From CNN : 'Food Stamp President' debate

2011-05-16T17:39:00.000-07:00

A "food stamp President"? Thoughts? Do semantics actually play a role in our opinions and views on the program (ie the outdated welfare or food stamps vs. the current SNAP, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, aka food assistance).

Poverty Simulation, Illegal Activities

2011-04-22T13:41:00.000-07:00

The first time I participated in a poverty simulation, I was Yomelda Yarrow. The second time, I played a semi-boring role as a social services case worker. Third time's a charm though, as yesterday I staffed a poverty simulation in Hilliard and had the chance to play the "Illegal Activities" person. I wasn't introduced in the beginning for concealment purposes and the participants were too focused on surviving the "month" to notice me in the first couple "weeks." (In a poverty simulations, a month is simulated in 4, 15 minute intervals of reporting to work, paying bills, getting childcare, and all the other activities and situations low-income families face).

My materials included a (squirt) gun, wallet with cash, and a pile of sugar packets to represent drugs. The first week I wandered around finding houses (er, groups of chairs) that left their valuables out in the open. Ransacking homes of their stereos and microwaves was a great thrill, and soon my pockets were full of the cards representing these valuables. I tried to kidnap a child (ie baby doll) from the school, but the Mom came just in time. Darn it!

Week 3 really started to pick up with shenanigans. The school was closed to I sold drugs to kids wandering around the community. This was especially funny, considering the participants were all teachers from the local district who took up the opportunity to buy ~~sugar packets~~ drugs with glee. Seeing my example, a couple of the "kids" starting robbing and selling drugs on their own too!

My buddy at the Quick Cash ran out of cash, so I went to help her out my robbing people at gunpoint. My favorite, and most surprising, moment was when a stray kid actually refused to be robbed. She grabbed my blue plastic gun by the barrel, looked me in the eye, and told me this was her territory for selling drugs and robbing. Naturally, I then robbed the bank as a last resort.

Takeaways:
I love the debriefing part of Poverty Simulations, as everyone gets to hear the struggles and accomplishments of each family and business. Business owners confess to shortchanging clients and illegally evicting families from their homes. Families units give their background situation and share their journey through the month. I loved hearing revelations from the teachers about how their experience in the simulation is already re-shaping their perspective on students. Think of the teacher/student who grabbed my gun and took her own territory. Things like that happen all the time when parents are busting their butts looking for work and taking care of keeping the family afloat. The kids are free to roam and take matters of protecting themselves (or making money) into their own hands.

The teacher/participants also expressed connections of understanding between their short experience and the lives of their students. After they spent an hour scrambling to pay bills and make difficult choices between paying for food or utilities (made even harder if they were robbed by yours truly, heh heh), the teachers commented on how the cost of school, including field trips and supply costs, could make a huge impact on a low income family. Families also might not know where to turn for help, not considering informing the school of their struggles or not finding resources right under their nose, like Community Actions Agencies.

I love doing Poverty Simulations, especially for groups of people who have limited experience with a life in poverty. It's amazing how a short hour can shift mindsets and perspectives, helping neighbors relate and advocate for one another.

Youth for Technology Foundation introduces Circuit Crawler

2011-04-13T17:55:00.000-07:00

A group of students in California decided that they could harness their experience at a quality, technology focused high school and leverage their privilege to make a global impact. The students developed a game to sell on the Android market called Circuit Crawler, with all the profits going straight to Youth for Technology. It’s an inspiring parallel to see played out: 2 groups of youth are getting an invaluable education through technology; one as the developer and one as the consumer. I won’t go as far to say unprecedented (and would love to see other examples of this happening across the world!), but I am thrilled about this collaboration. (In case you are wondering why I am so thrilled, I've been YTF's Communications Lead since last Fall. Such a great organization to work with!)

Youth for Technology Foundation is about people first. Where appropriate, they use technology as a tool to help disadvantaged youth bridge social and economic obstacles. YTF works across Africa and the United States to “bridge the digital canyon.” This year, not only is YTF providing opportunities for youth around the world to access technology, it is providing a platform for invention and development in high school classrooms.

So, here comes the plug: If not for anything but the support of education through technology, BUY THE GAME! Only if you have an Android phone. And only if you care about children. And the world. Don’t care about any of that? Don’t rock the ‘droid operating system? You have an even better job: spread the word. It takes one minute, and I’ll even make it brainless:

Circuit Crawler Social Toolbox

Tweet:

Support @YouthforTech and check out Circuit Crawler on the Android Market! http://t.co/Fc09ITY

Facebook post:

Help Youth for Technology Foundation reach their goal of positively impacting over 300,000 youth across 10 developing world countries through YTF’s programs :: High school students in California developed a game for the Android Market called Circuit Crawler, giving all the proceeds to Youth for Technology Foundation. Check out Circuit Crawler on the Android Market! http://t.co/Fc09ITY

Life After AmeriCorps (Getting Things Done) Part 2

2011-04-11T18:58:00.000-07:00

In Jeff Miller's session at our joint AmeriCorps conference, he helped put a positive flip on future planning for careers and interviewing with a sweet new mental model called Appreciate Inquiry. I am going to steal this great summary from positivechange.org:

Appreciative Inquiry works because it treats people like people, and not like machines. People are social. We create our identities and our knowledge in relation to one another. We are curious. We like to tell stories and listen to stories. We pass on our values, beliefs and wisdom in stories. We like to learn and to use what we learn to be our best. And we delight in doing well in the eyes of those we care about and respect. Appreciative Inquiry enables leaders to create natural human organizations – knowledge rich, strength based, adaptable, learning organizations.

It takes into account a 4D cycle of processing and planning:

http://tsf-wiki.best.eu.org/w/images/9/96/Ai-4D_cycle.jpg

Think about it this way: A plane flying from Portland to Tokya has to make around 500 adjustments before it reaches it's destination.

We all have a destination and goals are good end points to focus on. My problem, as a control freak, is being okay with not setting down a solid plan and being okay with changes in any play I set down. Adjustments are going to happen and are sometimes desperately needed, while the end is always still ahead.

Life After AmeriCorps (Getting Things Done), Part 1

2011-04-11T18:48:00.000-07:00

You thought you were going to learn about all the career options or a brainstorm of everything AmeriCorps members could do after their term of service here, didn't you? Contrary to the title of the session and what we all attended for, this wasn't a "next steps" session. It was a "where is your heart" session.

It actually makes sense, as AmeriCorps comes from all ages, all backgrounds, and all sorts of expertise. There is no path of least resistance for any human, so why did we think being in AmeriCorps made it any easier? Unless the Peace Corps or moving up the ranks of National Service is your dream, AmeriCorps members typically branch off to countless opportunities. This session from Jeff Miller led us in evaluating our year of service, talking about our most memorable and rewarding experiences as catalysts for interview question answers and direction on where to look next. (P.S. when I first typed this paragraph I mistakenly credited it to Jeff Bridges. This, folks, was incorrect).

Someone actually flat out asked him what he thought would be the best career move for her. He shot back at her with: what are your passions? This is so powerful to remember whether you are coming from AmeriCorps, any other service, or even out of college or career changing. It's not what your major is or what you studied, but what are you passionate about? What moves you? That's where you should search for jobs, and that's where you will succeed.

New Media: Personal (Getting Things Done conference)

2011-04-06T17:53:00.000-07:00

I need to start this post out by giving credit where credit is due. Just head to http://nateriggs.com/ for a full picture of the talent and expertise he brings as a consultant on new media and organizational culture.

If you know anything about me other than my AmeriCorps service, you would know about my fanaticism with new media, and would probably imagine me promptly attending all Nate's sessions at the conference. This included taking copious notes and blowing up my twitter feed with nuggets of knowledge (thanks for calling me out, @kt_2222). Check out a couple of Nate's presentations here.

Here are a couple thoughts to summarize Nate's talk. If you want to learn more about my own experience with new media (not a focus here on my service blog so there isn't much content on this subject), contact me to grab a cup of coffee and chat!

Develop relationships before you meet. Don't think social media is the end all be all of communication. It's a channel, or a path to develop in-person relationships. If you use social media to meet people before you face to face meet them, you can skip the pleasantries and head straight to picking up a conversation that you started online.
"Become a typist" I interpreted this as "get writing skills". When I was applying for jobs last Spring I did a few informational interviews. I always asked the professionals in my field (media/communications) what skills they would look for in hiring candidates. There was one answer across the board: writing. Whether it's 140 characters on Twitter or an op-ed for a local paper, writing skills are a top requirement.
Get out there. If I was only trying to hone my new media expertise through my job, I wouldn't be getting very far. There are some instances when I can integrate my interests and experience into my position, but my job doesn't revolve around new media. That's why I identified with Nate's urging to get out there and diversify. I do little things like keep up personal new media sites, reading blogs and interacting with other professionals, and I do big things like volunteering as a Communications Lead for an international nonprofit.
There is no try, do or do not. (Nate's twitter bio says he's a jedi master) You want to learn how to use new media? Use new media.

Volunteer / Paid Staff Relations (Getting Things Done)

2011-04-04T17:25:00.000-07:00

This began as an interesting session at the Getting Things Done conference last week, considering we as VISTAs are volunteers and the presenter designed the material for paid staff as the audience. As permanent positions at organizations VISTAs are typically closer to the paid staff end of the spectrum, but sometimes VISTAs get the brunt of volunteer mis-treatment as we are part of the organization for one year and some staff may not see us as truly part of the organization. Either way, for both short term volunteers or a paid staff that manages volunteers, here are a couple facts/tips to help relations:

In order to retain volunteers don't "use" them; include/involved them.
Both the volunteer and supervisor should be involved in the position description.
Volunteers are not free.
A volunteer can be fired/terminated.
Volunteers tend to go outside the chain of command when they feel unprepared or unappreciated.
The reason an organization decides to involve volunteers is usually lack of funding.
In many countries the word volunteer mean "Women's work." (Think about semantics, is there a difference between volunteering and community service?)
Measuring the effectiveness of a volunteer program should include measuring the outcomes of the volunteers activities as well as that of the paid staff. (outcomes is key here, not simply output).
For success in working with a volunteer, consider their interests and skills.
Always thank a volunteer numerous times during service (this could even be things like having places to put coats or other accommodations).

I volunteer for an organization that from my understanding mainly functions with volunteers. They do a fantastic job in expressing their gratitude and making me feel like a crucial part of the operations, which leads to me spending more time and effort on my work for them.

Does anyone have other tips or things to keep in mind when using volunteers to help your organization function?

All tips above were developed by Sarah Ellison of Elliston Enterprises in Cincinnati.

Getting Things Done: Servant Leadership

2011-04-03T18:10:00.000-07:00

Photoshop version of the my doodle during the session

My sophomore year at Miami University was a privileged year in which I lived in a wood closet built in the 1800's. This is true. The wood closet (now converted to a very small single dorm room) was located in one of the two oldest dorms West of the Allegheny mountains, collectively and affectionately known as "Stelliott." The program that allowed my living circumstance is called Scholar Leader, which provided scholarships and an entrance into an unforgettable community of servant leaders. After living a year with fellow Miamians (and now close friends) acting out servant leadership, I came into the session titled "Servant Leadership: Leading with the Heart" with a slight advantage.

Our first task in the conference session was to "brain dump" words we associated with servant and leadership. Some of my fellow conference-goers listed words like slave and coerced for servant, and concepts like disconnected under the word leader. The presenter, Jeff Miller, helped re-shape the notions in the group. A servant doesn't mean subservient, and being a servant isn't simply a position but rather a choice. Also, there is a difference between a Leader (bestowed title) and a leader.

The final point was one that backed up the notion I had walking in to the session. Looking at the two lists of words under servant and leader, can you switch them? Can words like sacrifice under servant also apply to a leader? Are respect and empowerment both as applicable to a servant as a leader? I believe they are interchangeable and one in the same. If I want to be a good leader, I will sacrifice and serve the people I am leading.

Mahatma Ghandi's challenge to "be the change you want to see in the world" is so prevalent in my life it's almost cliche, but it is the cord that ties my service aspirations together. Another thought, this one from Frankel's "Man's Search for Meaning," contains a concept I could write an entire separate post on: attitude. Pivotal to being a true servant leader is the attitude, the choice. If you are forced in, unwilling and unsatisfied, you cannot be a servant leader.

...everything can be taken away from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.

Getting Things Done Conference (series beginning)

2011-04-02T18:34:00.000-07:00

In the next week or so I am writing a series of posts from the Getting Things Done conference, hosted by the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks and the New York City Coalition Against Hunger. I spent a week with AmeriCorps members from across the country (literally, people came in who were serving from Maine to California) learning and growing with each other. While fantastic conversations sparked over meals and in between sessions, the posts here will mainly cover the sessions I attended and what I learned from experts in leadership, new media, volunteer relations, and anti-hunger efforts.

Look for posts on:

Servant Leadership
New Media: Personal Branding
New Media: Organizations
Volunteer and paid staff relationships
Sustainability
Life after AmeriCorps (service reflections and passion)
Media Relations for anti-poverty initiatives

Layers

2011-03-26T23:03:00.000-07:00

Service—leading to lasting change—has a multitude of layers and approaches to success. I could go into a Shrek reference, but I will use the concept as a starting point. There's a lot more to service than one might think. It's one of those entities that leads to exponential exploration: the more you know, the more you realize you don't know. As one might expect, the past year of (indirect) service has helped me barely scrape the surface of what it means to serve, and evaluating ways to do so.

Participating in mission trips leads to great experiences, fantastic growth opportunities, and apparently in regards to my past trip to Jamaica, they could lead to meeting your future spouse (not in my case though, but congrats to Hilary and Stu!) These forays into the lives and cultures of a others for a snippet of time to learn, serve, and then head home are just the beginning. My time of indirect service, building capacity and sustainability for nonprofits, is a step further. I've done direct service in this job and in parts of many other opportunities. Next, I would love to springboard off everything I've learned as an observer and a participant and finally move onto policy. Grassroot movements to actual change. Bandaids to cures. I'm excited to see where life will take me after June 17th, and crossing my fingers that I'll peel back a couple more layers of ways to serve my neighbors.

Blogs Galore

2011-03-14T07:56:00.000-07:00

I distinctly remember my days of early high school when I first heard the term "blog" I refused to have anything to do with this new silly feature I saw on Myspace because, and I quote, a blog sounded like a "gargantuan booger." I had an active imagination.

My first official blog was created under the guise of a media class, called "Results of Discoveries." It was supposed to be a general compilation of all the wonderful things I was discovering as a fresh faced 20 year old. But an un-focused blog leads to an unfocused author, than that one eventually faded into the blogosphere.

My second I again created for a Women's Studies/English/Interactive Media Studies Class. My fellow students were intense feminists (I qualify them as intense because I believe if you believe in the equality of women, everyone is a feminist. These were the extreme outliers), black-booted and moody English students, a couple techie nerds, and a fascinating quintessential college professor. We read things like Wurthering Heights and the Vindication of the Rights of Women and blogged our thoughts. It was actually a fantastic class, but I can only stand exploring the character of Heathrow for so long. Dead blog #2.

Finally, in light of my work with kids in the mobile home park in Oxford and leading fundraisers like the 30 Hour Famine, I started a blog with a focus that I actually was passionate about. Do you ever think you know a lot about a subject, only to look back later and declare with disgrace that you really knew nothing at all? The blog I started was about the Cycle of Poverty. It still has a lot of good information on it, but after spending almost nine months in AmeriCops I look back and see I was barely scratching the surface.

Since this current service blog has kept most of my attention, I actually completely forgot about the Cycle of Poverty blog (on WordPress, no less!) until I stumbled upon it once again from a GoogleAlert. So with a request to withhold your judgment of a slightly un-educated attempt at a resourceful blog that hasn't been updated in almost a year, feel free to check it out:

http://cycleofpoverty.wordpress.com/

She Has A Name

2011-03-06T17:42:00.000-08:00

My service is not limited to my job. As many of you know, I volunteer my media and communications abilities for a technology/advocacy organization focused on youth here in the States and in various African countries. It has been such a joy to use the skills I don’t get to cultivate often at my day job for another great organization on my free time.

Now, my church is launching an organization that is doing crazy things to combat human trafficking right in my backyard. I am hoping to get involved in a deeper level with these efforts, so I'm sure there will be more to come of this organization on this blog.

This is my church. We meet in an old building close to Weinland Park.

Here is the information copied straight from the website, as I couldn’t do it justice on my own:

"She Has A Name" is derived from a real-life story from the streets during a street outreach event. There was a "john" (male paying for sex), a pimp, and a prostitute. The "john" said to the pimp, "What's her name?" The pimp said, "She doesn't have a name. She is whatever you want her to be."

We try to remember the girls' names when doing street outreach. If we see them again the following week, we'll say their name out loud to them. Their reactions say everything. It's as if they've ached their whole lives to hear their own name. It's as if they forgot their own name. This is why we do street outreach. Even if just for a moment, they believe what we do: that their life matters.

http://veritascolumbus.com/serve/shehasaname/

We decided that we wanted to help fight human trafficking worldwide and came up with an idea to start selling a t-shirt that would aid in awareness, as well as generate a profit that could be used in the fight. 100% of the profits from shirt sales go toward the fight against human trafficking. Since this is brand new, we are still exploring the best ways to use this money, but we will continually update the site with all of the activities. After an upcoming board meeting in early February, we hope to be able to share a clearer vision of how the funds will be used. Keep checking back, and always feel free to contact us. Thanks for joining us in the fight!

She Has A Name is thankful that Veritas Community Church has joined them in the efforts of fighting human trafficking by helping with funding and certain management aspects. Without the help of Veritas, things wouldn't be moving as quickly as they are. Thanks!

Contact info

E-mail: shehasaname@ymail.com
Phone: 614.423.9718

If you want to order a t-shirt (I did! They're pretty sweet), donate, or simply check out the website, visit She Has a Name on Veritas.

Encouragement

2011-03-06T16:33:00.000-08:00

My trainees are always wonderful at the end of a long day of learning about the program, and many of them say something like "I have been to a lot of trainings in my career, and I actually enjoyed this one!" I'm guessing I am more enjoyable because I am not an expert and I KNOW I am not an expert, rather I see myself as a helper of sorts. I know a little bit more about a tool than most people, and I have resources and practice in presenting it.

Training and public speaking are both skills that play a huge role in my position, and I've discovered that I actually enjoy the challenge and differentiation that trainings bring. It's always an exhausting day because I have to play so many different roles: educator, speaker, technical help (my last training I spent the better part of running around switching out short-term batteries and troubleshooting internet connections), but I would rather do this than have a cookie cutter position any day. Most trainings are at different locations across Central Ohio, and there is always a different mix of people. I get the most joy when the trainees are engaged, excited, and ready to actually use the tool to help their community. Below is an email I received from a trainee in Clark County, it made my day.

Encourage the people around you. Even if you have to sit through a potentially boring training (not mine, of course. Mine are never boring.) A little bit of positive feedback goes a long way.

Thank you for the lesson at (training location) and I am looking forward to helping others get help thru myself cause of this certification that I will receive after today. I hope that we can keep in touch in the future for I am growing with (two awesome organizations in Central Ohio he is working with). I would like to be able to have and acquire the knowledge and have information to help those less fortunate than I. I have learned a lot of things so far working with these groups on a lot of things. I wish I would have known when I needed help. Now, I am able to direct others in the direction for them to receive assistance. Again Sarah, Thank You Very Much for your time and knowledge that I have acquired today. God Bless you in all you do and achive in you journeys.

Tax Clinic Set-up

2011-02-16T08:00:00.000-08:00

Click to view a larger version

Don't make fun of me. I made this in paint. Currently taking donations of any program from the Adobe Suite.

P-16 Education Conference

2011-02-14T19:43:00.000-08:00

Let me introduce you to the Ideacenter at Playhouse Square in Cleveland. They pipe NPR in while you are using the Ladies Room. How wonderful is this place?

I traveled there last week to attend a P-16 (think pre-k through college) Education Conference. It's a growing movement in the United States, creating collaboratives in communities to integrate business, non-profits, and other community entities to wrap around a student until they are solidly in the work force. It truly does take a village to raise a child. They need to see opportunities in the labor force, have mentors to create dreams and self worth, and understand the value of service.

There aren't many successful P-16 collaborative around the state. At least they aren't very public about their efforts and there is no centralized database, so I can't find any in my region. There are a few successful efforts up in Northeast Ohio, so that is where Senator Brown hosted the conference. Plus it's his district. Here he is, speaking to the group (really bad cell phone picture on left)

Most of the conference was built off panels of stakeholders and policy makers, all taped and live streamed over the Internet. I found it particularly funny they proudly proclaimed that since it was online, it was visible all over the state, and even all over the country! Oh, the wonders of technology. On the right is what the studio and one of the panels looked like.

There actually was a unique technology application that TurningPoint Technologies brought: clickers! (which you can see sitting on my folder on the left). Conference participants responded to survey questions the organizers created and posted on screen in the front of the room. They were simple requests for input, like what is the most valuable topic we would want cover or hear from the panelists. We had 30 seconds to respond, then the results of the over 130 responses were displayed in a bar graph on the screen. It was pretty cool to shape the conference as we moved along and then have an outlet for immediate feedback, especially when one of the panels shifted their prepared remarks based on what the conference goers submitted as responses.

Someone from the U.S. Department of Education flew in from Washington DC to help give a picture of what the Department is currently working on and what direction they are heading. His panel was also joined by members of the Ohio Department of Education. Educators at the conference had a golden opportunity to bring up concerns and submit input straight to the policy makers. It was encouraging to hear the US Dept of Ed representative affirming that their direction is exactly the direction of the P-16 mindset: collaboration with universities for high schools, getting kids in local businesses for experience, and providing resources and mentors for a community ans service based wrap around education, all beginning before they even start kindergarten and lasting until they have graduated post-secondary education and have entered the job force.

This is all very helpful for my work, as I'm getting a feel for who is involved in the education field. I had no idea before this job of all the extra entities: ESC, FCFC, community groups like P-16 and mandated initiatives like FCE coordinators. I want the buy-in from administrators but the action and passion from people like guidance counselors who will actually use my program. I thought this would be an easy job compared to my high pressure sales-oriented job from you-know-where a couple summers ago, considering my job now is "selling" a free service that benefits families and supports the community. I'm finding it's a lot harder that just telling people about the great program. I still have to sell it, and sell it to the right people. And keep selling it.

It was refreshing and a definite encouragement to get out of the office and participate in a conference where I could both learn and have a say in the P-16 movement in Ohio.

Happy Birthday Dad!

2011-02-01T15:38:00.000-08:00

Have you ever failed at something, even with the best intentions? My sister and I spent a Sunday afternoon in the Short North in early January shopping for our Dad's birthday. Upon coming up empty handed, concluded we would go home and strategize the best and most meaningful, wonderful gift for him. We had over three weeks for goodness sakes!

Then two days ago, I sat up with a huge gasp of realization. Three weeks had marched by and Dad's birthday passed announced and un-acknowledged by both myself and my sister. "Oops" doesn't cover it, but I thought perhaps a blog post would!

This blog's title declares that I am "starving to serve," and my Dad is someone that helped cultivate that hunger.

The heart for service didn't come from years of him preaching kindness or scripture or plugging inspiration. It came from watching his interactions with strangers. It's a testament on how to raise your children: show them. Live it out.

My Dad was a pastor, so perhaps that added to the likelihood that people in need would show up on our doorstep. They didn't show up often, but when they did they were attended to. The man with the huge white beard that sat on our porch while Dad spoke with him to hear his story, the skinny lady walking across the country who shared a meal with us and slept on a church pew, the guy who was trying to make it to a better life and all he needed was a tank of gas and a meal. They didn't get handouts, they weren't subjected to paperwork or a program. They were offered a listening ear, someone to help validate their journey and take care of their immediate needs before they could move up the ladder.

I want to find out where people came from, why they are where they are, where they are going, and help them get there. Or help them figure out the next step, with the expectation that I can learn from them as much as they learn from me. Goodness knows I haven't any idea what my next step is anyways...

Lastly, Dad taught me a phrase that his grandpa taught him that doesn't necessarily plan into my motivations, but it definitely helps me be successful. This piece of family wisdom is three simple words: "Don't kid yourself." This ties into a theme I uncovered at the Working Out of Homelessness Forum I went to (that I hope to write about soon). Change cannot and will not be affected in individuals until they realize change needs to happen. Every single homeless person on the panel I saw named "self worth" as a barrier to getting back on their feet. If you are at the end of your rope, don't kid yourself into thinking it's not that bad, and on the other hand don't kid yourself into thinking there is no hope. Face reality and take a step forward.

Happy Birthday to a great man and dad who has influenced my life for the better. Rest assured, your special day is now solidly marked on my GoogleCalendar.

IRS Communications

2011-01-27T06:03:00.000-08:00

And you thought the IRS was inaccessible and scary. Well, perhaps that's just me. Now that I am getting multiple emails from them every day, I am conquering the intimidation of a previously confusing process (filing taxes) and agency with KNOWLEDGE. In this case at least, knowledge really does equal power. Or at least confidence.

This is an example of an email I got from the IRS today, check out what they are doing in the realm of media and mobile devices! I know you will all be scrambling to follow them on Twitter, as I can testify that the entirety of their communication are just as enthralling.

I'm also encouraged that they developed an Android app as well (which I promptly downloaded). iPhones are not the "end all be all" of smart phones, and I breathe a sigh of Apple-monopoly relief when companies simultaneously develop for both platforms.

IRS Launches the IRS2Go App for iPhone, Android; Taxpayers Can Check Refunds, Get Tax Information

Video: IRS2Go: English
WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today unveiled IRS2Go, its first smartphone application that lets taxpayers check on their status of their tax refund and obtain helpful tax information.

"This new smart phone app reflects our commitment to modernizing the agency and engaging taxpayers where they want when they want it," said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman. "As technology evolves and younger taxpayers get their information in new ways, we will keep innovating to make it easy for all taxpayers to access helpful information."

The IRS2Go phone app gives people a convenient way of checking on their federal refund. It also gives people a quick way of obtaining easy-to-understand tax tips.

Apple users can download the free IRS2Go application by visiting the Apple App Store. Android users can visit the Android Marketplace to download the free IRS2Go app.

"This phone app is a first step for us," Shulman said. "We will look for additional ways to expand and refine our use of smartphones and other new technologies to help meet the needs of taxpayers."

The mobile app, among a handful in the federal government, offers a number of safe and secure ways to help taxpayers. Features of the first release of the IRS2Go app include:

Get Your Refund Status - Taxpayers can check the status of their federal refund through the new phone app with a few basic pieces of information. First, taxpayers enter a Social Security number, which is masked and encrypted for security purposes. Next, taxpayers pick the filing status they used on their tax return. Finally, taxpayers enter the amount of the refund they expect from their 2010 tax return. For people who e-file, the refund function of the phone app will work within about 72 hours after taxpayers receive an e-mail acknowledgement saying the IRS received their tax return. For people filing paper tax returns, longer processing times mean they will need to wait three to four weeks before they can check their refund status. About 70 percent of the 142 million individual tax returns were filed electronically last year.
Get Tax Updates - Phone app users enter their e-mail address to automatically get daily tax tips. Tax Tips are simple, straightforward tips and reminders to help with tax planning and preparation. Tax Tips are issued daily during the tax filing season and periodically during the rest of the year. The plain English updates cover topics such as free tax help, child tax credits, the Earned Income Tax Credit, education credits and other topics.
Follow the IRS - Taxpayers can sign up to follow the IRS Twitter news feed, @IRSnews. IRSnews provides the latest federal tax news and information for taxpayers. The IRSnews tweets provide easy-to-use information, including tax law changes and important IRS programs. IRS2Go is the latest IRS effort to provide information to taxpayers beyond traditional channels. The IRS also uses tools such as YouTube and Twitter to share the latest information on tax changes, initiatives, products and services through social media channels. For more information on IRS2Go and other new media products, visit www.IRS.gov.

Related Item: IRS Goes Mobile With IRS2Go

Welcomed at Molina

2011-01-12T06:31:00.000-08:00

Check this out! I did a presentation to case workers at Molina so when their Medicaid clients call in with social needs other than medical assistance, they can direct them to a Benefit Bank site. When I walked into their office, they had this lovely welcoming sign. I feel so official!

What it's about

2011-01-09T18:00:00.000-08:00

Looking at my first pay direct deposited paycheck of the new year brought a little surprise for my bank account. Instead of a Christmas bonus, my stipend was cut 15 dollars. Not much to many people, but it adds up by the time my service ends. And this means that I now only have 35% of my paycheck left after all my bills. It stinks, and it stinks that it happened without any warning. But if I’ve learned anything so far in my 23 years of life, I’ve learned that bitterness imprisons life; love releases it. Perhaps Mr. Harry Emerson Fosdick said that last poetic bit before I did, but I concur.

My life is not about making money. My life isn’t even about living for myself. It’s about serving a God with a plan bigger than I can fathom and accepting the blessings I’ve been given, since I can fully acknowledge I’ve been given way more than I could do anything to deserve.

So what do I have?

An AmeriCorps placement at a supportive and groundbreaking organization

A compassionate supervisor who I know always has my back and has been a great joy to work with

A car

A warm apartment and a trustworthy ~~roomie~~ friend

A past that has offered me lots of birthday and Christmas presents that included fleece blankets

Hot chocolate

A daily hot shower. Two, if I want.

(can you tell it’s cold outside?)

An immediate and extended family that has proven time and again that we are in it together for the long haul, and shown amazing feats of forgiveness and love towards each other.

A boyfriend who has loved and supported me for over 6 years, from hours away

Oreos. 6 of which are in my stomach.

Perhaps I shouldn’t be watching Extreme Makeover Home Edition whilst I write my blog. I may make Mom cry twice in one night after all this sappiness.

Gratitude is the only proven way I’ve found to surmount those unexpected setbacks in life. Things that, if you chose, could make you bitter and angry. I implore you to turn to your gratitude list in a time of doubt, and I implore you also to start it now.

Update: After numerous emails this pay adjustment was clarified as a tax issue, specifically dealing with the Making Work Pay credit. Essentially this credit was applied throughout the year, allowing more money to come in my paycheck and less "estimated tax" withheld through the year to the federal gov't. With the change I can no longer keep that money and it has to be taken out of my paycheck throughout the year, as normal wages typically work. Perhaps I will be poor again next year, not owe tax, and get it back anyways!

Christmas Break

2010-12-22T07:10:00.000-08:00

I've been alerted that my blog url was included in all the Christmas letters my Mom sends out, so Hello to all our family members and friends who actually made your way to my blog! As a reminder, this blog is personal and in no way representing or speaking on behalf of my organizations. With that said, check out the organization I work for (OASHF) and the specific program I help administer, doing outreach and trainings: (OBB)

My office is closing down between Christmas and New Years, but as a VISTA I still have hours that I have to work. Therefore, I get the thrilling task of going through the IRS tax training called Link and Learn. I am learning way more about taxes than I ever thought I would, but I do find it weirdly satisfying to know a lot about something that I hate, but is still worthwhile in my life. I will conquer taxes!

Lastly, I am heading to Chicago for New Years Eve with my wonderful group of friends from college. We went to Florida together for Spring Break and to Michigan this August, so I am beyond excited to spend NYE in Chicago with them all again.

Happy Holidays to everyone!

Soup Kitchen Lunch

2010-12-22T06:25:00.000-08:00

Chicken fajita soup and hamburger for lunch, yummy! My training in Champaign County yesterday was at a homeless shelter/soup kitchen in Urbana. For lunch, I ate with the Director of the facility and the other volunteer I was training in the kitchen.

For this week, living in solidarity means breaking bread with people who are at the end of their rope. I'm hoping they've all tied a knot and are hanging on!

“When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on.” - Thomas Jefferson

Crazy Training Weeks

2010-12-22T06:16:00.000-08:00

I have dreams about taxes. About training taxes. About missing a tax training and 15 angry people being lost and confused about taxes. Tax season at my organization is nuts. This week especially, we have trainings every day, sometimes two a day (taking all three people on the Central Ohio team to handle everything). All the organizations are gearing up and they need many new people trained.

These trainings come in all shapes and sizes. Earlier this week I trained two gentlemen in Logan County at a library:

The library reserved their "large study room" for me. There is a possibility that I am biased just coming from Miami, where we had an amazing library with study rooms to accommodate the plethora of class groups, but I was still a little unprepared for what I found:

I didn't have enough room to capture the entire table, but there are 6 chairs in the "large study room." Just enough room for me to squeeze around to help.

I also had a training in Pickaway County, in Circleville. I always have trainees introduce themselves and explain what agency they are from. In this case they were all involved with the same agency, and they all described in one way or the other how the head of the organization had strong-armed (her words!) them into coming to this training. Hey, I don't care how they get there, as long as they are trained and can help people file their taxes for free. I did think it was funny though.

The next training was at a facility that will stay un-named, where I found this sitting on the desk:

Finally, my training in Springfield on Monday provided these lovelies for everyone:

Christmas COOKIES!

If anyone is keeping count, I have conducted 10 trainings in the past 3 weeks, traveling a total of 490.8 miles to seven different counties in Central Ohio.

Let me eat cake. And other things.

2010-12-06T18:49:00.000-08:00

New Desk. New Co-worker. Santa Clause. Cake. Youth for Technology. My last couple weeks in a nutshell.

Most significantly my co-worker John's term was finished at the end of November, and he was replaced by my new co-worker. I am eagerly teaching her the ropes, considering I am doing double duty covering all John's responsibilities and training load until my new co-worker is ready to go. This huge transition was ushered in by an in-office desk move to the other end of the office. I now have a bigger desk with a back wall that doubles as a bulletin board (yay!!) and I get to sit right by the window. Also note the computer bag on my chair. This is a newfangled fancy chair, and I have yet to figure out how to raise it high enough to be functional. You win this time, fancy desk chair. Also note my lovely TOMS flag on display. I get to tell all my visitors about my favourite shoe brand and spread the social entrepreneurship love. Sustainable models of giving. Service in all aspects of life, that's how I see it. It's meaningless unless you live it out.

When I train people on my programs' online tool, I take them through simulations with fake clients. These training tools are used by thousands of people all over Ohio, and all the training is administered out of my office in Columbus. Therefore, how could we not commemorate the birthday of our favourite fictitious training client, Alice Nelson? We had cake!
As I said in my region's blog, please excuse the photo of a half eaten cake. There are lots of hungry VISTAs in my office who love cake and who were not moved to the opposite end of the office. That's another thing, my new desk is so much further away from the area where we put the free leftover meeting food. I am going to have to be on my game...

I also went with my co-workers to the Statehouse to see the arrival of Santa Clause. (I know him! I know him! < Elf reference. If you have not seen the movie Elf, you need to stop reading this and go watch it. Immediately.) I maintain this would have been a traumatizing experience as a small child, but I was scared of everything as a kid. The children at the Statehouse I believe instead enjoyed the pretty flashing lights that delivered Santa. I got a cookie out of the deal so I was fairly satisfied.

My volunteer work with Youth for Technology Foundation is starting to picking up as well. Naturally, this is coinciding with my actual job becoming insanely busy. I do enjoy the chance to do something I am passionate about and specifically have a degree in. Right now I'm helping them put together a social media strategy outline, maintain and analyze their current efforts, and interview new volunteers.
My roommate also forwarded me a job posting that had "Social Media" in the job title, which reflects an encouraging job market that is hopefully growing and eager for new hires when I am out in June.

Face of a client

2010-11-30T10:45:00.000-08:00

As an AmeriCorps VISTA, my work is limited to a very small percentage of direct service. My main goal is capacity building by doing indirect service. On a slightly related note, I am devastated to report that the star between “AmeriCorps” and “VISTA” has officially been removed from my job title. Devastated. RIP asterisk.

A couple weeks ago I had a rare chance my office had to help answer our hotline calls due to one of our Foodbanks up in Cleveland hosting a Phone-a-thon and needing extra help. After three calls from various people (mothers of 5, single man, family of 4) with different needs (no gas for the past 5 months, no income/no food, any help I can give), I answered a call from a woman in Franklin County.

When I picked up the phone I could tell she was crying. Every time you pick up a hotline call it’s a little scary, because the person on the other end of the line is in so much trouble that they have exhausted all personal resources and called a hotline for any help they can get. So this woman that I was connected with, through her choked up voice, started explaining to me that she lived in a mobile home park and she owned her home, but she had to pay lot rent. She had an eviction notice on her door because she couldn’t pay her lot rent and couldn’t gather money fast enough. She would be out on the street in two days if she didn’t pay. My program helps people apply for benefits like food assistance, which she was already on, so I couldn’t offer her much from our resource pool for housing. We partner with many organizations that do offer housing assistance among other things we can’t help with, but this woman had put the effort in and sought out help at these organizations, but to no avail. The organizations she visited can’t help with lot rent, even though this was the cause of her eviction. This situation would be a major cause of stress for anyone, but this woman spilled the rest of her complications to add on to the impending eviction. She has depression, anxiety, and is bi-polar. She doesn’t have enough money to pay for her medicine, so she is quite literally fighting through life every single day. The effort to make it out of bed and to do what she needs to do is crushing, she explained. She also was told by her doctor that her front and wisdom teeth need pulled because they are diseased and poisoning her body, slowly killing her. Among other health problems for herself and not being able to afford ANY care, her daughter is in jail. I was on the phone with her for 20 minutes, just lending an ear to listen, knowing the entire time I couldn’t really do anything to help. By the end all I could give her was the number for information referral, the number of a free clinic, and the address of a homeless shelter. It was very strange hanging up the phone with a woman who I was pretty sure in two days’ time would be standing outside her home, surrounded by her evicted belongings, barraged by mental illness with nowhere to turn.

This was a difficult but humbling day. It was weird window into the most burdened population. We talk about them, we read about them, we do studies on them, we even see them. But to have this window straight into someone’s life, a 20 minute picture of everything they are facing, and then to carry around this story is a whole different situation. It sticks with you, and ultimately empowers. If I ever need motivation to keep doing capacity building, to keep developing programs and making partnerships and solidifying program infrastructure, I can easily recall those 20 minutes as a call to action and a raison d'être for my position.

On my toes

2010-11-30T10:02:00.001-08:00

If you thought the title might allude to me revealing news that I am a practicing en pointe ballerina, you will be (only slightly) disappointed. I could have also titled this post something like “playing it by ear,” but that might make you think I am a budding musician (which, in reality I am. Hello new guitar!) and it would also be a second cliché reference using a body part to describe the fact that in my job I “fly by the seat of my pants.” Oops, there I go again.

I remember interviewing for this job and asking my (future) supervisor what a typical day looked like. He couldn’t give me an answer, rather promising each day was very different. Now that I’ve been in this position for over 5 months, I have discovered three types of a “typical day.” They are as follows: a) Sitting in front of my computer emailing and calling people, including various breaks to stare out the window at interesting activity down on the street. b) Training all day. Training is draining, so once I’ve spent 6 hours in front of a room of people yapping at them and guiding them through the software, I’m spent. c) Traveling to meetings. This could also be interspersed with option a (staring at computer). Traveling to meetings could be similar to what I did this morning, which entailed me driving a mile down the road from my apartment and sharing a cup of coffee and great conversation with a fellow VISTA. It could also be driving over an hour to an outlying county (remember, I serve 15 of them) for a 20 minute meeting. Where perhaps the person I am meeting with tells me my program is essentially worthless. And I thank them for their time and drive back.

The last point is a great anecdote affirming my supervisor’s explanation way back in April when I applied. Despite there being three basic types of days, each situation is different and challenging. Even with each cookie cutter training, I have different counselors who have different learning styles, a different sense of humor (laugh at my corny jokes people! Come on!), and different opinions about public benefits and government programs.

My favorite days, surprisingly, are the days I have nothing officially planned and I can sit at my desk and work. This days are always different, always challenging, and always keep me moving, which is very important for this job. Communication is constantly and quickly moving, and if I don’t stay up to date with emails and phone calls the entire network could fall behind. My desk days also give me the ability to not only react but act, or take proactive action by strategizing and preparing for goals and projects.

This post grew increasingly boring as it went on, but our internet is down so I can’t check my email. See? Crazy! On my toes!

Food Assistance APPROVED

2010-10-27T05:38:00.000-07:00

Yippee! My food assistance was finally approved here in Franklin County. Every step of this tedious, frustrating and confusing process made me thankful for the Benefit Bank.

Navigating the system = success.

http://www.oashf.org/

Pre-Service Orientation Reflections

2010-10-26T15:58:00.000-07:00

I stumbled upon random writings I did while at Pre-Service Orientation in Lombard, Illinois for my AmeriCorps*VISTA term. I thought I would share highlights of what I recorded from that weekend in mid-June of this year, before I started at my organization.

The most impactful time from yesterday was the opportunity to sit in a circle and talk about our experience with poverty. Some people had very real and honest experience in generational poverty, and I was blown away by their presence at PSO; their effort to simultaneously emerge from the cycle and their desire to help others do the same. Others had no experience with poverty, even lacking experience discussing the issue to discover the varied causes of poverty. These fellow VISTAs expressed they didn’t realize poverty wasn’t in just Africa, but it was an invisible problem in their backyard. It was a curious theme, the invisibility. Money, class, and even the state of being in poverty can be both very visible and very hidden at the same time. I was amazed to learn that everyone saying they grew up in poverty never knew they were poor. Their parents hid it from them, and they assured the group they would do the same for their kids. All want a better life for their children, yet all are hiding the facts. I wonder what would happen if these parents had honest conversations about their financial situation. Would the kids be able to grasp it and us it as a catalyst to dream big and “get out” of the cycle? OR would it continue to be a “this is how it is” situation, with acceptance in early childhood and complacency? There’s always these what if questions and I always want to take action on them to see if changing the current can change the future. I do have to remember this doesn’t stay a discussion, a theory, or a simple curious question. It’s a life, and it’s not even my own.

On the way home from Illinois a huge storm came through the airport. I was in a tiny plane, stuck on the runway for about 1.5 hours. We had to finally go back to the airport, where I happily rewarded my misfortune with an Oreo McFlurry. When we finally boarded and were cleared for an alternate route back to Ohio, all the passengers erupted in cheers and applause. On take-off, I kid you not, people put their hands in the air and cried “whee” as if we were on a roller coaster. A couple minutes into the flight the stewardess told us to hold tight, she’ll be coming around with those “drinks” the guys were asking for when we were stranded. A weird sense of community is formed in these situations, any attempt at humor is a relief from the frustration. We were like a big, grumpy, cramped, slap happy United (Airlines) family.

By the numbers, for the people

2010-10-22T08:09:00.000-07:00

To give you can idea of the amount of communication that is involved in my AmeriCorps*VISTA position, here is a summary in numbers:

Average number of emails sent daily: 28
Average number of emails received daily: 15
Number of phone calls (incoming and outgoing combined): 3-15 (depending on meetings and trainings where I can't answer my phone)
Average number of in person meetings/outreach per week: 4 (this doesn't count all day trainings)

I do at least one training a week in Franklin County, this week I had a second training in Clark County, meaning I trained a total of 17 people in my region just this week to be counselors. I also got two new site notifications this week, our network is growing so fast!

Granted I am working in Franklin County so I most likely have to field more communication than some other regions, but can you imagine how many lives my program is touching if all 12 other people in my position across Ohio are communicating about the same amount with people in their regions?

Then I think about all the people who aren't being connected. Despite all of our efforts, there are still plenty of people out there who are struggling to get by, who are eligible for assistance, yet they aren't accessing the programs that can give them a step up to self-sufficiency.

The challenge in the coming months is not to see how many more people I can meet, how many more emails I can send, or how many outreach events I can attend, but rather to communicate with the right people, strategize in appropriate ways, and attend the most relevant outreach events to get as many people connected as possible. What is the point of putting effort into a new site if they don't have the capacity to serve clients? It's so easy to get pulled into the numbers game, talking about numbers of new sites and numbers of counselors, but it's so important the our focus here at my organization stays on how many clients we are helping through the system.

I am working on outreach strategies for some of my more rural counties, do my readers have any ideas about how you would like to see the efforts to connect low-income Ohioans to public benefits mobilized and utilized?

Tools to Navigate the system

2010-10-19T05:29:00.000-07:00

After fielding various phone calls from trained counselors not having a clear idea of what exactly happens to the applications once they put them through the software I train with, I can see why my supervisor wanted me to do a "counselor supplement" project.

If you consider the notion that people only hear 15% of what is said to them, and every single word that comes out of my mouth is crucial (perhaps except my corny jokes that are meant to keep people awake), we have to prepare and equip counselors to find answers to questions after they leave the training. They go home with an entire training book, but that is designed for state-wide use and is mainly step-by-step how to use the software. Once counselors sit down with a real person in need of real help, there is a lot more involved than just navigating the software. They have to help their client navigate the entire public benefits system.

Hopefully this is where my supplements come in. I am meeting with intake workers and supervisors in every single county in the Central region. This serves a few purposes:

Further solidfying the relationship between the my program and JFS
Showing JFS that we want to work with them and are trying to help them work more efficiently with clients
Gives JFS the opportunity to voice concerns and create a conversation about how the our software works.
Counselors are assured the information I give them is current and correct, as it is straight from the intake workers.

They've been very productive meetings, and helpful for me to see the other side of the JFS office (especially after dealing with my own frustrations in getting food assistance. Still in that battle, by the way.)

Technology: the Good, the Bad, and the Prezi

2010-10-15T13:03:00.000-07:00

After many tedious hours, resulting eye strain and an intimate bond with my region's blog, I have finally finished the new "Blog Tour" for my project. You can view it if you visit OBBservations in Central Ohio. I love that I found this presentation tool, anything beats the technology of Powerpoint at this point.

I deal with technology a lot in my position. Going further than the fact that I sit all day in front of a computer managing Outlook and juggling massive spreadsheets in Google Docs, the entire software,y program uses to connect Ohioans with public benefits and tax credits is online. As JFS Director Lumpkin reminded us in his remarks at the OBB Conference,

You can’t effectuate change and policy without IT. A real player in this environment, the Benefit Bank is a platform on the IT platform.

I think to some people technology (in the form of computer, internet, etc) is still a luxury. There are movements to "go without technology for an entire WEEK!" (Could you do it?!?) Well of course I could do it, but why? I could go without other modernizations like a dishwasher or a car for a week, but all these things are here to help me function more efficiently, to connect faster, and to solve problems. I don't see it as progress for progress sake, but as progress in the face of inefficiencies. It seems that I am listening too much to the industrial engineer in my life, all this talk of efficiency. I digress...

I've concluded technology is necessary and helpful for advancement to save time and connect the world, especially in the realm of helping to connect low-income Ohioans with benefits. But is technology only as good as the people who use it? I have some trainees that zoom through the software and it clicks for them right away (Get it? Clicks for them? Mouse humor, heh heh). Then I have some trainees who need help figuring out how to close browser tabs and finding the address bar. Sometimes the less computer-literate counselors are actually the most detailed and thorough counselors in helping clients. But again, is the program only as good as the counselor who is able to navigate it?


My new excuse for not calling Mom... (http://americanhell.com/		)

Since I was already on food assistance when I moved to Franklin County, I didn't have the luxury of using my program's software to transfer my case and I had to go in myself, wait in line (gasp!), and hand in my documents. When I got up to the window, the intake worker said their scanner was down, so they couldn't take my verifications officially. They have been copying everyone's documents, then scanning them later in the day. So double work for them, and I as the client walk away with no guarantee/receipt that they got my documents. I asked how often this technology failure happens. She said almost every morning. Every morning an increasing amount of people visit JFS because they need assistance, every morning their technology fails, every morning the two intake workers have to take turns walking to the very back of the building to copy documents and then remember to re-scan everything later in the day.

Technology is fabulous. Technology can be used as an excuse, a crutch, or for useless things. All I know is that I can talk to friends teaching Spain and China, or doing the Peace Corps in Macedonia with technology, so I am generally currently satisfied with the way things are going :-)

Mobile Unit Adventure

2010-10-05T06:30:00.000-07:00

I made a cameo in the Mobile Unit blog! http://obbmobileexpress.blogspot.com/2010/10/record-setting-week.html

It was a great chance to get out and do direct service, especially at an event where people are already in dire straights (the event in Dayton was a "Foreclosure Prevention" day).

I also went to the Mum festival, which wasn't as targeted but we did actually see some repeats from the day before, including one woman who dragged her friend into the van so we could tell her about all the magical things the my program offers (or how she could get help paying her utility bills...choose whichever reason sounds more fun).

The Mum festival, like any small town Ohio festival (Milan Melon Fest shout out!) had an excruciatingly long parade, comprised of ridiculous floats and entries. There were at least 3 different high school bands, an exciting appearance by Ronald McDonald, Frances Strickland (Mrs. Governor), and a Democratic Party float toting all the good things the Democratic party sponsors, which for some reason included AmeriCorps and the PeaceCorps.

OBB Mobile Unit ready to serve at the Mum Festival

My work station inside the van

Colleague preparing to take clients

I think this was supposed to be of Frances Strickland, but I don't see her. Oh well, look at all the people watching!

Poverty Simulation

2010-10-05T04:59:00.000-07:00

Poverty Simulation

I walked in and was handed a name card the read “Yomelda Yarrow.” I sat down and met my husband, “Yuri Yarow”, who was in fact my coworker Elizabeth. We were sitting in two chairs facing each other constituting our house for the next hour. 50 other people were being assigned an alias for the simulation, sitting in home groups around the room. Elizabeth/Yuri and I picked up the baby dolls on our pile of information and started orienting ourselves with our situation. We discovered that I had a job but limited English skills, Yuri received a social security check, and found the babies were our grandchildren that we had to care for (due to their mother being incarcerated for drug use). Before we began the simulation, we were introduced to the agencies represented around the room, which we would have to interact with to survive the simulation. These included: jail, police, pawn shop, quick check cashing, mortgage company, Job and Family Services, school, grocery, bank, an interfaith organization, Community Action, and an employer. We set off to navigate a month in poverty for the next hour, with each of the next 15 minute periods representing one week.

Anecdote Summary

The first week we were able to buy food, but I forgot my grandkids kids at school. I chased down child services, panicked after they confiscated the grandkids, trying to explain that I just got off work. I was in line for groceries, and I was simply late to pick them up, not neglectful. Panic is actually pretty good word to describe the entire hour (ahem, month). The child services worker had sympathy on me as I was speaking in broken English, due to my limited language skills. Luckily in this situation, this incapacity helped. 30 seconds earlier, while purchasing food, the cashier noticed I couldn’t speak English well and short changed me. I’m not good at English, but I’m not dumb. I had to demand the correct change of “40 dollars!” three times until she laid down the correct change amount for my purchases. Most other families weren’t so diligent, and they got ripped off everywhere from the pawn shop to the check cash place. My family was lucky enough to have a bank account, so we didn’t have to deal with the quick cash venue.

Even knowing the assistance system, as someone who works for the Benefit Bank, and having a basis for where to get things (utility help from community action, clothing vouchers from Interfaith), we still couldn’t make it. Some families in the simulation (and in real life, of course) are constantly fighting the tide. Trying to claw their way back to the top. It was almost just as bad hovering on the edge of not making it. There is a constant panic, a constant fear of being evicted. One little thing could go wrong and throw the entire survival system out the window. And I use the word “system” loosely, it ended up being more of a haphazard hastily made minute-by-minute strategy. In the 30 seconds I had to reconvene with my husband, we quickly summarized our progress (“got autoloan paid off, got a pay check, do we have enough money for the mortgage?”) and hurriedly tried to figure out how to make it the next week (“Can you fill this out during work? As soon as you get the kids, you have to get in line for groceries…”). The entire simulation was stressful, chaotic, panicked.

Time

The waiting was the worst. There are a million other places you have to go including the bank to pay your mortgage and the pawn shop to try and score some extra cash, but you have to wait in line for inordinate amounts of time to take care of basic needs. If you are not from a low-income family, think of the DMV. Think of those lines at every place you are trying to go. Then, I would say more than half the time, it closes before you can get up there. Or they tell you that you are in the wrong line. Those are absolutely awful sinking feelings. Having waited and waited for something that you desperately need (think food or paying for electric). When every minute truly counts in this game of survival, you literally can’t afford to be in the wrong line.

Oftentimes when a family is working poor, trying to get by day to day without financial security, they have a “here and now” mindset. There is no guarantee of money in the future, so the strategy is to spend everything you have right now, to alleviate some pain or try to catch up. Planning for the future isn’t an option, because the future is so unstable. When you are hungry now, you have to eat now. There is no thought about budgeting or planning. Doing the simulation as a person from a middle class upbringing, there was a bit of inner discrepancy in how I approached our fake families’ month. I know my friend Molly, also from the middle class in real life, was in the simulation “very much preparing for the future-- my 16-year-old pregnant daughter was going to social services to prepare for her baby being born in 2 months, I was trying to budget from the start rather than prioritize and make it by week-by-week. I really believed that there was a "right" way to manage it and if I did it well I would not only get by but would also succeed.” I think the Yarrow family tried this approach of planning during our 30 second breaks, but it ended up turning to chaos when we didn’t have the correct verification, a store was closed, or we didn’t have enough transportation resources to get somewhere. There was no option to organize; we just had to do it. Problem solve on the go, as we passed each other running from agency to agency.

Public Benefits

My family wasn’t on public assistance, we were just trying to work hard, pay our bills, and keep our house. A true picture of a working poor family. We actually knew we could get our grandkids health insurance through social services, but we didn’t have time to go wait in line and deal with the system. We chose food, heat, and keeping our house over health security for our grandkids. Insurance isn’t a survival part of life, but plenty of other families did have to choose between basic needs. They chose to wait in line for feed their families, with the hope that the next week they would have enough money to pay the mortgage (and the hope that the mortgage company would have a little mercy.)

On Edge

My colleague Molly summed it up well: I was worried about how I was going to feed my kids that week. “Even though it was a simulation I felt panicked and guilty and worried in an hour-long simulation and I was not even the worst off .” If the Yarrows had this much trouble navigating life with their resources in this short month, I can’t imagine a real experience. I can imagine, though, the results. Irritability. Bitterness. Stress. And that’s not necessarily hostility aimed at any institution. It’s just a general frustration. Why can’t I make this work, even though I am trying to do everything right? When they came back to evicted “homes” (overturned chairs and a big ugly sign in the simulation), they witnessed the downfall of living in poverty, the result of living for the now. It’s so easy to not plan ahead well, to not think things through completely, to make what look like stupid decision to the outside world, because you are hungry, your kids are hungry, and you have nowhere else to turn. Might as well eat now, because who knows when you will have money to eat again. Nothing is ever guaranteed. Getting a job is not guaranteed. Keeping a job is not guaranteed.

Poverty is Relative

I was grateful that the Yarrow family wasn’t the “worst off.” Other families had pregnant teenagers, were getting evicted or robbed, or had no family at all for a support network. When we did the debriefing though, it seemed like no family thought they had it worst, everyone thought that there was always someone with a more dire situation. Poverty is truly relative. The government sets the FPIG, and therefore the poverty line is based on income. I would argue (as I’m sure many others serving the low-income families of America) that poverty is what you make of it. If it’s a lack of resources, what resources does your family need to survive, and which don’t you have? My family needed food and childcare. Other families needed lots of help to pay utility bills, or even basic employment. If we can’t meet our basic needs and get by day to day, that’s poverty.

Relationships and Survival

Earlier in the day we learned that low income families function around a couple of principles: relationships and survival. Comparatively, if you look at the middle class, people from this class will function around the achievement principle. People from the upper class function around the connections they have. With the lower class, survival is their basic drive. Relationships can be a force that keep them in poverty (not wanting to leave comfort zone, abandon family, etc), but relationship are also crucial to survival. If you think about it, low income families are some of the best problem solvers. They have to be if they want to survive. I found myself with lowered inhibitions during the simulation. I had to get what I had to get, and I didn’t care who I had to talk to to do it. For example, our neighbors were telling everyone around that they would babysit for transportation passes. When there was a week when we couldn’t send our kids to school and neither of us could stay home, we desperately needed to use this resource. They had enough transportation passes from other families so we had to trade our stereo for a week of babysitting, but what other choice did we have?

Again from my colleague Molly -- It really does seem like a blur now that I'm looking back, but I still can't believe that my family only ate for 2 weeks and one of those weeks we only ate because some 85-year-old man overheard me talking about my troubles and gave me $15 to buy the rest of my groceries. I felt such gratitude in that very small gesture that it almost felt real, and more than anything I wanted to pay him back or pay it forward.

Cut Off

2010-09-27T13:15:00.000-07:00

"Based on the current call volume, your hold time is 39 minutes, 11 seconds. Please hold for the next available representative." *click*

When I talk about living in solidarity with the people I am serving, I am not joking around. Despite the fact that I am an educated, literate, capable human being who in fact works for a program that helps people sign up for public benefits and access things like food assistance, if I do not get through to JFS within the next three days, I will loose my food assistance.

ARGGRAGARSRAGAGGGG!!!!!

I even went through a contact I have at JFS to transfer my case from Delaware County. Since Franklin County is so populated, I am assigned to a different Opportunity Center than where my case got transferred to. So it's in the right county, I just have to do a Inner County transfer. I've called at every time of the day and been disconnected due to call volume every time. I've sternly emailed the center to inform them of this and request a contact that way as well.

It's not working. I am frustrated. I have In Service Training for AmeriCorps all day tomorrow, and the next day my mother is dragging my family to Pittsburg to see Celtic Thunder (it's okay Mom, I love them too), so the only time I can go into the office is on the 30th. The very last day.

If you are a case worker at the North Community Opportunity Center, please call me. My number is 614.357.6146. Please give me a chance to interview. I understand your staff has been cut, your budget has been cut, and more people in the community have been visiting you than ever before because of the state of the economy. But I am a person. Who likes to eat. Let me speak for every other person out there fighting the system and trying to work through all your barriers: give me a chance. And add more open lines to your phone. I can wait 40 minutes on hold if it means I can get food assistance for the next 9 months. Thank you for the work you do.

United Way service day - Mt. Vernon

2010-09-27T11:21:00.000-07:00

What does one do on the hottest day in September? If you answered manual labor outside, shoveling and raking steaming tire shreds around metal playground equipment, you are correct. You don't win anything though, sorry. Unless of course you want my sweat drenched T-shirt. I had to wear it - You get to hear about it.

This was a great event put on by United Way, to kick off their fundraising campaign. There were residents from all over Mt. Vernon and Knox County, most from businesses like Kroger and Rolls Royce (apparently there is a market for this company in Knox County. Who knew?) that are United Way contributors. The Central Ohio team (Zach, John and I) were paired with individuals from a couple different organizations to re-spread the tire mulch in the park's playground.

ODJFS Director Douglas Lumpkin's Thoughts

2010-09-23T14:16:00.000-07:00

I've finally gotten around to transcribing the chicken scrawl I took during the OBB conference from our keynote speaker. We were lucky enough to have Douglas Lumpkin, the Director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, to speak to hundreds of counselors and site administrators from across Ohio. This is a very important relationship, because the Benefit Bank is a direct line for families to JFS's systems, and many times, service agencies have difficulties dealing with the barriers at JFS. What a great opportunity for Director Lumpkin to speak directly to our partners and for them to hear his ideas and openness to helping the same people they are trying to help.

He started by warning us that

I’m not fun
I’m not overly profound... but for everyone in the room I have something in common: that is that I care.

He stated that he values "this partnership (between OBB and JFS). The Gateway (allowing OBB to submit application electronically to JFS system) has been up for 2 years, taken up to 36,000 applications through."

He describe the role of ODJFS as threefold:

Develop and implement policy and procedures
Pass out lots of $. ("Lots of people want to talk to us about that.")
Maintain information systems

I will go ahead and just copy some of the most influential statements that he made during his speech. I enjoyed it and I feel that the attendees also walked away with a more positive perception of ODJFS. Here are some excerpts:

You can’t effectuate change and policy without IT. A real player in this environment, the Benefit Bank is a platform on the IT platform.

Challenge: Help them (they new face of poverty coming in to get help) understand there is no embarrassment in this world. Individuals coming in that gave help, are now getting help.

I don’t know that our goal should be to make you desperately poor before we help you. (Applause)

We need to have conversations about self-sufficiency and sustainability. This recession had pointed out one thing about self-sufficiency is really ONE things with three letters: J-O-B. No one is going to get rich off our SEP program (Subsidized Employment Program). But we have to give people a chance to start somewhere.

This is one of the worst recessions there’s ever been. 30% cut at JFS, less $, fewer people than we’ve ever had (working). We need to make sure there’s a clear understanding: in the face of it all, that you can still move forward in a direction to help people. Do we need more resources? Absolutely! Do what we can, where we are, with what we’ve got.

We have to meet people where they’re at. The conversation that goes beyond this room. I know you (attendees) work with people in the deepest throes in challenges in trying to make it to the next day. We're having the same conversation with …community colleges. So we’re in a positive to help both those who want to get back to work quickly AND help people who have a longer horizon.

I believe that as a community partners you play a valuable role in meeting people where they’re at. You help people navigate various systems. We at JFS are about to embark on bringing up self-service application, similar to what the OBB is turning to. This is absolutely not competing with the Benefit Bank. We're taking the vision of meeting people where they’re at. (remember:) “Everyone’s not at your shop!"

If two people always agree, one of them is always unnecessary. And I believe everyone in the room is necessary. Disagreement doesn’t change reality, the ability to have real dialogue about solving real problems. And I don’t need to demagogue your ideal because I can’t agree. And I can respect where you come from: you want to help people.

I am open to conversations and ideas that you might have. My role as director really isn’t to direct, but to enable (community partners).

My philosophy of meeting people where they’re at: Think of call centers (as a way to access public benefits). So impersonal! A case worker said to me “you expect a 76 year old who needs Medicaid to do it over the phone?" I said absolutely not. I expect that we allow a 22 year old with 2 children to do it over the phone so they don’t have to get on a bus and drag two kids there, don’t have to spend time, so we CAN spend time with 76 year old person.

(Philosophy behind changing how JFS offers services:)

There is more than enough need to go around
Meet people where they’re at (some people prefer personal)
We don't have any $, so find most efficient way to help people

Not trying to replace personal situations with people who need assistance. Some people, who if you just point, will make it there. Enable the world for them too.

Director Lumpkin closed with a telling of the "Starfish Story", and ended with

In resources/budget issues, be the boy on the beach (in the story), recognize that if you are making a difference to the family in front of you.

Hunger Action Month

2010-09-20T05:54:00.000-07:00

Did you know it's Hunger Action Month?

I bet you are know fervently saying to yourself "Oh boy! What can I do to tell out my neighbors who are going without sufficient food at this time?"

I'm so glad you inquired! Hop on over to the Central Ohio blog, where you can read about five different things to do. I cannot post, and will not suggest, the last one on the list. If you are not an AmeriCorps*VISTA, feel free to take action on #5 if you so desire.

http://obbservationsco.blogspot.com/2010/09/5-ways-to-get-involved-hunger-action.html

Exlporing the Central Ohio Blog

2010-09-14T05:48:00.000-07:00

Is it weird that I do things like this in my free time? Probably.

This is a Prezi I made to help people in Central Ohio understand what's on our blog. Click through slowly, I've heard people get sea sick in prezi presentations :-)

Please excuse the pixelated images, this was thrown together for fun.

Just click the gray arrow at the bottom of the presentation to get started, and then keep clicking it to step through the show.

OBB in Central ohio on Prezi

http://obbservationsco.blogspot.com/

Friends of the Homeless direct service

2010-09-11T10:13:00.000-07:00

In line with many other Americans (http://www.911dayofservice.org/) this week, the VISTA's from Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks took a day off from our regular work yesterday and did a day of direct service in honor of September 11th. I think it's fantastic that the silver lining of that fateful day has turned into an annual effort of community service. Solidarity to build our community is such a powerful response to an act that was probably meant to tear us apart and riddle us with fear.

Friends of the Homeless is the name of the shelter organization that my group worked in. I was in the men's shelter component, another group worked at Rebecca's place which serves as the women's shelter. They also have transitional housing and supportive permanent housing available. See here for more information. Considering the Benefit Bank has most other needs covered (food, medical, school) it was a great chance for me to play a part in housing residents of Columbus.

The cold weather is right around the corner, so the shelters are gearing up for the overflow of residents in the winter months. It was a pretty smelly, dirty place as soon as we walked in, so our main job to to clean the best we could for a fresh start. The living quarters are open floor spaces with single beds and bunks, with lockers up against the wall, and dorm style bathrooms. We tackled the bathrooms and the floors/walls of the sleeping quarters.

Gloves on, masks on, sponge in hand. Buckets of bleach, pine sol, and comet. I have no idea how walls can get so dirty. This is one of those situations where you cannot think about what you're doing, you just have to dig in and do it. Like cleaning unidentifiable splashes of substances off the well. Well, one of the workers pointed out that "You can probably identify what's on there...you just don't want to." Well said.

It's always a humbling experience to do this type of extreme service work. It's gross, it's involved, but it's also short term. At the end of the day I get to leave and return to my apartment. At the end of the same day, the residents will come back to a room that smells overwhelmingly of cleaning supplies, but is still very obviously dirtied with years of street grit and stained with stories of men who have lost their footing in life.

Helping, Fixing, or Serving by Rachel Naomi Remen, MD

2010-09-06T18:54:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my good friend Adam Harris (@adamharris_), my fellow AmeriCorps*VISTA friends and I were alerted to this article about service vs. help. Please visit the original article posted on Soul Flares at the following address. I also posted the text below. What do the readers think about service or helping?

http://www.soulflares.org/index.php?main_page=document_general_info&products_id=327

In recent years the question how can I help? has become meaningful to many people. But perhaps there is a deeper question we might consider. Perhaps the real question is not how can I help? but how can I serve?

Serving is different from helping. Helping is based on inequality; it is not a relationship between equals. When you help you use your own strength to help those of lesser strength. If I'm attentive to what's going on inside of me when I'm helping, I find that I'm always helping someone who's not as strong as I am, who is needier than I am. People feel this inequality. When we help we may inadvertently take away from people more than we could ever give them; we may diminish their self-esteem, their sense of worth, integrity and wholeness. When I help I am very aware of my own strength. But we don't serve with our strength, we serve with ourselves. We draw from all of our experiences. Our limitations serve, our wounds serve, even our darkness can serve. The wholeness is us serves the darkness in others and the wholeness in life.
Helping incurs debt. When you help someone they owe you one. But serving, like healing, is mutual. There is no debt. I am as served as the person I am serving. When I help I have a feeling of satisfaction. When I serve I have a feeling of gratitude. These are very different things.

Serving is also different from fixing. When I fix a person I perceive them as broken, and their brokenness requires me to act. When I fix I do not see the wholeness in the other person or trust the integrity of the life in them. When I serve I see and trust that wholeness. It is what I am responding to and collaborating with.

There is a distance between ourselves and whatever or whomever we are fixing. Fixing is a form of judgement. All judgement creates distance, a disconnection, an experience of difference. In fixing there is an inequality of expertise that can easily become a moral distance. We cannot serve at a distance. We can only serve that to which we are profoundly connected, that which we are willing to touch. This is Mother Teresa's basic message. We serve life not because it is broken but because it is holy.

If helping is an experience of strength, fixing is an experience of mastery and expertise. Service, on the other hand, is an experience of mystery, surrender and awe. A fixer has the illusion of being casual. A server knows that he or she is being used and has a willingness to be used in the service of something greater, something essentially unknown. Fixing and helping are very personal; they are very particular, concrete and specific. We fix and help many different things in our lifetimes, but when we serve we are always serving the same thing. Everyone who has ever served through the history of time serves the same thing. We are servers of the wholeness and mystery of life.

The bottom line, of course, is that we can fix without serving. And we can help without serving. And we can serve without fixing or helping. I think I would go so far as to say that fixing and helping may often be the work of the ego, and service the work of the soul. They may look similar if you're watching from the outside, but the inner experience is different. The outcome is often different, too.

Our service serves us as well as others. That which uses us strengthens us. Over time we burn out. Service is renewing. When we serve, our work itself will sustain us.
Service rests on the basic premise that the nature of life is sacred, that life is sacred, that life is a holy mystery which has an unknown purpose. When we serve, we know that we belong to life and to that purpose. Fundamentally, helping, fixing, and service are ways of seeing life. When you help you see life as weak, when you fix, you see life as broken. When you serve, you see life as whole. For the perspective of service, we are all connected: All suffering is like my suffering and all joy is like my joy. The impulse to serve emerges naturally and inevitably from this way of seeing.

Lastly, fixing and helping are the basis of curing, but not of healing. In 40 years of chronic illness I have been helped by many people and fixed by a great many others who did not recognize my wholeness. All that fixing and helping left me wounded in some important and fundamental ways. Only service heals.

Rachel Naomi Remen, In the Service of Life, Noetic Sciences Review, Spring 1996. This was edited from a speech given by Ms. Remen at the 1996 Temple award ceremony. Ms. Remen with her husband, won a McArthur Award for their work with Commonweal, a holistic cancer treatment facility in Bolinas California and is a professor of medicine.

Counselor Trainings: An Inside Look

2010-09-03T11:40:00.000-07:00

In order to fully understand how a counselor/client (Neighbors Helping Neighbors!) session goes with the Benefit Bank, the last part of my new counselor trainings include a simulation. One trainee plays the counselor, one plays the client, and they are instructed to "treat it like a real client simulation, practicing the conversation you would use."

My weekly entertainment most certainly comes from this part of my training.

I sit off to the side, answering random questions but trying to offer little guidance, as counselors won't have me a resource outside the training (teaching self sufficiency even with counselors).

Here is what I get to experience:

Counselors making up meanings (incorrect) for program acronyms, trying to help other counselors
Developing accents
Refusing to give information
Give different answers than on the script, make up elaborate stories about medical problems and bills
act confused/are confused
Use frequent curses at the program (current counselor says every 5 seconds: "Well, poop! Why did it do that?")
Counselor finds out other couselor works at a place that's essentially a soup kitchen. "Wait, you serve free food? Every day? Anyone can come? ...Where are you located again?"
"Oh my goodness, there's more to fill out?!? She is going to starve to death in the time it takes to fill out this application!"

Tune in for more entertaining and candid experiences with the Benefit Bank.

Central Ohio BLOG-ilicious Blog is ALLLLLIIIIIVVVVVVEEEEE!

2010-08-30T12:20:00.000-07:00

The title of this post is a direct quote from my supervisor. I think it's a fantastic way to describe our excitement about our newest communication tool to Central Ohio. We've been working very hard to pull together community resource information and logos, so we are relieved to finally make the blog public.

Check it out: http://obbservationsco.blogspot.com/

This is a tool that any site, counselor, or individual in Central Ohio can use to learn about our upcoming trainings, current OBB events, and to connect with county-wide resources.

Projects, traveling, and a loooong week.

2010-08-27T05:08:00.000-07:00

It has been the busiest/craziest week so far on my term. It is Friday morning, and I already have 36.75 hours logged for the week, thanks in part to a straight 10 hour day on Tuesday.

Monday started off with meetings at two different Job and Family Services, building partnerships withe the Directors at each and learning how they handle Benefit Bank applications. It's interesting to see how some people truly see the Benefit Bank as a valuable tool, and some people are very much traditionally minded that using the Benefit Bank isn't even an option. For example, one of the JFS's we met with would actually want their staff to use the Benefit Bank in their office to help expedite front end processes. This way they wouldn't have to deal with all the paper applications and inserting the information into CRIS-E (their archaic system). The applications would be submitted electronically, AND they could help their citizens connect with other resources in the area that they don't administer. Remember this is the top people at JFS suggesting this for the agency. The very next day I met with a woman who runs a Free Store (similar to a Goodwill) and a soup kitchen. Sites like this are usually fantastic, because they very obviously work with low to moderate income families. The first thing the woman said when I sat down was to the effect of "I understand your program, but I don't think it is necessary here. You are duplicating services, and we don't want to help people through the Benefit Bank here when we can just send them off to JFS or the other agencies." Ugh.

One of my other projects is creating a taining supplement for the counselors in each of my county, filled with information straight from the income maintenance workers at JFS on how Benefit Bank clients can work effiicently and successfully with JFS proceses. So this means visits with the reps in all 15 counties in Central Ohio. The counties in green are my region >>>>

What other projects am I working on, you ask?

Connecting sites with the Rehab Services Commission and Disability Determination ajudicators

Allows the people who determine disability status can see people living with disabilities "in real life," and not just at a half hour appointment sitting across a desk.

Meeting with school districts, Family and Children First Councils, and Education Service Centers to get the Benefit Bank in school to fulfill the Family and Civic Engagement reguirements (from the Oh Dept of Education).

Do you know a superintendent/guidance counselor, or someone else that would want to talk with me about using the Benefit Bank in their school to help the students receive wrap-around services?

Clark county Job and Family Services:

2010-08-24T18:21:00.000-07:00

I don't want to play favorites, I mean, I love all 15 of the counties in my region. But how can I help doing a special post when the lobby looks like this? :

Here is a close-up. All of the little children on the wall of decorated with actual fabric, ribbon, yarn, etc.

They also had adorable little chairs and couches for kids to sit in. Well, kids and...

Zach does a great job of managing/encouraging/guiding/supervising, and keeping the job interesting and fun. Hence, plopping in the mini-armchair in preparation for our meeting with the Director.

Other than a really sweet lobby (that included a friendly receptionist and bottles of water for clients!), Clark county Job and Family Services is a really proactive and involved agency. They seem flexible in their practices and willing to find solutions to barriers that stop clients from accessing public benefits. It was great to meet with their Director and staff that work with the Benefit Bank applications, and get practice networking and communicating with our partners with Zach's guidance.

There is a LOT more traveling in my future for networking and the expansion of the network (example: today I was in Bellefontaine in the morning and Lancaster in the afternoon. Consult a map to visualize this adventure). At least I'm not driving as much as my colleague Alesha (her blog), who works in the SE region.

Here's to meeting fantastic people all over Ohio, working together to provide resources and help people be self-sufficient!

Food Stamp Challenge: Reflections

2010-08-20T05:28:00.000-07:00

Today I can buy and eat food with reckless abandon again! Well, not quite, but at least the Food Stamp Challenge is over for my organization. I am still on a very strict budget, still relying on the Direction card for assistance, but the weight of this challenge has been removed.

The light at the end of the tunnel is something that helps me plow through these challenges (I found this similar to my experiences with the 30 Hour Famine). To steal a line from A Knights Tale, "Hope guides me. It is what gets me through the day and especially the night." I only have to do this for a week, and then I'm home free. I absolutely cannot imagine the psychological weight of living this life (with food insecurity). The stress day in and day out from thinking about food: how much you have or don't have, how much you can afford, where your next meal is coming from. When something is deliberately taken away from you, like your freedom to buy what you want when you want it, that something consumes you. It seemed to be a fairly common topic in the office this week: We can't eat normally, so we think about eating a lot. We can do food stamp challenges, work alongside people and hear their stories, but there is not way to add the most critical piece of the puzzle: hope (or the debilitating lack thereof). I am so blessed to always have a way out, to have family and friends to fall back on in times of need.

For the people that don't have that support network, who have lost hope, who are burdened daily with food insecurity, I can only keep coming to work. Life isn't fair, but I believe in making certain parts of life more fair, and attempting to even the playing field one Ohioan at a time.

The last supper. Err, suppers.

2010-08-19T10:37:00.000-07:00

I had to drag myself to Kroger after work yesterday, I was so hungry and exhausted that all I wanted to do was go home and eat. Since I don't have the storage space where I am currently staying, I can't stock up on food for the week, so for this challenge this will be my second trip to the store (I surprisingly stretched a little over 6 dollars from my first trip to 5 days, relying on free meals and creative planning.) I spent 3.99 with the help of a Kroger plus card on a couple days worth of food. That is, if I don't mind eating the same thing for days at a time.

Grocery list:

Broccoli (note to self: "chopped" broccoli is NOT the same as broccoli florrets. "Chopped" broccoli are tiny bits of broccoli stem in a bag. For 89 cents.)
Celery (for dipping in my peanut butter jar)
Rice (brown rice. That takes 45-50 minutes to cook. I was impatient. My rice was crunchy...)
3 red potatoes (my Dad showed me this awesome way to fry red potato slices in olive oil, with garlic powder and dill. SO YUMMY! Don't forget the ketchup with this dish.)

Everything cooked, it made two full meals with plenty of the rice/broccoli left over.

This is the last post about buying/cooking/budgeting food, as the Food Stamp Challenge is OVER TOMORROW! yay!

Won't you be my neighbor?

2010-08-19T05:48:00.000-07:00

In a few short months, my trusty (not to be confused with rusty) colleague John will be leaving me to fend for myself here at OASHF. This makes me sad, because I play 20 questions with him everyday. And by that, I mean I bother him at least 20 times with random questions about best practices and advice. So when he's gone, the desk next to me will be vacated, open and ready for a shiny new VISTA.

If you or someone you know is looking for a job in Columbus, Ohio, please email me at solinger@oashf.org. You can start in November, working in a 15 county region in Central Ohio.

What was that you asked? Why would you want to apply for this position? Golly, let me show you!

You will get to sit right beside me. This is John's desk, from my point of view. He is extremely neat.

This is my desk, for comparison.

You will have a great view! Espcially if you like storms, this window is facing West. For me, it's frightening. For you, perhaps thrilling. Either way, you can view all sorts of happenings 7 stories down on the streets of Columbus.

We also recycle. This can is usually taken up mostly by my sticky notes.

We have FREE COFFEE in our little kitchen down the hall. And a microwave. Perks galore!

Do you know anyone who wants to be an AmeriCorps*VISTA for a year? The only job around where there is an asterisk in the job title. How cool is that?!

Lifting the Family Back to School Event

2010-08-17T15:33:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday I attended a Back to School event in a low-income section of Columbus. When I arrived, there was a line of families winding around the building, waiting to have access to the racks of clothes they could riffle trough to find some new school clothes. There was a group offering free physical and booster shots, and there were bouncy castles to play in!

The best part, of course, was this:

Hello Benefit Bank Mobile Unit! I was at the event with one of our Benefit Bank host sites: East Columbus Developement Company. They are a great site in the middle of a very underserved neighborhood, doing great work in the area, and they wanted to advertise the Benefit Bank service. So we tag-teamed with Russ and Erin in the van, as they could do Quick Checks and refer people to our table to make an appointment if they were indeed eligible.

I also got to meet the woman in charge, the lady of the day, the powerhouse behind organizing events like this and mobilizing the community: Pastor Sue.

She doesn't have a building or office to work out of as I understand, she just pulls together whatever money and people she can get and feeds/clothes hundreds of people at different endeavors. I've heard a couple people talk about her, so it was great to finally meet her and be at an event that she organized. Hopefully I can continue to work with her in the future, considering if she does end up settling in a building she would be a great Benefit Bank site! I find site recruitment is infiltrating my mind. I see most non-profits, churches, or any place that potentially has contact with low to moderate income people, as a Benefit Bank site.

Variety? absent. Ramen? present.

2010-08-17T14:48:00.000-07:00

How is it that Ramen noodles are so cheap anyway? I feel like I'm being ripped off whenever I buy any other noodle package (that doesn't even include a flavor packet!) Or, perhaps I should be wary about what those Ramen curly strings are made out of in the first place.

Regardless of any cheap noodle misgivings, I made Creamy Chicken noodles tonight for dinner. I only bought a few days worth of groceries before, and haven't been back to Kroger since. All I have left are vegetables and tortillas.

Considering I had a tortilla containing all the pictured above vegetables for lunch, and last night for dinner I gorged myself on scrambled eggs since I was absolutely starving after work, Ramen was my last option.

I am definitely facing the "variety" issue. On a budget, you not only are barred from a high quality/high flavor food options, you don't have a lot of food around the house to choose from. If you have a limited amount of money to purchase food, which is a problem a lot of people have when they live paycheck to paycheck, you can't go on big shopping trips and stock up. You only buy what you can eat now. That leaves you with scanty options and an even less positive outlook on the next meal. It's disappointing, frustrating, and disheartening when you know that all you have left are half eaten vegetables and three eggs, but you open the fridge and cupboards with a hope to just maybe find some tasty, filling option you forgot about.

Noodles and water. It's dinner time.

The Chicken Wrap

2010-08-16T12:35:00.000-07:00

I went out and bought $6.46 worth of groceries for two days, attempting to spend 3 dollars per day in the Food Stamp Challenge. I planned a chicken wrap meal for two meals, so here is the first preparation. I mainly photo-documented this because I was so intrigued/grossed out by the bagged chicken.

Step one: dump chicken in pan.

Step two: add diced onions and taco seasoning.

Step three: Place a portion of the mixture into a tortilla, saving the rest for another meal. Add lettuce that's been in the fridge for an unidentified period of time.

Yum! Be thankful for you ingenuity and success in creating this cheap and surprisingly delicious meal.

I should note on here as well that the next night, the family I am staying with cooked pizza for dinner. PIZZA! I politely declined, as I had my leftovers to attend to.

Food Stamp Challenge: Grocery Shopping

2010-08-16T12:24:00.000-07:00

I went grocery shopping Friday night, armed with research from my fellow challengers of the past, outlining purchasing and saving strategies. I most notably discovered that chicken is the cheapest source of meat/protein, and that you shouldn't be afraid of leftovers to stretch your budget. Considering I love chicken and a I grew up in a very fiscally minded family (read: fridge is full of leftovers), I didn't think this shopping/eating experience would be that difficult.

Until I got to the canned chicken isle.

Canned chicken? My grandpa is a farmer and I grew up in rural Ohio, so I have seen chickens all the way from chicken coop to church chicken BBQ. But in a can? It just seems wrong. I opted for chicken in an airtight, sealed bag, which seemed less unnatural to me than canned chicken. Lesson 1: Exploring different packaging options is important in saving money. Especially if I am just shopping for myself, I can't buy expensive fresh chicken or a big bag or frozen chicken breasts as I usually would.

From the bagged/canned chicken aisle I grabbed some Taco seasoning and tortillas. I couldn't pass up Ramen, at 18 cents a packet, as it seems like the quintessential cheap food purchase. Planning for breakfast, I grabbed a half carton of eggs, and decided an onion would supplement my chicken tacos AND my eggs wonderfully. After navigating the "peeled onions" (how nice of them! how expensive of them!) and avoiding the ever sneaky organic labels, I found a cheap white onion. Off to the checkout to see how I did, purchasing enough food for two days. Lesson 2: Purchasing taste boosters like Taco seasoning and onions will drastically help improve cheap food quality.

This is a pseudo-challenge for me, considering I already use the Ohio Direction Card (aka SNAP, aka food assistance, aka food stamps). It is a work SUPPORT program and food ASSISTANCE, so I'm not always constrained to the 3 dollars a day regulation. I use it, as hopefully others do, as a leg up to self-sufficiency during my time of low wage employment.

It also helps (at least at Kroger) to bring your own bag. I believe it's a 3 cent credit on your total. I have a couple big bags from Kohls that I keep in my car and use whenever I shop.

With my Kroger card discount, I totaled out at 6.46. That's a little over my budget for two days...

It all evened out in the end, as I got a meal Saturday afternoon at the Lifting the Families Back to School Event. I was working this event with a volunteer who is on cash assistance, meaning he is earning 50% or below the FPIG. I told him about the food stamp challenge, and we both concluded as people on strained budgets, that we would accept free food whenever we got the chance. I guess that's not part of the official challenge, but I think letting go of pride and being creative in ways to attain food is a part of the challenge in any capacity. Lesson 3: Know when to follow rules and when to bend them, especially when free hot dogs and cookies are involved.

See my latest post to view how I cooked what I bought!

HealthPath Event

2010-08-13T19:17:00.000-07:00

VISTAs across Ohio are working on a partnership with the Benefit Bank and HealthPath, which provided funding for outreach and events to introduce the presence of HealthPath in the region and to roll out our new campaign: "Do You Know Someone..." We all know someone who has in some way been effected by the economic downturn; a friend, neighbo, or relative that has lost a job or needs assistance in some way.

One of these networking/information events, organized by another VISTA, was held this week in one of my counties. Clark county is on the West edge of the Central Ohio region, and the county seat where the event was is Springfield (I drove past it every time I travelled back and forth to school, never thought I would have any personal investment there!)

Look at all these people! Notice they all get a mug that is shaped like a little flower pot (Second Harvest Foodbanks = distributing produce = Flower pot. Genious), as well as a laptop bag. There were a little over 40 people in attendance, including the mayor of Springfield, an assistant to a Senator, two county commissioners, a couple city commissioners, the director of Job and Family Services, the regional coordinator of the Second Harvest Foodbank in Clark, Champaign and Logan counties, and representatives from social service organizations that are integral in assisting the citizens of Clark county every day.

We even got free lunch. (This was before the Food Stamp Challenge, don't give me those accusing looks. No cheaters here!)

The representative from HealthPath awarded Keith, the regional director of Second Harvest Foodbanks, a check for his Foodbank to help feed Clark County.

I was on the opposite side of the room, ready to sign people up for training webinars if they wanted to become a site, and taking pictures from my phone. So we are all going to imagine how exctiing and wonderful that check presentation was, in light of absent artistic photo capturing skills.

It was so great to have a lot of the people I have been trying to contact all together in one place. My projects are all picking up speed, the next couple weeks in August are going to be a whirlwind of site visits and meetings. Especially since I will be moving into my NEW APARTMENT in a couple weeks. woohoo!

Peanuts and Obesity

2010-08-13T10:41:00.001-07:00

Not only am I earning peanuts (read: low wages) at my job, I am eating them too.

Lunch on my first day of the Foodstamp Challenge:

My lunch with a friend at Subway was canceled, so I stuck with my peanut stash for sustanance. And when I say stash, I truly mean that I keep baggies of peanuts and wheat thins in my desk drawer for my snacks. I feel like one of the older ladies from church when I was growing up, they always had a drawer in their house with some hidden stash of goodies.

So now my snacks have become my meals, which I think is also a relevant concept for those trying to buy food cheaply. Some people may see a disconnect between obesity and hunger, but I believe (and bet you can find many more reports on) they are linked. Compare the price of a gallon of milk and a liter of soda. If you were strapped for cash and had thirsty children, what would you do? Some people would consider pop, junk food and fast food special treats, but to others it becomes a regular diet.

With this challenge, we are limited to one dollar per meal. Where would you go to get a meal for one dollar?

How many of you thought of the McDonald's Dollar Menu as your solution? When I worked at the Boys and Girls Club in Hamilton, parents (strapped for cash and time) would send their children with McDonald's takeout for lunch. While I grew up with my mother packing chipchop ham sandwiches, carrots, a Little Debbie snack, and a thermos of chocolate milk, some kids' bodies have to deal with processing McDonalds, pop, and other foods that can be very filling but very unhealthy. Hence hunger + no money = obesity. Kind of strange, but it looks like the reality of the situation.

I am making the decision to truncate this train of thought on hunger. It's cruel to record and analyze food in society when I am hungry.

Foodstamp Challenge, Commence!

2010-08-13T07:34:00.000-07:00

nourishedkitchen.com

The Foodstamp Challenge begins today at the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks.

Which means that I am only allowed to spend $3 per day on food, the same amount that someone surviving on social services would spend.

Which means that I am going to have some trouble finding a $3 Subway sandwich when I meet a friend there for lunch. Which means I'll have to spend $5 for a footlong (are you singing that jingle in your head now? *evil laugh* What a catchy song...), which means I can essentially only spend ONE dollar tomorrow. The rules say I am allowed to use condiments and spices that I already own. Ranch dressing has a lot of fatty goodness, right?

This is just like the 30 Hour Famine. I'm hungry already.

Hopefully this will raise awareness and encourage policy makers and other people who may not be aware of the difficulties people have with food insecurity to try the challenge themselves. It's been done before in a couple instances, like back in 2007: Lawmakers Find $21 a Week Doesn't Buy a Lot of Groceries

http://www.ashleycecil.com/

Leather Bound (Note)book

2010-08-05T06:49:00.000-07:00

This is like my 5th post in the past two days, so if you are an ardent reader of my blog, don't forget to scroll down and check out earlier entries!

I absolutley had to do a special post on the newest addition to my OASHF swag/professional toolkit.

I'm definitely moving up in the world, as "I have ~~many~~ one leather-bound ~~books~~ binder, and my ~~apartment~~ desk ~~smells of~~ looks like rich mahogany." #anchormanfans?

Family and Civic Engagement Plans

2010-08-05T06:33:00.000-07:00

Do you know a teacher/administrator in a school district in Central Ohio that are looking for ways to fulfill the school's Family and Civic Engagement Plan requirements?

Here is an over of what the House Bill says for schools:

HB 1 establishes family and civic engagement requirements for Ohio’s schools, families and communities. Together, schools, families and communities work to ensure all children have supports needed to graduate from high school prepared for additional educational experiences, the workforce and a healthy life style. Ohio’s goal is to have high-performing family and civic engagement teams and county family and children first councils that effectively and systematically connect all children, youth and families in need to school and community-based services and programs.

The Benefit Bank is actually a perfect tool for schools to use to support their students and families. Coordinators don't even have to create a work plan for implementation, as Benefit Bank administrators already created a Template based on District Comprehensive Continuous Improvement Plan (CCIP) that your school can use.

You can check out this webinar the Ohio Department of Education posted about the Benefit Bank as a suggestion for school districts:

http://education.ohio.gov/GD/Templates/Pages/ODE/ODEDetail.aspx?Page=3&TopicRelationID=428&Content=88803

Direct Mail Outreach

2010-08-05T05:26:00.000-07:00

The radio DJ this morning inquired of his listeners: "Are you working at a job that has nothing to do with you college major? Then you're probably a Gen X-er!"

Well guess what Mr. DJ, even though it is true I am not exactley in a position that directly relates to my major, I am still integrating components of public relations.

Look! It's direct mail!

Do YOU want to know more about the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks and the Benefit Bank before your organization becomes a site? If you live in Central Ohio, let me know, and you will receive this sweet packet:

Mid-Ohio Foodbank Tour

2010-08-04T18:22:00.000-07:00

Considering my last post was so long, I'll make this one short and sweet. And include pictures! Above is front view of the Mid-Ohio Foodbank, affectionalty abbreviated as MOFB from here on out.

First, check out their impressive website: www.midohiofoodbank.org

It was truly a fantastic facility in every way. It is one of the 12 member foodbanks that my organization heads up, so it acts like a distribution center to smaller food pantries and soup kitchens across mid-Ohio. They just moved in to this facility in the past year, it was previously a matress factory. Think of a huge warehouse of matresses, now full of bulk food!

As soon as you walk in you can actually see in to the warehouse, through three story high bay windows in the lobby. Cool!

The best part is that they are LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified Gold. See here for more information on that distinction.

THIS is the overview from the MOFB site on how their facility is designed.

Our favorite college football team, the Ohio State Buckeyes, loves the MOFB too!

Colloquium with a Clergy

2010-08-04T18:05:00.001-07:00

I am doing some site recruiting in the rural areas of my region, so residents will have more options and better access to public benefits where they already “live, work, play and pray.”

Speaking of praying…

While in Springfield at a nonprofit I was referred to my contact’s church to visit as a potential site. This isn’t uncommon, there are a good number of Christians in the non-profit world, and sometimes at the end of a site visit they will do a little “Oh by the way, here is the name and number of my church, we already do this, this and this to help people in our community, can you talk to them about the Benefit Bank?”

So I called up the pastor I was referred to, on a whim that he might be at the church and available to meet. He was. I went.

This was a complete cold call, so I started with the basics of Second Harvest Foodbanks and on a very surface level what the Benefit Bank is. (Think application consolidation tool, reducing barriers to public assistance, helping low income families access food assistance, etc).

I paused to see if he had questions. Not only did he not have any, but he had something to add to the discussion.

He pulled his Bible across the table, immediately flipped to Timothy (“one of the letters that Paul wrote…” he tells me. Thanks.)

He points his finger to the bottom of the page and reads aloud “If a man will not work, he should not eat.”

After a meaningful pause he looks up at me, and then starts explaining his views on public assistance, the sins of laziness, compassion, and liberal idealism.

The funny thing is, I agreed with a lot of what he was saying. The way he approached it seemed very confrontational and judgmental, but he was basically just explaining hard love. You know, if you love someone that is addicted to a substance that is destroying them, the loving thing to do (according to him) is to not give them assistance. Open the door, offer support and help, but don’t let them walk through that door and give handouts to let them sustain a life of destruction. True compassion can be hard to put into practice. Life is hard, right? Cheating makes it easy, and handouts are cheating.

He also spoke about the current ideology of our nation, what he kept calling the liberal mindset, of REACHING OUT to people for help. This went against his ideals work ethic: If people aren’t going to work or even try to earn something for a living, we shouldn’t just hand them free stuff. If people are going to fall to the sins of laziness and not work, he said, that we don’t want to help them. We want to offer a rope of help, but they won’t grab on we won’t go chasing after them.

I think his terminology is really what got me confused. I feel like I am always throwing around terms like “reaching out,” but not with the goal of touching and pulling in everyone (willingly or unwillingly) that I deem needs help. Reaching out, to me, is just opening that door. Creating awareness that there is a helping hand, there is support, there is a way out. So when he demonized terms and ideas that I have been acting on, but in the next breath stated another solid ideal that I hold, I didn’t know what to make of it.

I concluded, about an hour and half into the conversation, that it sounded like his church would be a great referral site. In that way, if they deemed a family/ person a “candidate” to get help from the government to aid in survival efforts, they could refer them to another Benefit Bank site that would take them through the process.

He proceeded to then ask what the next steps were to actually becoming an official site (not a referral organization). “I need to make sure of something,” I began, trying to figure out how to word my concerns. “If you are an official site, you can’t deny people signing up for benefits. Anyone who comes to you, even if they don’t have a job or may perhaps seem lazy, would have to have access to your services if you are an open site.”

“Well of course!” He exclaims. Apparently, the simple act of making the effort to collect their documents and seek out help in meeting with him would be enough on their end. His problem comes if he has to seek people out, if he would have to “chase people down” if they didn’t come to him for help. I explained that none of our sites “chase people down,” that most sites serve people who are coming to them anyways, and if someone misses an appointment there is no obligation on the site’s part to wrassle them up, sit them down, and make sure they get benefits.

“Good,” he says, “because we’re living in a liberally minded nation where people are trying to reach out to everyone to help…”

Do you see where I was confused? How I agreed with what his thoughts are, but didn't? Even the public benefits themselves are called “work support,” you can’t survive on them alone. They are meant to help when a family is down on their luck, when they are in education, job training, or looking for a job. I am all about walking beside someone, teaching them self-sufficiency, not giving handouts, etc. We even spoke today about the plight of the working poor. He pointed out that even though the Bible says Christians should help the poor, the definition of “poor” should be seen as those who can’t work, not those who won’t work.

He did ask if he could pray at the end of our meeting. I obliged, and I spent a couple minutes listening to a heartfelt prayer of a man trying to help his neighbors according to scripture, a man with strong opinions, a big heart, lots of energy, and a man who has given me a lot to think about.

What do YOU think about the Christian/scriptural basics of helping the “poor” in our nation?

It's Official!

2010-08-02T14:14:00.000-07:00

Don't adjust your screens folks, and don't grab your reading glasses. You are correctly viewing my very official Community Trainer certification. I requested a neon sign advertising my position for over my desk, but this is all I got. Oh well.

Food Stamp Challenge!

2010-07-29T07:07:00.000-07:00

Despite the fact that I am already on food assistance, I am participating in an office-wide "Food Stamp Challenge." Here is an overview:

Everyday individuals all of Ohio call the Ohio Benefit Bank hotline, come into the Site Support Office for the Ohio Benefit Bank, or visit an Ohio Benefit Bank counselor because they find that they are having difficulty surviving the difficult economic circumstances. Unemployment benefits are expiring for many Ohioans, and they will turn to Food Assistance and other programs to meet their basic needs. In an effort to show solidarity with the people whom we seek to serve, we are challenging the staff of the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks to live off of a food stamp diet.

For one week, starting August 13^th, we are challenging you to take part in the challenge and live on the nationwide average food stamp benefit. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which is responsible for administering the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the nationwide average benefit in FY2005 was $94.05 per month, per person, or approximately $3 a day.

Do you think you can do it? Do you think you can:

1. Only spend a total of $21 on food and beverages during the week

2. Follow SNAP rules as to what can be purchased and only shop at stores that accept EBT cards. (No prepared foods, no dining out)

3. During the Challenge, only eat food that your purchase for this project. Do not eat food that you already own (except for spices and condiments)

4. Avoid accepting free food or beverages at work.

5. Please keep track of receipts on food spending and take note of your experiences throughout the week

The office will be recording their experiences on the intranet, but I'll keep blogging on here about the Challenge. If YOU want to particiapte starting August 13, I would love to include some guests posts or your thoughts about your own experience trying to live on the above guidelines, even if just for one day.

“Change will not wait for some other person or some other time. We are the one’s we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek!”

-President Obama

Family First

2010-07-27T10:49:00.000-07:00

If you watched the Dateline special on poverty in SE Ohio, you would have met a woman named Sunny. First of all, I think it would be a lot of pressure to be named after a disposition. For this woman, her outlook on life and the finer things, like self actualization that could produce that "sunny disposition," take a back burner to other issues. Like food. And shelter.

Sunny, during most of the 9 months Ann Curry followed the community, lived in a house with 14 other people. She moved in with her husband and children to her parents home because her father become ill. She quit her job to do this.

Honestly, my first thoughts upon watching this included words like "irresponsible" and "crazy." Now, I love my parents dearly (Hi Mom and Dad!) but I don't think they would even approve of me quitting a job to move in and care for them. I think we would try to work something out, leaning on a wider network of friends, family, neighbors, church, etc to care for the sick person.

That's how I was raised. Now, we're not a "live to work" family, where we value work above family or self. I would even say we are the opposite, where we align with the "work to live" mindset, working only to make sure we can pay for things, to sustain the family responsibly, to plan for the future.

What happens, though, if I hadn't grown up in my particular family? What happens if I was never taught to save, to plan for the future, to make "smart" decisions in light of my economic and social situation? What happens if my culture values family, and the care of elders, above anything else?

I've seen it happen before on mission trips to Appalachia. There was a group of families living in what I can only describe as a "holler," surrounded by shells of rusted out cars and crowded with chickens, beagles, and numerous family members. Two of the men in the family were out of work, and couldn't keep a job when they got one, because they consistently put their family first. When their mother was sick, they took care of her and working took a back seat.

I'm not making excuses for people, there are many decisions and turns to take in life. But I do think it is very, very important for people who would lay judgment on those who act (in their eyes) irresponsibly to consider differing cultures and varied orders of priorities in the people they may see on television.

People get in tough situations, but instead of judging and griping, we need to continue work to build sustainable lifestyles and communities, educating on self-sufficiency. If we turn our backs and shun people who are different, people who we think are "less" because they act differently than we expect them to, the problem of poverty can not and will not just go away. As Zach preaches, we have to be proactive (in building lives), not reactive (to individual situations.)

NBC Dateline feature: America Now - Friends and Neighbors.

2010-07-23T12:42:00.000-07:00

I feel like I am a part of truly making a difference with OASHF and the Ohio Benefit Bank tool. My program is also the largest VISTA program in the entire Mid-west, so that's kind of exciting as well. What's more exciting? Ann Curry travling to SE Ohio to report on poverty, feauturing people that work with OASHF and have benefitted from the OBB.

THIS is an article about the news story.

There is a preview of the news feature HERE, but if you want to watch the entire thing when it airs, tune in to NBC Dateline this Sunday at 7 pm. It's called "America Now - Friends and Neighbors."

NBC's Ann Curry travels to Ohio to examine poverty in the heartland, where the hardworking poor are increasingly seen in food pantry lines ashamed and angry.

Push the Limits. Turn off my brain.

2010-07-22T12:13:00.000-07:00

One may think that to push the limits, ones brain should be ON and firing. But for me to get up and present about the OBB for the very first time, expecting 15 people, seeing 75, I have to turn my brain off. For me to cold call around 70 organizations in three counties and try to convince them to let me talk long enough to tell them about the Benefit Bank, I have to turn my brain off. I can't think about what I am doing, I just have to do it. As long as I am moderately successful, that's the plan. Brain off, plow forward.

Image credit: boltonspeakersclub.org.uk

Swag

2010-07-22T10:38:00.000-07:00

Look everyone, I got my very own snazzy new shirt!

They gave me clothes, yet I still have to deal out business cards that look like this:

It's all so very exciting and official.

First Training and Humorous Discoveries

2010-07-21T10:00:00.000-07:00

Considering my mother now reads my blog is gets nervous when she sees the last post containing the words "I think I'm going to throw up," I'll quickly update everyone. All five of you.

My first training actually went well. There were two deaf women from Deaf Services, so it was a little awkward to have them facing away from me and watching the interpreter the entire time. I took sign language in college so I know some basics, but I can barely explain public benefits aloud in English let alone by signing. There rest of the group was comprised of women, pretty typical in the non-profit world I hate to say.

Zach sat in to observe and make sure I didn't steer the trainees completely off track. It was a great comfort to have him there and defer questions to. There are so many intricacies in public benefits. This is a position dealing directly with people, so there will always been differing circumstances and I will never have all the answers. (As hard as I try, I am a perfectionist) I only had to defer to him a couple times, and he only had a few corrections and clarifications at the end. Woohoo!

My lips were numb by lunch (seriously, how do people do this all day?), but all in all it was positive. Gosh, it better have been positive considering this is my main job description! I only have one more observation next week before I am officially certified.

In other news, I attended a presentation with Zach at a pregnancy care center here in Columbus. While we were waiting, I found a brochure in their lobby entitled "10 Reason NOT to get pregnant." Number seven on that list?

You could DIE.

I am not kidding you. It had more explanation, I think linking contracting HIV/AIDS from having sex, but I was too distracted by their clever scare tactics to take note.

I'll leave it at that, as I'm sure this job will lead to plenty of other fantastic discoveries over the next year. Like this!

(If you can't read it, the organization is trying to call itself HOPE, gaining the acronym from Helping Our young People connEct with God). Yeah...

It's Here

2010-07-20T04:49:00.000-07:00

Today is my first time leading the 6 hour training. I think I'm going to throw up. That is all.

Other VISTA/OBB blogs

2010-07-16T09:40:00.000-07:00

I want to give credit where credit is due by linking out to the various blogs by VISTAs in the area and from OBB's Mobile Unit team that entertained and informed me in the first couple weeks of my position. Some bloggers are ending their terms, others are just beginning, and the mobile unit continues to have adventures all across Ohio. Enjoy!

525,600 Minutes: Measuring a Year as a Vista

My Life as a VISTA

Making [social] Change

Ohio Benefit Bank Mobile Express

Visualization!

2010-07-16T06:36:00.000-07:00

I love data visualization and using media/art to understand concepts. Check out this Wordle (word cloud) I created from OASHF's About Us webpage:

Training Oberservation

2010-07-15T11:27:00.000-07:00

Can't...stuff...more....information...into my head. I am sitting in my second training observation today, as preparation to take the reins and train my very own group of fledgling OBB counselors next week. Please keep in mind, this is a 6 hour training. Six. Hours. I currently have 8 pages of supplemental notes to help me through the guidebook. Jessica Mays, the regional coordinator for Southeast Ohio is actually facilitating this training in our Direct Service Office in downtown Columbus. I am mainly writing down her jokes to use in my trainings, as I am not witty, and these trainings have a tendency to put people to sleep. (I'm not kidding, at every training I have been to at least one person is conked out, unconscious, or at least nodding heavily for a couple of minutes. Fun to watch.) So I need entertaining material. What do you guys think of this one Jessica used?
“Has anyone ever had to do the FAFSA? Scale of 1-10, how awesome was it? I found it to be about minus 3, personally”

I promise, it's funny in person.

It also illustrates the importance of the Benefit Bank. Every time I learn more about all the benefits, how you apply for them and who administers them, it seems more daunting for people who need them. The Benefit Bank helps people apply so they have access to federal money to spend HERE IN OHIO to boost local economies. Beware, I am becoming a walking billboard for OBB. Only because it's so fantastic!

Outreach Research Begins

2010-07-14T10:42:00.000-07:00

I wish residents in the counties I am trying to research would write a blog, or a paper, or keep an online journal about “life in Champaiagn county!” or perhaps “The state of non profits and the economy of my county, and ideas I have for outreach!” I wish it was that easy. I am left to spend hours looking over government websites interpreting census data and weeding through the “come visit us! We’re so fun!” marketing fronts on the county websites. (Champaign county actually has a pretty impressive site: http://www.champaignohio.com/) It’s all just a little daunting at this point because it should be obvious that I cannot get a picture of a community, or even an organization, without being a part of it and creating relationships in person. This holds true with any organization: you never know how it really works until you are a part of it. So I need to start building relationships in each of the three (very rural) counties I am focusing on, to get a taste of the mindsets and situations of the people. Then I can begin creating outreach strategies to make the OBB network stronger, with an end goal of having enough organizations as OBB sites to help residents access benefits they need. How in the world am I supposed to get this all in one year?

I guess this is where the sustainability part of being a VISTA comes in. As I am doing research, making contacts, and developing producers I am documenting what I do. This way the next VISTA can take a couple of weeks to figure everything out and jump right in where I left off. At least, that is the hope.

All this will have to wait at least one more day, because in T-minus 45 minutes I am leaving for a meeting (read: party) at the beach with other VISTAs from my area. As my term just began, some of their terms are ending soon, so we are reviewing experiences and bonding! Why is it that so many organizations I become involved in are focused on “bonding?” I’ll call it networking with fantastic peers who I can gain expertise and energy from to last out the rest of my own term.

Direct vs Indirect Service

2010-07-14T06:51:00.001-07:00

9:30 every morning like clockwork, my stomach creates a ruckus that disturbs my work as I’m sure everyone around me. Why is it so needy? My trip to the break room to stave off hunger with a cup of coffee reminds me that I am finally part of this elusive “adult world” of office buildings that have water colors and break rooms with coffee (as opposed to my entire job consisting of making and handing out that coffee). The other difference is my work now consisting of indirect service, where before I was only doing direct service. Basically this means before I was hanging out with people, playing with kids, interacting with the community, giving out meals, etc, where now I am on an organizational level, building capacity and connecting organizations and people with tools. I can’t get a clear picture yet of which type I prefer, though granted I have only been at this less than a month. Already in my indirect role I feel like I can see results better, as I am dealing more with numbers equated to success.