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.

Shared Harvest Agency meeting

This past Friday I attended the Shared Harvest Agency meeting. The meeting started off with a poignant slide show with quotes about Hunger. One I particularly connected with was "Hunger also changes the world - when eating can't be a habit, then neither can seeing." Maxine Hong Kingston. This is from my belief that many diseases can be prevented/ treated by maintaining a healthy diet and participating in healthful behavior. It is shocking that in America, the land of abundance, that hunger is such a prevalent issue. While the food stamps is called supplemental nutrition assistance, it is mostly the case that it is the only sole source of nutrition.
The meeting also had many interesting presenters. I learned that 36 cents of every tax dollar goes to education and 39 cents of every dollar go to medicaid, while a marginally amount is allocated for food assistance. For a person living on a low-income, that makes very little sense. They aren't able to get the proper nutrition in the first place, which ensues in poor health. Then the government ends up spending more for their medical expenses. This is especially applicable to the cause of chronic diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure.
I went to an interesting workshop about nutrition from OSU extension. I was surprised that there were only four people attended. This attendance influences my view that nutrition is not a exactly a priority. I learned that the cost of vegetables and fruit have gone up 120% in the past 15 years, while the cost of sugary junk food has gone up only 20% as a result of corn syrup. I also gained insight as to why food insecurities are linked to obesity, and people on food stamps are increasingly less healthier than low-income individuals not receiving food stamps. A common trend for people on food stamps is to eat in surplus at the beginning of the month when they have money, and then go into starvation at the end of the month. These binge-starvation cycles are linked to the increase in obesity and diabetes on food assistance recipients. The body acclimates to hold more energy during the starvation period, and results in weight gain during the surplus period. I am fascinated by the body's ability to adapt to circumstances created by environmental sources.
Further, I appreciated that the extension was working to help families create healthful meals using the foods that were available to them through the food pantry. It was a creative idea to have samples out of the families and then provide recipe cards.

All in a Day's Work

Last week, I participated in two community service opportunities in remembrance of September 11th. Last Friday, a few other VISTAs and I went helped clean up a school that Hamilton Living Waters would use to make a community center for elementary and teenage children. It was a nice change to do direct service! Capacity building is important, but it's also good to see a direct impact from your actions. We organized the chairs throughout the building, and carried over a 130 chairs up the stairs ( no elevators!) Yes, we all had our work-out for the day! In addition, we swept up all the shards of glass and the inches deep dust and dirt of the the floor. We were all coughing, sneezing, and wheezing when we were done. In the area, there was a problem of young teenage males, throwing left behind bricks and large rocks into windows of the school. I was really impressed with the staff at Living Waters' ability to empathize with the males, opposed to expressing their anger. They realized that the boys did not have soccer teams or baseball teams where they could constructively utilize their energy. Thus, they turned to throwing rocks into glass windows, burning picnic tables, and sneaking into the building to huff paint. To help, we picked up large rocks and bricks throughout the area; however, the rocks did not end! Whenever we pick up one, we found five more! Oh well, I hope our efforts deterred the teenagers from throwing glass in windows.
In addition, we picked up trash around the building and playground. It was also interesting to read some of the graffiti of the playground before we removed it! In the end there was a noticeable difference in the appearance of the building and the organization inside.
At the end of our day, we sat down and reflected about September 11th. We learned what each one of us was doing when we found out about 9/11, and our thoughts about its impact today. It was a really a meaningful day; I learned about issues effecting in local community in remembrance of an event that impacted the nation.
On Saturday, September 11th, I tabled a booth at the Evangel Church of God’s Community Day Event. It was amazing to see the sense of solidarity in their community. They began the event by having the Boy Scouts raise the flag at half mass, raise it high again and was followed by the singing of the National Anthem. The event was very coordinated and had something for every age. There were inflatable games, face painting, a bike parade, a petting zoo, and desirable door prizes. In addition, they had a live band perform. It was hard to compete with that! There was an insurance company and another non-profit at the event that also seemed to have trouble getting too many people who were interested. While the MC’s mentioned OBB throughout the event and why it’s important, it was difficult to get a big flow of people to come into my room for Quick Checks. It also didn’t help that I internet was very on and off. It would decide to work for a Quick Check for one person, but not the next person. The church requested that I leave literature so that they can pass it out in their food pantry. One woman, who had said she was not interested in public benefits last year, said her circumstances have changed drastically and is very interested in public benefits. The more and more outreach events that I do, I realize the impact of the recession. People are working hard for their families, but there is simply not enough available work do to.

OBB Conference!

I spend the last two days in Columbus at the OBB conference. It was a really insightful learning experience! All of Wednesday was devoted to public benefits and Thursday was spend on learning about tax clinics. So much fine print! I learned new things about public benefits and will be able to explain certain benefits to my clients in greater detail. Sometimes the information sessions about VITA and other tax-related topics were a bit over my head, but its was good to familiarize myself with the jargon. I found the tax clinic stimulation to be particularly helpful because it helped me understand the flow of various tax clinic sessions.
In addition, I watched a really sad documentary about three struggling families living in Southeast Ohio. I was really struck by the documentary, and was really glad that I am positioned at a Foodbank. The documentary helped me realize the impact that a Foodbank has in the community.I think providing for people's basic needs is the foundation upon which a society can grow. It is something that is often overlooked. In the country of abundance and where obesity is on the rise, it is hard to believe that communities are struggling to find nourishment. I am interested in getting Shared Harvest involved with the paper plate campaign that was featured in the documentary. I thought it was a thoughtful way to send the message to politicians in Washington. As a side note, I thought it was interesting to see one of the people who did not have enough money for food, smoking a cigarette. It made me realize how addicting cigarettes are, and think about the lack of education, or anti-smoking campaigns in the area.
Furthey, the conference was a great way to catch up with my fellow VISTAs. It was great to be able to reconnect with them.

School Delivery

At last, each school district received their school supplies. I think sometimes Murphy's Law can take effect no matter how hard you try and plan ahead of time, and in the end the you come out stronger. For example, there was a huge miscommunication between one of the schools and the delivery company, and as a result they failed to deliver the supplies to that school. I learned how to utilize my resources, track a shipment, and coordinated another delivery.
Also, from talking to some people at the schools, I learned that impact that providing school supplies can have. So many people called to express their gratitude and convey how helpful these supplies are in the lives of students and their families. Hearing that motivates me to want start seeking grants and writing grant proposals!
I have also been trying to find out information about the allocation of these supplies. Each school district is doing it differently. Some schools are leaving it up to the principals to decide,while others schools are handing them to students who request and qualify at orientation. I have learned that the delivery mishap impacts how the supplies are allocated. As a result of the one week delay in the delivery, many schools could not recruit volunteers in time to package the school supplies into kits to be delivered before school starts. I feel sympathetic for the students who were told that there would be supplies available for them, but then don't receive them when school starts. This might ensue in them being ill-prepared for school and increasing the stress on their families because they suddenly need to find ways to pay for their supplies.
Lastly, I am very impressed with the work that Kaitlyn, the previous VISTA, did work this project. I have gained a glimpse of the work required for being the "project manager" for this campaign. I am so glad that she laid out the foundation for what I will be doing. This tells me that I need to get to work!

First Successful Training and School Delivery Mishap

This past Thursday, August 12th was a big day. I had my first training where I felt really comfortable with the material and could explain how the Benefit Bank works with ease. I think after helping my first client, I was better able to answer questions and convey important details. I had a few questions that I did not know the answer to, but as the training progressed, I felt more and more comfortable saying I don't know and that I will get back to them. All of the volunteers were attentive and asked meaningful questions. This definitely helped the training run smoothly. Best of all, there were an adequate amount of efficient computers and which helped speed up the process!
This Thursday was also the Butler County school supply delivery date. However, I found out this morning that the delivery did not materialize. It was disappointing that all of the coordination involved in setting a up a successful delivery resulted in a failure to deliver. Worst of all, the Dayton Daily News showed up to Middletown School district to report on the delivery and work done to raise the school supplies, only to wait and discover the supplies had not be delivered. At this point, I am just hoping that supplies are delivered to the schools before the schools start so that the students can access them so they can focus on their education. I am curious to see how the schools plan on distributing the supplies. Will they provide the students with the kits on the day one, or will the teachers distribute them as supplies run out? Each step along the way, I have questions that I had not previously thought of!

First OBB client and Back to School Event!

Last Tuesday, I assisted my first OBB client. I realized how much I appreciate the question-answer based format of the software; it is so convenient! At first my client thought that I was a social-worker and that I would not only help her apply for benefits, but also guarantee them to her. After I clarified my role, she seemed a confused about the meaning her visit and why she couldn't have applied on her own. This led me to wonder how mislead clients are when they first use the benefit bank. After my client found out how much money for food assistance she was probably eligible for, she asked about the accuracy of the benefit bank indicator. As a counselor, I felt a level of responsibility for the outcome of her benefits, even though I know it is only my role to help her apply. After learning about her situation, I found myself hoping that she would receive benefits as much as she did. It was overall a very rewarding experience, and I am really glad I had gone through the benefits training.
This Saturday, Alex and I went to back to school event at a church in Dayton with our Quick Check working in full function. The church was giving away school supplies ranging from character backpacks to mechanical pencils. I was impressed at how organized the event was! This was my first time using the Quick Check at an outreach event, because it wasn’t working for us at the Smart Money Event. It had such an impact! People would come to our table and tell us that they probably did not qualify for any benefits, did not see the harm in doing a Quick Check. To their surprise, many of them were good candidates for benefits that they thought they weren’t eligible for! It was such a great feeling to know I have helped them move a step in the right direction! We were able to do Quick Check for about 20 people and handed out marketing material to about 25 people. I just hope that people follow through with applying for their application; I hope that they take the initiative to call the OBB site and make an appointment.
As an added bonus, Alex and I got to be onstage while enthusiastic high school students gave an upbeat concert for younger children to motivate them to do their best and reach their goals!