Tax Training and Re-Entry Conference

My first tax training was definitely felt like I was deluged with information. I certainly learned a lot from it! I gained a genuine, heartfelt appreciation for the Benefit Bank software, once I had to complete the tax forms by hand. The tax forms confusing because they lacked clarity in some areas.
This was my first experience with taxes in every sense; I did not know the difference between a credit and a deduction when I started. I commend the OASHF staff for de-tangling the complexity of taxes and teaching me about the motley of forms one by one.
Even with my unfamiliarity with taxes, I am excited to help people get their earned income tax credits. Specifically, I like the aspect of instant gratification- the number they see is the number they will receive (assuming all information is correct)!

This past Saturday, I performed Quick Checks at a Re-Entry Conference. The population of the attendees was very dynamic. There were inmates up for release, people from recovery programs, and members of church-based programs. Basically, there were people looking to give help and get help in the same conference. It was pretty incredible! Some of the sessions they had also seemed interesting; one of them focused on trying to get the inmates talk about their emotions. I know that this may sound a little bit too effusive, but I thought it was it was very thoughtful aspect of recovery. There were various organizations present ranging from public health clinics, to church services, to re-entry organizations. Many people were very interested in the OBB and surprised by what it had to offer.

DYS event

Yesterday Meliva and I traveled to the Ohio Valley Correctional Facility in Franklin Furnace, Ohio. The journey to Scioto County was a winded country road that seemed to never end. I had never been inside a prison before and did not know what to expect. When we got the facility, we realized that we didn't have a contact person and no one at the facility was expecting us. After repairing up their miscommunication issues, they allowed us to enter. I was pretty surprised at how nice the facility was. They had their own high school, cafeteria, basketball courts, and medical center. It reminded me a little bit of a campus.

The youth that we helped were due to be released. I was surprised by how respectful they were. Their demeanor definitely helped relieve my anxiety about interacting with them. It was sort of difficult to do their application for public benefits because they didn't really have any information about members of their household. Helping them learn how to apply before they are released will hopefully provide them with an agenda after they are released. We made sure that we wrote out directions to update information of their application upon their release. Some of them seemed unlikely to follow through with it, while others were excited to embark on a better journey!

In-service Training

I found out VISTA in-service training to be quite insightful. In particular, the poverty simulation was beneficial in helping create a greater awareness for the stresses that those in poverty undergo. I confirmed that "getting by" is definitely a challenge and that improving one's socioeconomic status sometimes depends on luck. In the poverty simulation, my family ended up better off than we had started; this was the result of luck and a few good choices. Even though our house was temporarily evicted, we had food three out of four weeks, and had jobs. I think this was possible because my group was more familiar with public benefits than other groups and we had knowledge of where to go. Ultimately, in every sense, knowledge is power. Importantly, I learned to distinguish minimum wage from living wage, why it is important. In the end, I felt good that I am working to help power people to access resources that are available to them. I still feel discombobulated with the challenges the those in poverty face and I know there is much more to do.