Pre-Service Orientation Reflections

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.

Friends of the Homeless direct service

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.

Won't you be my neighbor?

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?!

It's Official!

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!

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

 

Swag

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

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

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

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

Direct vs Indirect Service

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.

Sticky Notes

My desk is covered in sticky notes. I am doing Norwalk Furniture a huge favor though, as their sticky notes are the only ones I have right now and their name/logo is plastered for all the office to see. As I am still trying to get a system down for scheduling (get email, send response, follow up, put on calendar, clear with Zach, confirm procedure, etc), the sticky notes are essential. I am hoping I will become better versed in organizing all the communication I do, but if little pieces of paper as reminders work best…I’m going to have to buy some more interesting looking pads of paper.

For all you environmentalists out there, rest assured that I ALSO use the digital sticky notes on my desktop. Don’t worry. I’ve definitely cut my use of the wasteful paper stuff down :-)

Starving to Serve, the Beginning

Starving to Serve. See what I did there? I'm an AmeriCorps*VISTA, so my measly stipend (ahem...generous stipend with which I am grateful to live with!) just gets me by on the essentials. Food assistance (SNAP) is a great help as well, so the "starving" part is actually representative of my desire and feeling of absolute duty to serve. The title really has to be credited to my dear friend, Matt. He was the only one who responded to my "help me name my new blog" call on Twitter, and luckily he's a clever guy.

So you aren't bogged down with reading my inevitably wordy description of all the organizations and programs I am working for, I'll link them all out below and you can read them at your leisure. Within the next year of blogging, hopefully you can also get a better picture of what they all do.

My pain project: http://www.ohiobenefits.org
OBB is sponsored by, and I am in the office of: http://www.oashf.org/
AmeriCorps*VISTA!! http://www.americorps.gov