tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80616080774622902702024-02-07T17:49:05.406-08:00Explorations of Urban Poverty: DsM & NYCWhat causes poverty? Are people who are experiencing poverty to be blamed for their circumstances? How do we as citizens address issues of urban poverty? Follow along as students of the INTD:076/LEAD:112 Explorations of Urban Poverty: Des Moines & New York City, an engaged citizen and experiential learning course at Drake University, collectively try to unpack the issue of urban poverty. Questions about this blog can be addressed to the instructor, renee.sedlacek@drake.edu.Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05563982969773211056noreply@blogger.comBlogger57125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8061608077462290270.post-83511377278485029032017-02-01T10:21:00.000-08:002017-02-01T10:21:14.976-08:00Reflections of an instructor <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I begin my reflection of having taught this explorations of urban poverty course with an analogy. The Lotus flower, a plant that <a href="https://www.lotusflowermeaning.net/">symbolizes</a> many things depending on your religion or spiritual upbringing, to me represents growth and opportunity. The lotus plant in its natural state is typically found floating on top of dingy pond water, yet when its blooms emerge, it brings beauty to an otherwise murky scene. Urban poverty can be a yucky, difficult, topic to confront. Yet what I have seen time and time again, this year being no different, is the beauty that resides in humanity when we learn to confront our stereotypes, challenge our perceptions and step in to conversation with others. Thank you students for your willingness to be opened to new possibilities, new convictions and new challenges to action. You have made teaching a pleasure and each year I too grow and bloom in my understanding.</div>
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To the class of 2017,<br /><br />Thank you for digging deep and embracing vulnerability as we worked together to unpack our understanding of a very complex societal issue. Your learning has been demonstrated time and time again and I leave you with your own insights...<br /><br />
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<span class="s1"><b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Things you’ve learned:</span></b></span></div>
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<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Poverty and homelessness are not as simple as I once thought.</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The importance of not oversimplifying the reasons of poverty.</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Centralized intake is something that really opened my eyes in this class.</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I am encouraged to donate money that can go towards more resources that the community needs rather than what I judge to be what they need.</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">My map changed a lot in my eyes, I viewed everyone as a person and not as a disappointment.</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">While the government definition of poverty does exist, through this course I found out there are barriers that exclude and/or undervalue many circumstances people may face with poverty.</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Poverty involves people of all ages and from all walks of life, who have less access to resources to meet their needs compared to the greater community.</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I know now that poverty is not a person’s defining characteristic…Poverty is an individual experience for everyone who encounters it…Each life story is different and each person’s circumstances are different.</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I have grown a lot in my understanding of this huge social issue.</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Homelessness and poverty can happen to anyone at any point in time.</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The idea of societal responsibility and systemic issues really bloomed throughout the course…I’m walking out of this course feeling like our overarching society has a lot more to do with [the causes of] poverty and homelessness than I had realized before.</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I came to the conclusion that despite the inefficiencies and harm that charitable volunteerism can do, volunteerism is not an entirely bad thing…however it is going to take a lot more than volunteerism to get our communities out of this giant hole we’ve dug ourselves in as far as poverty and homelessness is concerned.</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I may be one person, but I am also one person, and one is more than none.</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">My context regarding urban poverty has expanded greatly and most importantly has granted me the ability to look at each individual as someone that doesn’t stand in front or behind me, but right by my side.</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Urban poverty is complex and is a challenge to fully understand.</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">As a result of my experiences on this trip I have learned a lot about myself.</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Problems and solutions alike are now intertwined.</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">A two-dimensional piece of paper does not seem sufficient to fully illustrate the complexity and interconnectedness of all these ideas. If I had the time and ability, I would create a three-dimensional sphere with words all around and a complex network of lines connecting the ideas to one another across broad categories.</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Housing is just one step in alleviating poverty.</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Issues are often more complex than I had initially imagined.</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The language we use is important, because it can shape the views of those we are speaking to and prove a more descriptive way of talking about these issues.</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">My heart breaks knowing that the system is set up for them to fail. I hated having the knowledge that this so-called, “land of opportunities” is actually a land of failed systems and sometimes little opportunity, depending on who you are.</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I definitely gained a ton of knowledge, dove more deeply into the health side of things, stretched to see other perspectives, and have a clearer view of the complexity of issues. This inspired me to take action and use the knowledge I have gained to be a productive in being a solution.</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Poverty is the lack of choices</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I found that I did not realize how important people are in your life</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I think that often times the systems of everyday life are not fair for people with little money…I feel like they are oftentimes being penalized for being poor.</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I think the reason I was able to hold a negative viewpoint [about homelessness] for so long was because I was not interacting with the issue.</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">There are smaller things I can do now, such as being an advocate for change and voting for people who have policies that are favorable towards helping this cause.</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Poverty is everywhere, and even in the places where you don’t see it because it’s not always visible.</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I realized that poverty is one of those things where you think you know what it is until you have to explain yourself, then you don’t know where to even start on the conversation of poverty. Poverty is caused by a myriad of things.</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Luck doesn’t pick and choose certain people, it just happens.</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Charitable volunteers…give those who are planning and directing to do more of the other work that needs to be done in order for the organization to function properly.</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">When we don’t provide the space for people to share their views and thoughts, we start to fill in the blanks for them…I believe that as a community, we can create a space where we include everyone in the conversation on what strengths and challenges are in our community.</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I’ve learned small lessons that will go a long way in the past three weeks such as the importance of eye contact, you are one but you, are one, never assume, and just because someone does not fit the stereotype of poetry does not mean that an individual is not experiencing poverty.</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Related to the idea of social capital is asking people if they need anything, rather than giving them what we think they need.</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Our social and professional networks can do more than help us find a job. The social capital we have can support us in times of need.</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">At the beginning of class, my poverty map was basic as it only had a few bubbles…My word map now looks like a system of cycles or circles.</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I learned that when you want to help someone you need to determine if you‘re actually helping them….I feel that to see if you’re really making a difference, you first need to learn about the subject…learning about poverty helped me want to become more involved and actually help.</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Specializing on certain groups is very helpful, as certain age and genders have different needs.</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">How easy it is for landlords to exploit the system in their favor, making them richer and their tenants poorer.</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Now, I define poverty as the lack of choices that would enable a person to be successful and have access to the necessary resources to get the goods and services they need to survive.</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">You cannot tell if someone is homeless by looking at them.</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I had never thought about how volunteers could cause harm in the communities that they are just trying to help.</span></span></li>
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<span class="s1"><b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">About the class itself:</span></b></span></div>
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<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">This has been one of the most difficult and fulfilling classes that I have taken at Drake University, and has created an interest in me to become an engaged citizen in the community.</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">This [class] is one experience I will never forget about and I hope I influenced some people along the way of my journey.</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">To take the title of the AOI this course is fulfilling for me to heart, I feel as though this course has shaped me in to a much more engaged citizen within our community, more aware of the true issues that need to be solved, and more emotionally invested in being a part of finding some of those solutions.</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">This course has opened my eyes to so much and caused me to reflect a lot on my own life. The word maps are a great way to visualize what we have learned and to see how much we have grown.</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">This class helped me grow as a person, as I was able to learn that poverty is a very complicated issue that is more than just about work ethic. </span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">This class taught me to think deeply about things that might even seem simple and try to think about how they might be related to deeper issues.</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">This class has completely changed my perspectives on homelessness and poverty.</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Seeing poverty unclose changed my viewpoint and educated me better than any lecture ever could.</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">From this experience, I feel that I have grown as a volunteer, engaged citizen and as a leader. I have a desire to volunteer more and help in any way I can.</span></span></li>
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<span class="s1"><b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Actions you are committing to:</span></b></span></div>
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<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Donating cash, not canned goods</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Clothing/jeans drives for men </span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Volunteer with kids and families, helping even one child avoid poverty is a success</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Personally volunteering at one of the orgs we visited here in Des Moines</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Organizing a social media awareness campaign</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Organizing a volunteer day with your student or greek org</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Continuing to research and educate yourself on the topic (some have already done this through listening to podcasts, reading more articles, etc)</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Sharing your experience with friends and family as a way to advocate for the homeless community</span></span></li>
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Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05563982969773211056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8061608077462290270.post-88744040751233102872017-01-14T16:49:00.000-08:002017-01-17T07:25:09.753-08:00Soup Kitchens: Catholic v Jewish <div class="p1">
Tuesday and Thursday were both soup kitchen days. Although we provided similar services both days, they were vastly different experiences for me. On Tuesday, the Mighty Ducks (my service team) went to Fraternite Notre Dame, and served a meal of chicken, rice and lentils with two French Catholic sisters, only one of whom spoke some English. Thursday brought us to B'nai Jeshurun, a Jewish synagogue, where countless volunteers served soup, sandwiches, sides, a desserts restaurant style. Neither organization pushed a religious agenda and welcomingly served anyone who entered their doors, limiting second servings to ensure everyone had enough food. </div>
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These experiences sound like they could have been similar... why weren't they? The answer lies in the organization, leadership, and honestly resources (not even referring to financial) of the different organizations. Additionally, I learned some transferable skills this week to take with me, but also realized skills I had that I used and didn't expect to use as I did. </div>
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Looking at the organization of the different soup kitchens gives a first glance at the different experiences. Fraternite Notre Dame included no initial orientation, or direction really throughout the entire experience. We all managed to get our hairnets and aprons on, but didn't know what was happening until after we finished serving the meal. Although we figured out what to do, had we not taken initiative, we could have sat there while the sisters worked 3x as hard. B'nai Jeshurun on the other hand had Carl running the show. From the moment we entered the building and found the kitchen he was spouting off directions, specifying, "I want neat. This is not a race. Don't get my peanut putter and jelly baggies messy." He joked around with us too, turning up "man in the mirror" by Michael Jackson and was essentially direct us the whole time, making sure we had enough supplies and doing the dirty work of dishes in between. After completing the tasks to make the to-go meals, Carl called it a day, passed the baton and Esther sat down with all of us. She asked to get to know us and our expectations and shared about the once a week lunch program at the synagogue, her story, and involvement. Esther then directed the show, matched us with volunteers (there were probably a dozen or so there our of a pool of 65 that rotate each week). I was extremely impressed by the leadership and organization. Different people were in charge of different components and each volunteer knew who to go to for different questions. </div>
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What can I take away from this? It is more fulfilling and productive to be organized and to give clear directions and have an understanding of expectations. It is essential that someone is directing the process, even if they personally don't work as much, to enable collective success. I know I am more of a big-picture person, so it was affirming to see the need and importance of having the person directing traffic. In my life I think it will benefit me to work in areas where I can use this strength and drive I have. </div>
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Organization is intertwined with leadership. The sisters essentially did not lead. We more or less ran the show. This isn't necessarily bad, but I feel like more could be accomplished with clearer leadership. There was a huge language barrier which made things difficult, however I feel like making picture directions for volunteers at different stations (dishes, serving line, etc) is a way I would have improved the process. </div>
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Carl and Esther and all the volunteers at the synagogue exemplified leadership as everyone knew their task and provided us with knowledge, resources, and inspiration to be successful. </div>
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I know this class can qualify for the Lead concentration, which I do not have, but completely understand. I want to be the leader. I want to step up, discuss expectations, and give direction when appropriate. That being said, I've practiced and believe it is important to step back and be an excellent follower, completing tasks to progress a cause, like spreading peanut butter for sandwiches. Everyone has their own style, I will own my style and be the best I can at it. </div>
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Resources are another point to discuss. There were probably financial differences, but I didn't dive into understanding that this week. Resources I saw include the synagogue had chef and 65 volunteers. They had the resource of people and were able to mobilize and inspire them to make change. </div>
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I learned these concepts in the setting of poverty and working with people experiencing hunger and homelessness, but these skills are so transferable. In the reverse, I've learned that as I have goals, ambition, and a story, every person I met this week does as well. I started the week thinking I was uncomfortable when working with people experiencing homelessness, but the question-asked I am, I learned quickly on ways to relate. In the end our conversations weren't all that different even though their immediate situations were different than mine. I hope to build upon these experiences as I go forth with a goal to be a pharmacist working with diverse populations. I want to be able to relate to patients and provide appropriate recommendations to people in different settings. I will do this by asking questions to understand where my patient is at and what there understanding like I would with any patients. Instead of being uncomfortable, I will ask questions to clarify and competently provide recommendations and education. </div>
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This week has been so much more than the direct service we have done. Although I'd love to share my experiences with Lincoln, the Dominican City Harvest delivery man, the 3 year olds that I danced with at a daycare for children of previously incarcerated women, or the technology savvy food pantry, this week was so much more. I learned about successful structures of organizations, how to better communicate and relate to human beings experiencing different things than myself, and I have thought of so many more questions that I look forward to continuing to try and solve like: How can I be an instrumental tool in helping people understand and treat mental health conditions? How can we show more people what the realities are of people experiencing homelessness? And how can we motivate different organizations to work together to have a larger collective impact?</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUg7F-XjMmg1SaUQIFmZSt8KqCIM1WuR8aeR1zXYnTAzcKIy_nC6fFvpxABxV7jBIr4dxCrQb1vmarWbH6mjDMsPjy_KIOsxFd6cLpf80Py3oRoPisN6qYC3nFLGH9x8m-4zu1VGCc6Ds/s1600/20170110_100500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUg7F-XjMmg1SaUQIFmZSt8KqCIM1WuR8aeR1zXYnTAzcKIy_nC6fFvpxABxV7jBIr4dxCrQb1vmarWbH6mjDMsPjy_KIOsxFd6cLpf80Py3oRoPisN6qYC3nFLGH9x8m-4zu1VGCc6Ds/s640/20170110_100500.jpg"> </a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv6kKofl7xsZZpBs7dlAI4gVvaqk4iQOuq9FSEJQ7xc6CLlySslYjS8_ltIuRqUuumEc8iDIkzmsRCEcFGM7xmX3RuIRo-Y5ew0P7zgPxag4LZ8jLDvNVJkmoBLFkOCPYGCnjVZCvjIzo/s1600/20170110_133831.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv6kKofl7xsZZpBs7dlAI4gVvaqk4iQOuq9FSEJQ7xc6CLlySslYjS8_ltIuRqUuumEc8iDIkzmsRCEcFGM7xmX3RuIRo-Y5ew0P7zgPxag4LZ8jLDvNVJkmoBLFkOCPYGCnjVZCvjIzo/s640/20170110_133831.jpg"> </a> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11757848820581742751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8061608077462290270.post-39406120224171591382017-01-13T22:05:00.002-08:002017-01-17T07:18:13.469-08:00Not On My Subway<p dir="ltr">Not On My Subway</p>
<p dir="ltr">The New York subway was our main form of transportation around the city besides the use of our own two feet. When you see a traffic jam, hear honking cars that seem distressed for no reason and the hustle and bustle of city life above ground and surrounded by buildings that scrape the sky you sometimes forget that there is a city beneath the city. Far beneath.</p>
<p dir="ltr">We were warned not to stare at people when we first got off the plane last Friday while traveling to Manhattan on a bus. This was something that seemed as though it was going to be difficult not to do (not thy I have a staring problem) given I wanted to absorb the people around me- how they act, the look on their faces and applying what we learned previous to our arrival in New York City about what is means to be in poverty.</p>
<p dir="ltr">After forgetting my city pass at the church we were staying at before entering the Empire State Building, one of our fearless leaders and I had the privilege of riding the subway twice. Yes, we had to travel a half an hour back to the church. When we got on the subway for the second time there was a man who announced he hadn't eaten all day. Mind you this was only mid morning and was very apologetic for any inconveniences he had bestowed among those riding at the time. This created silent on the subway car and no one offered anything to feed this man's hunger. Through observation is was hard to tell whether or not he was homeless, in poverty or just needed a meal at that particular moment in time. Given he was a well dressed man, the time of day, and the fact that he was not asking for money, made me question his integrity and motive. What was rustling through my head was whether or not to offer food or money. Most people give dollars to those asking for this type of assistance and in the larger scheme of things, how far will that dollar go and what will it then lead to?</p>
<p dir="ltr">First, we offered him an apple and he rejected it. This was shocking. I then offered him only a nutrigrain bar which at the time was the only piece of food I had on my person, which he took as he ended up taking. The strange thing about our offerings to this man was that at the last minute he requested that he wanted the apple and before we were able to hand it over we had to quickly leave the subway train because we had reached our stop and were in a hurry.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The instructor and myself reflected upon the experience we had just had. We were two people from Des Moines, Iowa who gave a stranger something he needed in order to live. We pondered the idea of what would he have done with a few dollars if we were to give him money. Also, did he even end up eating the nutrigrain bar I gave to him or end up throwing it away because it wasn't what he wanted? His announcement to the subway car was very direct and seemed heartfelt and genuine at the time so of course we wanted to help.</p>
<p dir="ltr">After this occurrence, besides the fact that we were able to make it back to the Empire State Building, we were able to bring our experience back to the rest of the class and I was able to discuss this experience with class. By this point the whole class had seen what are called "beggars" on the subway but in different settings. For example, the number of people on the subway plays a large factor as well as those begging. Sometimes we are packed in like sardines and other times there is much room to spare on our various subway rides. More people to give, but also more people to reject the requests of those asking for food and/or money.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Through this experience, along with others that played out throughout the week, I gained a new perspective on what it takes to get what you need or want on a day to day basis and the circumstances you will go to in order to make it happen. I suppose first, you don't say anything and end up on a corner with a sign, silent, hoping someone will spare you some change. Then on the flip side, if you are surrounded by people who you know will not be moving for a while and are in close proximity with each other, you beg or in other words become vocal about your needs.</p>
<p dir="ltr">This man I encountered on the subway used language and phrasing such as, "Everybody if I could get your attention please. Everyone please for one minute of your time. I hope I am not bothering you and/or making you feel uncomfortable in any sort of way but I have not eaten all day and if you could spare me anything it would be much appreciated. I hope you have a wonderful day and God bless."</p>
<p dir="ltr">After hearing the respect of this man it was very challenging from an emotional standpoint not to comply and give in to his request or any request with that as the starting phrase. In New York City there is a saying called nimby- short for "not in my back yard." People seemed to be so used to "beggars" that they will not even look them in the eyes and stare while they are talking. When someone is requesting simple items that could be life or death at any given point it comes down to your own humanity and whether or not you are an enabler or disabler. The subway is even a place for learning and, given the reason we were there in the first place was because we were taking a class about urban poverty, it seemed as though it was a mini lesson in and of itself.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Thanks for reading,<br>
Sam</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-O2-BFAJvQ3Uopwh0i9yYWZWQamy2EQ_kTFly8YkrC46sMJJ_JOXe0LbXz9BwcjDHB4-mrEPMFTWCt_dUYrbyNxdb1gUoh3VN9hwrZBAm9t4zFzce8DVPflVLDoxWG_dA8Tt5xIeDR1c/s1600/20170113_105435_001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-O2-BFAJvQ3Uopwh0i9yYWZWQamy2EQ_kTFly8YkrC46sMJJ_JOXe0LbXz9BwcjDHB4-mrEPMFTWCt_dUYrbyNxdb1gUoh3VN9hwrZBAm9t4zFzce8DVPflVLDoxWG_dA8Tt5xIeDR1c/s640/20170113_105435_001.jpg"> </a> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09776401949032651871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8061608077462290270.post-76540659626876379862017-01-13T21:26:00.000-08:002017-01-13T21:26:48.937-08:00Reaching Out Reflection On Wednesday we visited reaching-out community services, which included a food pantry and other services. The food pantry was located in Brooklyn, by various other stores nearby. As we walked in, I noticed a small lobby area with a reception desk area. We asked for Tom, who was our contact for the pantry. We were escorted to farther back to a small food pantry. Tom shook everyone's hands and told us a little bit about the location. He had worked at the pantry for about 25 years and mentioned that it providing food for 16 codes around the area. Also it was open 9-5pm Monday through Friday. I was very surprised that the organization served that many areas around it. That was a significant amount of people, not just people close by. It really opened my eyes to how many people were experiencing hunger. From this it seemed that shelter was a bigger operation then most, because it also was open 8 hours day, 5 days a week. I became interested in how the pantry could help out so many people? I thought that it might not be very effective, due to how many families it was serving. I remember thinking about how toxic charity mentioned that food pantries may not give much choice and just create more dependence. it would be pretty hard to give every family a choice considering how many came in.<br />
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Next Tom told us how about how the shelter operated. They used an online system where clients would select online what food they wanted. The system would record the basic information about the family to determine how much food they received and customize the options to their needs. For example, if a person had a cat, cat food would appear. If they didn't, then cat food would not even appear as a option. After the order was made, the staff of the pantry, would prepare it in back and then bring it out toward the client. Each client was required to show an id, to avoid any stealing. This system was very unique, as the costumer didn't physically pick each item. This saved so much time, as the pantry had little space and deciding between two things could hold the line up. It also prevented stealing as each client didn't have access to food storage area. Also inventory could be calculated by the computer and then by hand to get a much more accurate count. This system clearly made the food pantry more efficient. But from previous experiences and discussions in this class, I had learned that every organization trying help poverty has its drawbacks. The system worked well but was clearly expensive, not every organization could afford this, especially new organizations. Old churched might be outdated and not be able to implement such a system. Also people could ask their friends to get extra food for them and even borrow their identification. This food received by each family only supported them short term.<br />
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Tom then sent us upstairs to meet with Adrian and help organize excess toys left over. The organization also hosted outreach programs that provided children with toys during the holidays. Despite being past the holidays, people had still decided to donate toys, which created this clutter. We organized these toys in bins and bought them to the basement. The area was packed with items, so put the toys on the floor. Adrian also mentioned that most of the shelves were half empty or filled with junk. This showed another drawback, as the organization operated in a small space that was crowded by its inventory. I assumed that trying to finding a bigger building that could accommodate better to the organization's needs would be hard to come by in Brooklyn. Also this space would be very costly and probably could not be afforded by pantry. I did wonder if the organization decided to add the computer system instead of buying a new location. Other organizations might have choose to operate in a new location instead of the system. This shows how different organizations might want to stop poverty but have very different ideas and agendas.<br />
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Next we went back to the food pantry to help prepare orders. We were taught how to gather the food for each order by Dan, who had recently retired. Despite being very blunt, it seemed that he must be fairly dedicated to the pantry as he was volunteering and retired. A receptionist or an automated message would say next order, then a receipt would spew out of a machine. Each item appeared in order, on the paper, in the order they were located in the pantry. After the order was complete we would go to the lobby and call out the order number. Then we would id the person and hand them their food. We punched out a few orders and had to leave, because of how far away this part of Brooklyn was from the church and the Brooklyn bridge. It was also mentioned that today was a slow day and that it was very hard to predict how the day would go. Tom said he could make a pretty good guess but he were often shown to be wrong. I wondered what a busy day would look like, when a truck delivered and many clients lined up for food. There was no loading dock so this would cause a lot of traffic through the front door. Also this could require many more workers, which would be hard to fit in the small space.<br />
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Overall I thought the organization did do a good job of using a modern system to efficiently run the pantry. I did wonder how many times a person could come and pick up food a month. They mentioned some did come in twice a month, which would cause the family to become dependent on the pantry. Also what actual effects did the pantry have its clients. Toxic charities mentioned that some neighborhoods adopted food bank systems that the people experiencing poverty operated themselves. I wonder if this pantry could start creating a system like that or would they lack the resources to do this? The area also might be way to big, but they could start adopting this in small areas one at a time. This even might take too many resources. Another route they might go long term, would be to adapt some housing and or job programs. This also would be very costly, but could be a option in the future. This might not be the most realistic option, due to the high costs of living in New York. The organization might also be taking smaller steps to address these needs, that I wasn't aware off. They did provide some financial assistance and case meetings. Reaching out could include some more services in the future but its computer system did make it stand out from other food pantries. I would also be interested to see how the the organization had grown through out the years and what changes it had made.Joe pariseauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17246316448481814298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8061608077462290270.post-72876898261075512152017-01-13T15:54:00.001-08:002017-01-17T07:23:07.075-08:00Volunteers from Iowa!Thursday morning dawned sunny and warm. Even a few morning delays (rushed breakfast, forgotten metro card, etc.) couldn't get the Alpha Dogs down. We had one more day of service and fun evening plans ahead of us; why wouldn't we be excited? I had no idea that this would be by far my favorite service experience from the trip.<br />
We arrived at Masbia, a Kosher soup kitchen in Brooklyn, and were welcomed warmly by the kitchen's director Levi (pronounced Lay-vee), who was excited to meet a group of volunteers from a location as exotic as Iowa. He gave us a brief overview of Masbia's regular weekly activities. Divided among three locations, the organization provides hot meals Sunday through Thursday and food from the large pantry downstairs on Friday. We were then divided into a couple of groups. My group was led into the small kitchen space and shown how to pack a hot meal of rice, vegetables, and chicken which had already been prepared earlier that morning. My task was to seal the lids on the boxes. Levi stressed the importance of this task. "Take an extra minute," he said. "We want to make sure everyone feels like they're getting an intact meal." It took us about two hours to finish packing the 220 meals, which were being sent to Queens. While performing the repetitive tasks of sealing the packages and later scooping vegetables into the containers, I began to think about the end result of the work our little assembly line was doing. Sure 220 people in Queens were going to receive a hot meal, but what's 220 full stomachs when about 60,000 New Yorkers are spending the night in a shelter at any given point in time? I also thought it seemed inconvenient to prepare the food in one location and then transport it somewhere else. Why not just prepare the food in Queens where it was going to be handed out? It turns out, as we found out during our reflection at YSOP, that Masbia had actually lost the building at its Queens location. The organization now handed out the meals we prepared in Brooklyn in front of the old building. I was amazed; I had no idea how important those 220 meals were. Our willingness as volunteers to package the food in Brooklyn meant that the organization didn't have to fail its clients in Queens. It meant that 220 people who relied on Masbia for high quality Kosher meals wouldn't have to travel the distance to Brooklyn, find a new place to go, or go hungry. It reminded me of a conversation from earlier in the week, from which emerged a question that shifted my focus for the trip and for the class. What can I, as one individual, do to help those experiencing poverty and homelessness? It's impossible for one person acting alone to completely solve these issues, and many times our own efforts can seem too small. But through our work at Masbia on Thursday I learned that my efforts often have far-reaching effects I may not even know about. Even though 220 meals and 2 hours out of my day might seem small, it's actually big, bigger than I even knew.<br />
On the other hand, my experience at Masbia got me thinking about pooling resources and the lack of communication and centralization among the organizations we have visited in New York. Couldn't another organization in Queens offer up its kitchen for Masbia, so that meals could be prepared on site? It would have taken me much longer to make 220 meals on my own than it did with three of my classmates helping. The same should apply to organizations, right?<br />
My thoughts continued in this vein throughout the rest of our day. We ate the same food that had been packaged (and sampled what was for dinner) as a quick lunch, then spent the rest of the day chopping carrots and unloading donations amid a flurry of other volunteer activity around us. Earlier in the day, Levi had told us that Masbia usually sees about 120 volunteers a day, going in and out between 6am and midnight. At first, looking around the small dining area and kitchen, I thought, Really? What for? Seeing the amount of work to be done in the afternoon on "donation day" (Thursday) showed me what for. Once again I realized just how little a group of seven people could do on its own. It would take many more volunteers to unload all the extra food coming in for the pantry. We barely seemed to make a dent in the bags and bags of carrots that needed to be peeled and chopped. Working together with many others, however, all of it would get done. It seems only natural to apply this concept at an organizational level. It seems that many of those concerned with poverty and homelessness in New York have already decided that centralizing the city's efforts would be too difficult. My question is, what's the harm in trying? All it takes is a few people to lead the charge. Why was our group so successful at Masbia on Thursday? We had an encouraging and organized leader in Levi. It's a good idea and it makes sense; we can all see the effects of our actions reach further if we combine our efforts and work together. If a few people were to really get behind and organize a centralized approach in New York, there would be no shortage of hands to carry it out. With rising technology, there must be ways of connecting people who have never even heard of each other and moving them toward a more collective approach. We've all seen the difference a combined effort can make. Big change can be difficult, but who knows? By the time I make it back to New York City, things might be a little different.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh10uuCaRs95PJVgkuZYXeQ3VrADiQu2jzM0nwrbi-r3ew4F01s8n2GuX3DQkvRA8TdLfnHJUXuDSMsoC-yG6wHz6UyKfw-4INpocCGrvoh79vQmxys4sgj0gzmdPtH6izWSPqqzoO4vm4/s1600/20170112_125215.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh10uuCaRs95PJVgkuZYXeQ3VrADiQu2jzM0nwrbi-r3ew4F01s8n2GuX3DQkvRA8TdLfnHJUXuDSMsoC-yG6wHz6UyKfw-4INpocCGrvoh79vQmxys4sgj0gzmdPtH6izWSPqqzoO4vm4/s640/20170112_125215.jpg"> </a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW2EmAuxD7t-P_KGyPloQm2JecpEilpCpFoL_dmSoh5QoKsbEnbMlvLVv54J7fYf89R6mWo4NujKB6XLpfdbm0AHkuNybtEF5FVTj-oh8kNOjht8bB1qRPIYSPgsJRAh-M4Owr6hmfb1I/s1600/20170112_101227.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW2EmAuxD7t-P_KGyPloQm2JecpEilpCpFoL_dmSoh5QoKsbEnbMlvLVv54J7fYf89R6mWo4NujKB6XLpfdbm0AHkuNybtEF5FVTj-oh8kNOjht8bB1qRPIYSPgsJRAh-M4Owr6hmfb1I/s640/20170112_101227.jpg"> </a> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00916331249432185477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8061608077462290270.post-91133072935951095692017-01-11T03:51:00.003-08:002017-01-17T13:40:03.542-08:00Monday, January 9, 2017Because it's long, here's an overview:<br />
I went to Hour children who helps incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women. I hungout with the kids of these women (and some other kids from the community). I had a lot of thoughts about any harm my community service efforts could be doing.<br />
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Today my group and I went to Hour Children in the Queens area. <br />
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Hour Children’s mission is to help incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women and their children successfully rejoin the community. I would encourage you to visit their website to learn more: http://www.hourchildren.org<br />
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We learned that if the children are born in the prison in NY, they are allowed to stay in the in a facility in the prison for up to 18 months. Renee then told us that in Des Moines, at the Mitchell women's prison, a baby would be taken away from it's mother only 3 days after it's born. Maybe they believe that having the babies in the facility is too dangerous. Maybe there are political and physical barriers. But if we know that this is an issue, we should be pushing to help fix them. It is critical for the baby to be with the mother for the first 6-18 months. Babies that are separated at birth or at too young of an age will have a harder time as an adult, statistically. If we take the babies away from their mothers to early we will help create the same struggle cycle. Renee told us a very unique story yesterday. She asked, "What if we're standing by the river and we saw a cat floating down the river?" Obviously someone said ( I think it was Mark), "Well it's not a dog so..." Pretty funny 😂😂. But all jokes aside, she continued, "We save it right? Well, what if we come back the next day and see another cat? And the next day another? What if we decide to walk up the river and see a hole in the fence where cats keep getting through?" Obviously then we have to patch the hole. We need to go to the source and fix the problem. I also thought that we should educate the cats. Tell them, "If you go down this path you're going to die. I don't know where you're going but there are better options". We need to be aware of our actions and if theyre simpy pulling the cat out of the water, or patching the hole.<br />
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When we got to Hour Children we were greeted nicely and brought across the street where some of us would be helping with the children. Hour Children holds a daycare for people in the community, as well as the children of recently prisoned women. Good daycare can be hard to find so having a place for the locals to go was great to hear. Hour Children also has a food pantry for people in the community in need.<br />
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When we got to the facility, Linda, our guide, told us that we could either play with the children or work at the food pantry. I wasn't sure which one I wanted to do. Would I be awkward around the children? Would I be able to help them? When she asked who wanted to do the pantry, half of the group raised their hands.<br />
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So children it was. <br />
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Linda, which by the way means beautiful in Spanish, brought us to 3 rooms. The first was filled with babies, all of them sitting in high chairs, all very cute☺️ The second was filled with toddlers, whose ages probably ranged from 1-2 years old. They seemed happy and excited to have guests.<br />
It's interesting how, as a child, our parents shield us from a lot of the bad in the world. It was amazing to see these children, whose mothers have had a rough time, playing and enjoying being a kid. They appeared to have a normal life, from what I could see at the daycare.<br />
The third room we entered would be my room. We entered and almost immediately a little girl grabbed my hand and led me to the toys. I had some immediate concerns. I wondered, should I go with her? Will she have a hard time letting me go at the end of the day? I looked back to see if it was alright to go with her but before I could turn around, I heard someone say, "you've been chosen" I assumed it was safe to stay. Michelle, from our group, also hungout in the room and just like me, a little one latched onto her quickly. The room held about 10 kids and most of them seemed to have no issue inviting us to play. The were very trustworthy right from the get-go. We played, had snacks, played some more, had lunch then laid them down for nap time. It was a good time😊 I tried to help a little girl fall asleep for nap time. As I sat there with her, I couldn't help but think, what happens if she falls alseep and I'm not there when she wakes up? Will she ask for me and her new friends? I left before she fell asleep, all of the visitors were too much of a distraction. In my opinion, it was better.<br />
<br />
When we got back to YSOP, who we will be working with this week, our leader Lisa asked some thought provoking questions. Here's the link for YSOP, too. Please take some time to check them out: http://www.ysop.org Anyways, to start off with, I told her and the group how I was "chosen" and I raised some of the concerns I had with this. She told me that YSOP people go there frequently and that the children mostly trust people in the YSOP shirts they had given us. It eased my nerves, I did feel a little bad for not being as special, but I felt better. I would feel awful if the children asked for me or for one of the other helpers the next day. One of the questions she asked was, "Are we harming them in any way?" I brought up what I had been thinking during nap time. One idea Robert Lupin talks about in his book Toxic Charity is the unintended consequences our actions have, whether they're good or bad. I was excited to be going in and helping but was it actually helping? Is it helping the child who gets some new friends for the day? Or is it helping me feel better about myself for having served the community? When we serve at food pantries or donate our old food, are we really helping those in need? Do they want our stinky old sardines? Are they going to enjoy eating them? Or are we helping ourselves feel better by donating, even if it isn't effective. By hearing what the community service vets have to say I have been able to learn a lot about the side effects of my service and various factors to consider.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwV2WEbAZaB6T9IpmCWo_fM6WgViK1EhIPksdBeEr0fFaNSOqRHYYd24EKcMnyVmOzMrlT5KwJsvHBft6P4576acSZy5UdI3zGqopKHITE2euD5tro7Gz59muVRHT19uMUaJO07Z76JuI/s1600/20170109_080000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwV2WEbAZaB6T9IpmCWo_fM6WgViK1EhIPksdBeEr0fFaNSOqRHYYd24EKcMnyVmOzMrlT5KwJsvHBft6P4576acSZy5UdI3zGqopKHITE2euD5tro7Gz59muVRHT19uMUaJO07Z76JuI/s640/20170109_080000.jpg"> </a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY-FztVdoDJaKDw5RwseVRRe3RzjeKQmutzs3wL67YH7B_QN8YjOzbzPnSRG9Ln9XeaQnEnQDwZ7wr8o-FwIkB-sp3f1oCdCElM4HQGvGUDNufLha5woT-txgfO_UTo7wtR2hCbsTrdIY/s1600/20170117_153910.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY-FztVdoDJaKDw5RwseVRRe3RzjeKQmutzs3wL67YH7B_QN8YjOzbzPnSRG9Ln9XeaQnEnQDwZ7wr8o-FwIkB-sp3f1oCdCElM4HQGvGUDNufLha5woT-txgfO_UTo7wtR2hCbsTrdIY/s640/20170117_153910.jpg"> </a> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09579387727273277250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8061608077462290270.post-12933970751186250992017-01-10T21:04:00.003-08:002017-01-17T07:23:45.498-08:00Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Nutrition<div class="MsoNormal">
On Saturday, Brian and I were tasked with the difficult task
of grocery shopping to please our fellow travel group with a balanced, nutritious
foods (as recommended by the U.S. government) for Sunday’s breakfast and lunch.
The catch, we had $4.50 from each person to simulate the average amount a
person receives through food stamps daily. Brian and I worked diligently to
find portions sizes and recommended servings per day of each food group to meet
the government’s advised balanced plate. I consider myself a people-pleaser, so
after creating a list of groceries, we thought met both nutrition and price
point, we allowed the whole group to tell s what they liked and what they
didn’t on the future menu. Come Sunday, when grocery shopping was all said and
done, both breakfast and lunch were a hit—with everyone feeling full and even
leaving some food leftover! With a group of fourteen of us, it was pretty easy
to get feedback about the foods everyone wanted and were in need of
nutritionally-speaking. However, the first site visit I went to four service
learning project showed me just how more inefficient the food distribution
system is for the organizations serving those struggling in poverty.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Jan Hus, a
church my team visited as our first site visit on Monday, does a load of
different services for those experiencing homelessness including a meal service,
a clothing closet, street outreach, and a food pantry. My first task, as I was
led down the staircase by our point-person from the church, Jordan, was to help
down in the food pantry with shipments. Little did Jordan know, as my partner
Sam and I were walking in to start our job, we would be learning so much more
than by just doing.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>A
78-year-old man and a member of the church named Hank let Sam and I in on some
news, “Well,” started Hank, “it doesn’t look like we got any shipments in
today.” As we walked into the small food pantry, he led us into a corner and
leaned on a shelving unit filled with many different types of food. The food
pantry was much smaller than I was used to, even smaller than the one I worked
in in my rural Iowan hometown. I asked Hank how many people were served at
their facility. He said there were 2,500-3,000 people they assisted through the
food pantry and the meal service (an equivalent to half the population in my
hometown). <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Because the
nature of our task was no longer needed based on the lack of a shipment to
unpack, Hank took the time to tell us about his experience both in life and
about his work at the church. Hank mentioned he was once a veteran and later on
became a county judge, but at some point started struggling with an addiction
to cocaine which landed him in prison a couple times. After his incarceration,
he could no longer find work and soon found himself in the midst of homelessness.
Now that he ran the food pantry, he knew the food distribution system and the
problems within it. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>What I
gained most from Hank (because I learned a lot) was the lack of communication
between the church and the organizations who donated food to the pantry. “You
see these juice boxes,” Hank said as he acknowledged the odd assortment of food
to be given to those living on the streets, “these are not nearly big enough.”
Regarding the quantity of boxes he’d have to give one of their clientele to
meet their needs and nutrition. He also mentioned that they receive gallons
upon gallons of canned peaches and spinach, yet the food bank never gave them
sliced bread.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Looking at
both struggles Hank had in homelessness and running operations for the church’s
food pantry, I realized that the resources trying to help by donating food were
not running it nearly effectively as they could be. Regarding the grocery
shopping experience and how successful Brian and I were at meeting the needs of
our team, I wondered why the services filling the food pantries, especially
through tax payer dollars, were not succeeding. First, Hank and I both
mentioned communication barriers a few times—mainly that those who give do not
ask the needs of those they are giving to—they just give. Which, while well
intentioned, just produces a lot of wasted or unutilized items. Second, the people
who give do not have enough knowledge about those the service organization is
serving. In the case of Jan Hus, there were many canned goods that just sit on
their shelves for months because many of their clientele do not have access to
a can opener. Finally, Hank and I had a light conversation over politics, and
while I may not have agreed with many of his views, we both agreed on this: the
divisiveness between political parties, race, gender, etcetera has not
helped—especially in the case of churches and other private bodies. Hank mentioned
five other local churches who hosted weekly meals and clothing closets, but
NONE of them worked together. When Abraham Lincoln said, “A house divided
against itself cannot stand,” I had no clue his words would ever ring true to
churches and for other services trying to meet the needs of those who are
homeless. Maybe Brian and I got it right in our grocery shopping strategy for
our group of fourteen people, but much more will have to be done to fix these
roadblocks for Jan Hus church.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfLDGQjRekNXwXpXnoFmcTTVDH4SaBbuHb4RVeKXYOLI9vj6wAUUtQIX3wBUdB9n2nDBPHLx2tEKv7GWn4Fc5sZ5_xMdHCCZFgNVpB7l_8scEtix6xdnTBOTfICrp_hP6xcPOr6nWOZZs/s1600/20170110_165623.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfLDGQjRekNXwXpXnoFmcTTVDH4SaBbuHb4RVeKXYOLI9vj6wAUUtQIX3wBUdB9n2nDBPHLx2tEKv7GWn4Fc5sZ5_xMdHCCZFgNVpB7l_8scEtix6xdnTBOTfICrp_hP6xcPOr6nWOZZs/s640/20170110_165623.jpg"> </a> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8061608077462290270.post-25179061093116529212017-01-10T20:10:00.001-08:002017-01-17T13:43:26.640-08:00Hour Children<p dir="ltr">Tuesday was our first day on service sites with YSOP. My team got assigned to work with a group called Hour Children. The non-profit works with incarcerated mothers to help them raise their children. We were told the name stemmed from the fact that children of incarcerated parents only get to visit them for one hour a week. </p>
<p dir="ltr">I was blown away during our brief orientation by the sheer number of resources that were available through this organization alone. They not only provided daycare and weekly prison visits for children, but also extensive work with the mothers including programs, housing, and a food pantry. It must be incredibly convenient for these mothers to have access to everything in one place. I think that it probably encourages the mothers to know they not only have the organization's help, but also the network of other mothers in the program. This network leads to a low reincarceration rate of only 3%. </p>
<p dir="ltr">I was nervous because this was our first service experience of the trip and didn't know what to expect when we first got there. Getting to work in the food pantry with a woman named Alyssa helped me to learn more about the program. The pantry mostly served the Hour Children mothers, but also a portion of the local Spanish and Mandarin community. </p>
<p dir="ltr">The pantry was closed due to weather, but we had prepwork to do for Thursday when it opened. This made me wonder how they told people they were closed besides the sign on the door; which I thought negated the point of being closed so their clients didn't slip in the icy parking lot. Do their clients have cell phones? Or internet access? But it also made me think about their clients. What would they do for those two extra days before they could come to the pantry? Would they have to stretch their meager remaining food for two extra days? Would they have to beg on the street? Would they ave to dip into their rent money for food? What extra stress and decisions does this inconvenience add to the clients' stressful lives?</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU3Va2c1bqCXOE_5Ug-XBLGXT1R7trZ27a0rBtBv0dMcmqJ5sNuxvnk5yFmtsyqFmlU9Zn27-5cwRe3I4WjP6monjyd7s2f6D4i9CEt9hoI1uOsQUmoMCRpNLq_Tad5yvNlCY2P7zbtTQ/s1600/20170109_134022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU3Va2c1bqCXOE_5Ug-XBLGXT1R7trZ27a0rBtBv0dMcmqJ5sNuxvnk5yFmtsyqFmlU9Zn27-5cwRe3I4WjP6monjyd7s2f6D4i9CEt9hoI1uOsQUmoMCRpNLq_Tad5yvNlCY2P7zbtTQ/s640/20170109_134022.jpg"> </a> </div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8061608077462290270.post-8662568612851399522017-01-09T20:30:00.000-08:002017-01-17T07:18:11.622-08:00#DonateCashNotTrash Today was the first full day of service and the day that many of us were waiting for over the course of the weekend. After dividing the group into two groups of seven. My team, nicknamed The Mighty Ducks, make the journey to Queens to serve at the Hour Children. This organization works for women who currently or have been incarcerated for nonviolent crimes and their children. We learned from Lisa, the women who gave us first instructions, that in New York some women's prisons have nurseries while allow babies born in prison to stay with their mothers up until 18 months or their mothers time ends. This is important because the bond a baby and mother make in the first year is impossible to recreate and by being separated it hurts both child and mother for the long term. Upon hearing how this system worked our instructor told us that in Iowa/ Des Moines the same is not true. From our area, babies born in prison are removed from their mothers after only three days either to different family members or to foster care. This broke my heart. After hearing the importance to keeping the mother and child together I can't imagine how hard it must be for mothers to see their newborns taken away from them just because of their current situation. While I understand that the Iowa faculty might not have the room, funding, or staffing required to replicate what is done here there has to be a better, more dignified way to allow new mothers to be mother. The emotional toll this must take on the new mothers is unimaginable and I think something, even minor changes would be better st this point. I hope, once I'm back in Des Moines to be able to take time and learn more about what is done both in Iowa and my home state of Missouri and see how we can provide dignity.<br />
I say dignity because that was not only one of the underlining themes of "Toxic Charity" by Robert Lupton, but also because Hour Children cites it as one of their main missions as well. The area that I spent most of my day was in their food pantry. While this isn't their main mission they do put a lot of resources towards the running of the pantry and working with the community that way. At the pantry we met Alyssa, a young energetic women who is a trained Dietitian, who runs the pantry. After organizing massive amount of bread and eggs that had been delivered on Sunday we were able to ask her questions about her job. As a pantry that allows people to shop like they would any other grocery store, rather than giving out bags of predetermined food, it allows people to shop with dignity and to get the items they like and will eat. We asked her what she would like to see donated more and immediately she responded "cash". Monetary donations are far more valuable than canned foods most often given during food drives. Along with government subsidies and the ability to buy in bulk from local vendors nonprofits can spread even a dollar into more food that a private citizen could ever buy. This concept was not new to me. Last year I saw a show called "Adam Ruins Everything" where the host busts the myths of commonly believed things such as engagement rings being an innocent sign of love and mouthwash being created to solve bad breath. In the shows first episode the host advocated that clothing drives, food drives and penny drives are all just empty ways that people think does good but in many times can harm the system. For example by donating food that has been sitting in a cabinet for 5 year and had long past expired this takes away resources the pantry need stocking and sorting the fresh food they get in sometimes everyday. When cans are donated volunteers must sort to see what is expired and what hasn't and then toss anything expired. By seeing someone who works in the industry say the same things advocated on that show it not only reinforces how widespread the problem is but also how important it is. The one thing that I took the most comfort in is the fact there is a real soliton or at the very least a path that we can all work toward and that is #donateCashNotTrash. With this knowledge in mind I will be sure to take that with me in life by not only donating money but educating and encouraging others to do the same. By being responsible community members and understanding how our efforts affect those who our actions intend to help hopefully more progress can be made in the hunger problem that faces our country today. Of all the issues around poverty that has been discussed thus far food insecurity and food pantry are undoubtedly where my passions are and I hope that we continue to focus resources around that area. My family has also focused around food and cooking and my mom is a wonderful baker. With food being one of the basic needs of life and how constant it has always been for me I can't really image what must go though some people's minds as they ration items between food pantry stops or when food stamps come out. Anyways today was a great day to start in service and I am excited to see what challenges and new experiences lie ahead of us as a group and for me personally.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfukLE4C7lDXuRpuMgC_VSLq4JldPgFx85uefuzOnkTAr4ZZBPT5DoDSDdawHX0rK01kLwPpfbQRGK5N8FQYbH2wO0w8Dh8DIw_XkxwZhDxW8KBM6nDE4Ihht3DWiHPvGFyE4R7cASGX8/s1600/20170109_134002%2525280%252529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfukLE4C7lDXuRpuMgC_VSLq4JldPgFx85uefuzOnkTAr4ZZBPT5DoDSDdawHX0rK01kLwPpfbQRGK5N8FQYbH2wO0w8Dh8DIw_XkxwZhDxW8KBM6nDE4Ihht3DWiHPvGFyE4R7cASGX8/s640/20170109_134002%2525280%252529.jpg"> </a> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00920181651909030481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8061608077462290270.post-6209250137741731562017-01-09T19:49:00.002-08:002017-01-17T07:28:39.305-08:00Health & Wealth Saturday started out in an interesting way. When I read about the food desert and saw the instructions for the day on what we were to eat, I was shocked at the idea of eating snacks all day. I've been trying to stay away from sugary processed food because of my teeth but that was impossible because if you truly live in a food desert, your options would be limited. As hard as it sounded initially, I couldn't even complain because there are people who may disklike sugary stuff, but they have no option. Dental insurance is expensive and if that's not an option, your teeth can be very unhealthy after years of eating sugary food. In my country where poverty is observed by people being very skinny, in the US it's the complete opposite because cheap food is unhealthy food. Obesity happens sometimes because kids don't have an option in what they eat, maybe there isn't any fruit available at home. If we tried to eliminate obesity, we should make grocery stores more available with affordable options where buying a fruit is as cheap as buying potato chips. Throughout the day, even though our minds were set in exploring and being tourists, it was hard to observe the things happening in our surrounding.<br>
On the subway, I saw several people experiencing homelessness. Because I normally don't use public transport in Des Moines, that to me was not common. Some of the individuals were sleeping inside the train while others were seated outside at different stops. I'd be curious to know if they were waiting for a train to get them somewhere or if they sat in the station all day. To get down to the subway, you have to have a pass which can be pricy. Because of the pricing, I was wondering if the individuals chose to purchase tickets in the winter because the subway stations and subways themselves are warmer than being outside?<br>
While at the 9/11 museum, the video titled Rebirth at ground zero mentioned a statement that really resonated with me and was again resurfaced at dinner while discussing the distribution of wealth. "why does anyone have to suffer?" After experiencing what a few hours without proper nutrition can do to you,it became very apparent that not having the basic human needs is a crisis that we as a general population need to be more aware of because lack of knowledge leads us to judge others for their lack of involvement.<br>
When you're cold or hungry, it's hard to think of anything outside of your situation. You try to survive each day, which can make long term life planning difficult. I kept thinking about how I didn't feel the best during the day and I found that it was hard to focus, I had to keep telling myself to focus on what was going on and that was just a few hours. After the process, I thought about if for example, I'm a student who doesn't know how I will find proper food during the weekend, how can I apply myself in school so that I'm keeping up with my assigned course work? This lead me to the conclusion that wealth and health have some correlation and if we address the health part, then we give individuals the opportunity to not have to worry about the bottom of the hierarchy of needs but can start thinking about other things that can help improve their lives.<br>
<br><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsUUjsxmMvtV6hKJS_VkAafFWsAUsKAQgPUOpitU4Y95UPwm5jjV4y_uZUSisgYbsLN-TqyN9qWAfKxvQFv5ThvB0H7h0ZamK2gJf4-UuWyKym8ZwrUGtIfzr3nqOccUrEnoLjBvyJpH0/s1600/20170107_090306.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsUUjsxmMvtV6hKJS_VkAafFWsAUsKAQgPUOpitU4Y95UPwm5jjV4y_uZUSisgYbsLN-TqyN9qWAfKxvQFv5ThvB0H7h0ZamK2gJf4-UuWyKym8ZwrUGtIfzr3nqOccUrEnoLjBvyJpH0/s640/20170107_090306.jpg"> </a> </div>Joy Gachiihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08604515830418855490noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8061608077462290270.post-37525035646219390192017-01-07T20:24:00.000-08:002017-01-17T07:38:36.570-08:00Big Apple or Big Bag of Chips?<div style="color: #454545; direction: inherit; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">
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After a rough first night of sleep in our New York home away from home, the 6:45am alarm wasn't quite enough motivation to get me out of bed. It had gotten progressively colder throughout the night, and I couldn't bear to come out from my sleeping bag + blanket cocoon. Instead, I had the daily internal war with myself that I always do when I'm supposed to get up early; I call it the Battle of How Much Longer Can I Sleep and Still Look Halfway Presentable. After several minutes of sleepy, silent debate, I finally forced myself out of bed as my stomach growled: food is always a decent motivator. But as the haziness of too little sleep the night before wore off, I remembered we hadn't ended up buying any groceries yesterday. "That's okay," I thought, "They're not gonna let us starve."</div>
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Little did I anticipate the surprise that came with breakfast. On the table near the kitchen, all sorts of junk food was laid out - Ritz bits, candy bars, fruit snacks, Capri suns, Cheetos - with a sign reading, "Food desert: Geographic areas where residents' access to affordable, healthy options are restricted or non-existent due to the absence of grocery stores within convenient traveling distance. Happy breakfast!" I looked over the junk food before me, and as I grabbed some fruit snacks and thought, "This will have to do," I realized how people experiencing poverty very well may feel when they stand at the grocery store picking through the limited "healthy" options before them that fit their budget. The phrase, "Poverty is the lack of choices," from class last week came to my mind. Thinking back to my high school days working as a grocery store cashier, I knew just how expensive the healthy, nutritious food options were, but I have always taken for granted the ability to buy more groceries than necessary from each USDA recommended food group. As I chowed down on an Almond Joy supplementary to my fruit snacks for breakfast, I felt frustrated not only by my lack of options, but frustrated with my own ignorance of the cost of basic needs.</div>
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As the day wore on and we took a sobering trip to the 9/11 memorial museum, the biological effects of not having a nutritious meal all day started to set in. Not only is not having the option to eat healthy frustrating, but the long-term ability of junk food to keep your hunger satisfied is minimal. In combination with the many strong feelings of sadness, distress, and heartbreak evoked by the 9/11 memorial exhibits, a lack of nutrients brought on more tiredness and a lack of ability to concentrate. Renee asked us to take how we were feeling in those moments just before leaving the museum to imagine we were children living in poverty whose parents had just had a big fight the night before, and we had to go to school the next morning. I suddenly felt a surge of empathy for the children for whom this is a daily reality; I felt sick to my stomach, dehydrated, and disenchanted by the world around me. I couldn't focus. </div>
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If I'd had to sit down and write this blog in that moment, I would have felt set up for failure. I pondered how unfair it is that we hold school children who feel like this on a daily basis to the same standard as children who come from privileged homes. It made me upset as I realized firsthand how those who live in poverty are not set up for success given their circumstances, even just by not having a nutritious meal. Throw that in with emotions of sadness and distress from daily stressors, and possibly a lack of sleep; you'd have a recipe for disaster.</div>
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Our next major stop of the day was the Tenement Museum. After spending a while wandering around a snowy and slushy Manhattan, we were ready for a break from the cold. Though our walking tour had been canceled due to the unfavorable weather conditions, we eagerly headed off on our "Hard Times" tour through narrow hallways into the first of two 325-square-feet apartments. It was here in this building that over 7,000 people had lived in the 70 years between the 1870s and the 1940s. Our first story began in the late 1800s as our tour guide narrated for us the lives of the Gumpertz family from Germany, who had lived there for several years as a family of 6 before the husband deserted the family and left his wife Natalie to fend for herself and her 4 children alone. </div>
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As our tour guide discussed one of the options for charitable help at the time, we looked over a recovered document from the time determining who in the tenement was to receive charitable financial aid. I was struck by some of the words I saw, in particular the words "worthy," "respectful," and "deserving of aid," which appeared several times. It occurred to me how different this method was compared to how we do things now. Back then, help was given based off a person's moral character - things like whether a person or family was "respectful" was a huge deal. Nowadays, there are strict rules set in place for receiving aid, "poverty" is determined by rigid dollar amounts, there are set processes in place, and there are mounds of paperwork to fill out. It seemed to me how much simpler it may have been for the Gumpertz family and other tenants of the tenement to get the help they needed compared to now. I wondered, what happened to the importance of taking someone's character into account when making decisions? Just yesterday we saw 5 people sleeping on the street; I know nothing about any of them. There's I would feel qualified to make a decision as to who was the most "worthy" on behalf of an organization in charge of distributing aid to any of those 5 people. How can organizations morally determine who gets how much help with just a stack of papers filled with numbers and raw data? Has the problem of poverty blown up to such a large scale that such giving based on a person's moral character isn't possible? This single paper on our tenement tour raised 100 questions in my mind as I realized just how complex and huge the problem of poverty is today and how simply deeming someone "respectful" isn't enough to determine someone to be "deserving of aid" anymore.</div>
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As our tour guide continued her narratives of families living in the tenement we were standing in, we delved into the topic of immigration. The tenants of the apartments we explored were all immigrants to the United States, and as such they faced many hardships including racial, language, and economic barriers. As we learned more about the immigrants who overcame the poverty they were living in while in this tenement and the admirable work ethic they must have had to survive, the conversation turned from the early 1900s and Ellis Island to 2017 and the refugee crisis. It made us think about the power of language; while I somehow associate the word "immigrant" with someone who is hard working and moves to another country in hopes of creating a better life, the word "refugee" when I hear it evokes the idea of someone who is escaping some sort of persecution or hardship. While growing up and learning about immigration to the U.S. in elementary school I thought of immigrants with admiration, I hear the word "refugee" in the media today and don't quite know how to feel as various political parties play tug-of-war over this global issue. In the end though, whether we're talking about Ellis Island 100 years ago or 2017 Syrian refugees, aren't we talking about the same idea? Groups of people coming to the U.S., all in search of a better life and in hopes that they will not have to endure the same persecution or hardships they had before - be it the potato famine in Ireland in the 1850s or war in the 21st century. Regardless your political views on the subject, I learned from our time in that tenement that even just the words we use can affect how we feel about a subject. And how we feel about a subject affects what action takes place. It gives us something to think about as we face a major political shift in the coming weeks.</div>
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As I lay on my cot on our second night in New York, I have more to think about than I did last night. As a result of our experiences today, I have gained empathy for those experiencing poverty and a greater appreciation for what that means in this world today as we kick off 2017.</div>
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All in all, for a day that started out with a pile of junk food, I'd say it turned out to be wholesome after all.</div>
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-Alyssa</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9QoL8_cv4mcX4IlIzD9z8PITtoesIBPac99oLeEpMH4aBr3U1Qh7PcfwAPBppd3tBmx58pWWH4XjPAGyOH6xG4c0VALp7qPHE838pvF2DSqPh_ZM2lW6uglYGwyna9phytJjiwIbclns/s1600/20170107_072609.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9QoL8_cv4mcX4IlIzD9z8PITtoesIBPac99oLeEpMH4aBr3U1Qh7PcfwAPBppd3tBmx58pWWH4XjPAGyOH6xG4c0VALp7qPHE838pvF2DSqPh_ZM2lW6uglYGwyna9phytJjiwIbclns/s640/20170107_072609.jpg"> </a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy1F495GuATNdR1EdUpAtESd2YhRT_MXYnOOki4bSErdwX54LXezu1sGTay-qOAOvgBaXQ4_R0tT_I4PcgAY1WB7QxMJ4RRdAk2Br-GfbfDlk2VXpxbEx-N1kvMvZ2xJPu92ZcTAiswXw/s1600/20170107_123251.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy1F495GuATNdR1EdUpAtESd2YhRT_MXYnOOki4bSErdwX54LXezu1sGTay-qOAOvgBaXQ4_R0tT_I4PcgAY1WB7QxMJ4RRdAk2Br-GfbfDlk2VXpxbEx-N1kvMvZ2xJPu92ZcTAiswXw/s640/20170107_123251.jpg"> </a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA460Bm6_C1A7wqQ1MCG_v6UJMSq8ZZ1vvW2AX5p4AOEqOFJIji4VTmhEQnJLMyvOjpfAyPFKEua50D2L4o5AbhNgy4gk6QMCUBCt4B2PAC5K4WzD6vVb_tAaxt6LsKSQDlpHWlUlnXC8/s1600/20170107_110627.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA460Bm6_C1A7wqQ1MCG_v6UJMSq8ZZ1vvW2AX5p4AOEqOFJIji4VTmhEQnJLMyvOjpfAyPFKEua50D2L4o5AbhNgy4gk6QMCUBCt4B2PAC5K4WzD6vVb_tAaxt6LsKSQDlpHWlUlnXC8/s640/20170107_110627.jpg"> </a> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14632952836063689528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8061608077462290270.post-53765890640037795252017-01-07T16:14:00.000-08:002017-01-17T07:37:57.374-08:00Let it snow! <div>
Day one in New York has been everything I hoped it would to be. Since getting in last night and nothing really going as planned it has been exciting already. Last night was the first sleep that we had here. We slept on these cots in sleeping bags. When I went to bed thinking it can't be bad to sleep here, I've slept on the floor in Guatemala. I had showered last night so I was clean and ready for bed, since I had been up since 4:45 that morning. I feel asleep just fine and then suddenly I was woke up on my own; shivering because I was so cold. I decided to get my winter coat and put it in my sleeping bag with me. I thought this would help. I was woken up again shivering so I put my sweatshirt on then went back to sleep this was a cycle I repeated all night long. When I finally decided to just keep myself up for the rest of the night I was thinking about how it might feel to not have a safe, warm place to sleep. Some people who are experiencing homelessness don't have a warm place to go too or have an extra blanket to cuddle up into. It was even colder outside than it was in the room and I was having troubles thinking about living outside. We haven't started our work here yet but I was thinking back to Des Moines and 90 days in the shelter and 90 out of the shelter. </div>
<div>
The first stop on our agenda was to going to the 9/11 memorial. Wow! We first went to look at the sites at which they used to stand. It's hard for me to see those names around it and think those people lost their lives in the building; either by working, visiting or helping after the first hit. We then got to walk through the museum that they have there. I only thought what I would have done if I had someone close here to have died in the tower. Even though I was little when they attacks happened I still remember it. What I didn't realize it how I was second-hand affected. Walking through today there was this one part that you could take pictures and it went through the different stages starting with the attack itself then moving into the before and then after. It was recommended to be in there for 45 minutes, I was in there for 90 minutes. There was a part that you could read the messages of what people left their loved ones saying "I love you so much and I want you to be happy. I hope I can call you again but if I don't know I love you with my whole heart." I was standing there reading these messages and crying my eyes out. I thought about if that was me leaving that message for my family or if one family member was leaving that for me. I instantly wanted to text my mother and tell her I loved her, I don't think I tell my family often enough. Some other messages that were on there was the flight attends saying they had been hijacked which those were some pretty scary messages too. I can still to this day every September 11, I can watch a show on it and still cry. It hurts my heart to know that others want to hurt people and that the world can't be a happy place. I can only imagine having a family to worry about growing up with you there and them wanting to be happy but they are too sad to let go. I am sure the ones who were lost in the tragedy would want there loved ones here to be happy and live there lives. Today really hit me hard and made me think about what actually happened. The city rebuilt itself and got stronger; as a country we got stronger. </div>
<div>
Hard times was the name of the tour we took of the tenement in New York. These were like apartment building that many different families stayed in when they came to the states. We heard two different stories of people who have lived there before. I thought for a second how my family would be living in that. I decided my mom would probably have killed me and my siblings. That was a tiny space for a big size family. When it came to paying for things rent was only $10 a month. I was thinking about how things are now with rent and $10 in the world doesn't get you very far but at the restaurant we are at for a late lunch and early dinner, there you got a bang for your buck and it was a good meal too. At the restaurant I sat next to a family from New Zealand. I got to talking with the dad and he originally thought I was from New York but he was talking about it was his life dream to come visit and bring his children to see how they could one day live. I thought hard about that because living in New Zealand can't be hard it beautiful there. But he went on to talk about how everyone can be who they want to be and live a full life being from the states. I thought to myself "Do I live my life to its fullest?" When I thought more about this the answer was no I don't. I stay in my own comfort zone and don't leave it. I decided then and there I was ready to change. I am going to try more things out of m comfort zone, I don't know exactly what they will be, but I will hold myself to it: my new New Year resolution. </div>
<div>
One of my favorite movies is Hitch and in be movie the famous bull is it in. I've always wanted to see it just because it was made into a funny scene where a guy looked like he was putting his head up the bulls butt. It was a dream to see it in real life, I did not copy that scene from the movie. Lol. </div>
<div>
On our way to our next stop to eat we went into an old cathedral church. OH MY! I love old buildings. This was a gorgeous church. One thing I love to look at is be organs at that back top of the church. I think about all the music and songs that were played for the people all dressed up to serve the Lord. I wish I could go back in time for just one day to be in an old church and hear the music that they played. </div>
<div>
Even tho we only walked around little Italy and Chinatown and didn't really do a lot of shopping it was interesting to see people living. I always had this glamorous idea in my head about how New York would be but it reminded me a lot like the towns in Guatemala that we go and visit.</div>
<div>
The snow might have got the best of me at some points of the day but I was determined not to let the weather bring me down. I've experienced the subway here and I thought it was going to be different. I thought it actually would be dirtier than it was. There was only one part when we went down and it smelled like pee but I thought New York would be dirtier from the way people talk about it. I really saw beauty and pain today. I understand why so many people want to come to New York and live here. </div>
<div>
<br></div>
<div>
xo Carly </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT7WfxOFlsP7xl9vaJu4Gx0H4wbkwbINAOgvRRDzgu5nETHR1qgZKVzI3_uzyEM3UMhwHXx6-_bQx0XuA9E4WeeFnbAcGnp2ubLVwYf2yRHH4_wY9dJA4cksjMXUU5J9AnyUXp2-3b6rI/s1600/20170107_152903.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT7WfxOFlsP7xl9vaJu4Gx0H4wbkwbINAOgvRRDzgu5nETHR1qgZKVzI3_uzyEM3UMhwHXx6-_bQx0XuA9E4WeeFnbAcGnp2ubLVwYf2yRHH4_wY9dJA4cksjMXUU5J9AnyUXp2-3b6rI/s640/20170107_152903.jpg"> </a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimCqGLCURG-Yj8IYgJebW71LVLB6yHkUavrSPjBmjCIB7RlHmlXI9T31TMa4zsGxRUa7QUVQn_T79lGIC-QLcuPH1hjwV3P-nGlUF0siN7Zp8hlBF7Twk8zHpSBAh6OS6FuQYMa4iOEM0/s1600/20170107_081459.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimCqGLCURG-Yj8IYgJebW71LVLB6yHkUavrSPjBmjCIB7RlHmlXI9T31TMa4zsGxRUa7QUVQn_T79lGIC-QLcuPH1hjwV3P-nGlUF0siN7Zp8hlBF7Twk8zHpSBAh6OS6FuQYMa4iOEM0/s640/20170107_081459.jpg"> </a> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16411173189877773409noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8061608077462290270.post-66483069480984343762017-01-07T14:31:00.003-08:002017-01-17T07:33:22.495-08:00Welcome to the Big Apple!Normally, when I have to get up before 8 am I take my time getting out of bed and hit snooze on my phone at least two times before making the effort of getting out of bed and getting ready for the day. But not today. Today was the day we left for New York City for our J term class. So even though my alarm woke me up at 4:30 in the morning I was out of bed immediately and got ready to go to the airport. I slept on our first flight and was jittery with excitement as we speed walked to our connecting flight from Detroit to New York. When we arrived, however, we found out that our plane had been delayed by 2 hours and 5 minutes due to maintenance occurring inside of the plane we were taking. While I was disappointed we were going to be delayed getting to our destination, I figured being delayed was better than flying on a defective plane that would fall out of the sky. While we waited, Renee and Mark discussed how food was going to work on our trip. Renee handed each of us $4.50 and told us that was all of the money we had to pay for our breakfast and lunch tomorrow. My brain went on the fritz as panic began to set in, drowning out whatever Renee was saying. I didn't want to be hungry on this trip and I had no clue how to stretch $4.50 into two filling, healthy meals, especially since New York is much more expensive than Des Moines. <font color="#000000" face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.301961); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The average person on food stamps lives off of $4.40 a day for all three meals.</span></font> When Renee told us this, I was shocked. That is not nearly enough money to pay for food to feed someone, much less for someone with multiple kids or parents that need to be cared for due to illness or injury. I can't imagine having to live that way every day. I have always had enough food to eat my entire life and knowing that others aren't as fortunate as me makes my heart ache for them. As I put myself in these people's shoes, I feel a little bit of the stress, worry, and fear about not getting enough to eat. I get hangry when I'm hungry and light headed. It's not a feeling I enjoy. I imagine all that I am feeling is magnified tremendously in someone experiencing this every day. As I told myself to calm down, I listened to my classmates and Renee. <font color="#000000" face="sans-serif" size="3"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.301961); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">We all decided we would pool our money to buy groceries for tomorrow's breakfast and lunch, which gave us $54 all together. Pooling our money made me feel much better about eating tomorrow. </span></font> We were lucky Renee only had quarters to give us for change so we got a whole ten cents more per person than the average amount people get. We also only had to stretch our money for 2 meals instead of 3. We discussed foods we all liked and looked up prices on our phones to make the most out of our meager budget. As we discussed the prices, it dawned on me that people experiencing poverty and homelessness must make decisions that involve money very carefully so they can have enough money to pay for other things like rent or new clothes. This realization reminded me of Chris Gardner from the Pursuit of Happyness because he had to budget his money carefully too. I also realized I was feeling guilt and anger. I felt guilty for feeling anxious about being hungry when other people go hungry every day. I felt angry because if there are so many people on food stamps that need to eat every day and feed their families, why hasn't anyone tried to reform the way we help people in need? Or at least create new options for people who need it? Something needs to change. Everyone should have the means to have food, water, and shelter. $4.40 is not enough. It may have been enough years ago but the economy has changed over the years and inflation has increased, causing a rise in the prices of everything. As times and the standard of living changes, so should the amount of aid we give to people in need. Finally, after about two more 30 minute delays we found ourselves on another flight to the Big Apple. Once we arrived, we went to the church to drop off our stuff, eat pizza, and head out to go to the Museum of Modern Art and Times Square. I was so excited! I have never been to New York so I have been on pins and needles about experiencing what the Big Apple had to offer. As we walked towards Times Square after seeing art in the MoMA for about 20 minutes before they closed, I paid closer attention to my surroundings. I saw at least 3 people laying in the streets, trying to sleep. One of them had a cat, which is an emotional resource. Another was trying to sleep right next to the hustle and bustle of Times Square! There were so many people walking past him, I don't know how he slept. It's crazy what things you see when you're actively paying attention. After Times Square, we headed back to the church. We passed by the New York Projects on our way. It is public government funded subsidized housing. It made me think about one of the books I read for this class, Evicted, because it talks about public housing and how hard it is for the poor to get into public subsidized housing since the rent is cheaper than regular apartments. In the book, rent for a regular one or two bedroom apartment in the poorer part of Milwaukee was around $500. Subsidized housing was about $140 if I am remembering correctly. This is a huge difference, causing a huge demand for this type of housing. One of the main characters in the book, Arleen, regretted her decision to give up her chance at subsidized couldn't afford the rent for her current apartment that wasn't subsidized. She was just evicted from her apartment. She is now homeless with 2 kids to care for and no where to go. Even though it was only the first day, I feel that I have already learned a lot. I learned that I need to be more cognizant of my surroundings because there are so many little things you miss when you don't pay attention close enough. I think people see what they want to see and ignore the bad in the world. They don't want to think about problems in the world that they cannot change completely by themselves like homelessness and poverty. I hope that one day that this will change and that people will come together to help bring an end to poverty. Every little contribution helps someone in need, so if every person contributed, so many people's lives would be changed for the better.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd30EL6yOQ0i8fIqQ1m34MQHi8ptJBjuYlF0vCy4bE-eVF4UyP2NrEL3QVucua3bmXwgh59ui2uf5SIvzhN6sibn2F5vmVzGIVuJzY3MPJRjEh7izfAharwyC14UZMHjaMvrVWCHF0AaE/s1600/20170106_202209.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd30EL6yOQ0i8fIqQ1m34MQHi8ptJBjuYlF0vCy4bE-eVF4UyP2NrEL3QVucua3bmXwgh59ui2uf5SIvzhN6sibn2F5vmVzGIVuJzY3MPJRjEh7izfAharwyC14UZMHjaMvrVWCHF0AaE/s640/20170106_202209.jpg"> </a> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11932478177286648634noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8061608077462290270.post-28896910254497238082017-01-06T04:30:00.000-08:002017-01-06T04:30:36.478-08:00Big things happen in the morning!For the 6th year in a row, Drake students are making their way to NYC. Follow along as we explore the city and dismantle our understanding of poverty. #draketakesnyc<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd5cVYRtnznLWyhisn92TWcIbVdsWIJQgQgmTkkY_-rYMgW9wpTR4MK0m3AA6NMPQm5Eeh5nXvkK_ZnJO7PFHFjYBR8HxbIXkRrcpolZZY8Z-RuKidBXP-cLVdBjmgsNIX77d8CuaLvyU/s1600/20170106_055743.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd5cVYRtnznLWyhisn92TWcIbVdsWIJQgQgmTkkY_-rYMgW9wpTR4MK0m3AA6NMPQm5Eeh5nXvkK_ZnJO7PFHFjYBR8HxbIXkRrcpolZZY8Z-RuKidBXP-cLVdBjmgsNIX77d8CuaLvyU/s320/20170106_055743.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05563982969773211056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8061608077462290270.post-13550278259800931822016-01-18T09:12:00.002-08:002017-01-09T19:23:47.614-08:00continue with service POTS ( NPO model)<div class="MsoNormal">
One more thing about POTS is the benefits of serving the
guests like in a restaurant. This helps to prevent some language conflicts what
we had at our second spot—it is all my fault to forget their name, and I don’t
know if they have a short name. Also, the clean-up people working during the
serving period to save time after the close-up. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Working like a restaurant also reminds me of NPO as a
business. What does a NPO use to compete for resources and how would they accomplish
economy of scale and scope? What’s the future of NPO be? Will there be an
all-in-one organization serving with chain store in different locations?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Renee shared with me that some well-functioned organization
competes for investments with their aiding goals. Even the success and failure
of NPO is hard to mark out (SF), the method of accomplished missions may be an integral
method of efficient attract, transformation and distribution of resources. Also
some are big enough to attract enough funds and efficiently distribute the
funds to different departments or different locations. She said the future of
NPO can be profit—there’s no saying that we have to make no profit to be NPO!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I also talked with Kenia, and she always wants to open an
enterprise to offer opportunities to women, which will bring lots of benefits
to the society from the intent of her start-up. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Entrepreneurial businesses can provide opportunities while
make profit, while serving the people in need is always the first priority of a
NPO. The former may be easier to attract funds because they meet the market
needs, and may be more flexible with their structure and restrictions compared
with NPO. However, they may bring their staffs into their ups and downs. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The model for some organization can be replicated to expand
the success as the speaker at NOSP said, but Lisa said things are more
complexed than we can see. As the staff at HOUR said that even though other
organizations may use their model, their leader is not replicable. As Micro
finance may give available funds for people in need to start their own businesses,
but they may not be equipped with skills and leadership as abovementioned entrepreneurs
are. Well, not much leadership is needed
for a family-owned business to get rid of poverty with some help from counseling
team. These people can be well trained at NPO and be connected with funds from
banks or through other channels. Perhaps the “well-intent” entrepreneurs can
get funds through NPO also so that the demand and supply of human and labor
resources is self-sustained within the system. I can ask and discuss with
others and do research to know and think more about this topic, but it is hard
to do anything with an empty belly…<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
SF: Helmig, B., Ingerfurth, S., Pinz, A. Success and Failure
of Nonprofit Organizations: Theoretical Foundations, Empirical Evidence, and
Future Research. <i>Voluntas: International
Journal of Voluntary & Nonprofit Organizations. </i>Dec2014, Vol. 25 Issue
6, p1509-1538. 30p. Retrieved from <a href="http://eds.b.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=3&sid=f94317ef-353c-4f1d-86e9-2997d258876b%40sessionmgr112&hid=108&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3d%3d#AN=99256178&db=a9h">http://eds.b.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=3&sid=f94317ef-353c-4f1d-86e9-2997d258876b%40sessionmgr112&hid=108&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3d%3d#AN=99256178&db=a9h</a><o:p></o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8061608077462290270.post-90949699777737027522016-01-18T07:33:00.001-08:002017-01-09T19:23:47.682-08:00Service at POTS<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: #212121; font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif;">Maria, Erica, Kenia,
Elizabeth, Kramer, Matt, and I worked as group B for our community services. We
went to three soup kitchens: Part of the Solution (POTS), The Bowery Mission,
(forgot the name of the other one) and a women & children support organization
called HOUR. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: #212121; font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif;">At POTS, Dez-the group
leader, gave us a warm introduction about this organization and showed her
interests in us. She thought I am too quiet, so she put me in a position of
host to welcome, count and lead to position for people coming. We have Maria serve drinks, another volunteer serve bottled water, Kramer and Elizabeth serve </span><span style="background: white; color: #212121; font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif;">food,
Kenia and Erica fill plates, and Matt help clean up and close up tables. <br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: #212121; font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif;">I counted people in headcounts with information of gender,
seniority, and familial group. Compared with counting in other spots, the
statistics used by POTS contains more information than just counted the number
or with names. However, more people showed up for second or third round at
POTS, indicating the food per plate may not be as much as other spots and the
actual number of people served shrank (usually 450 headcounts/day, on our day
it’s 380). The benefits of this may be to decrease the amount of wastes of food
per plate, and people can adjust their needs by returning, other than one big
meal, which may be a little too much for some but not enough for some who would
return but would not finish the second plate. However, people may take their
favorite food and throw away other parts. Self-served spots may prevent some of
the wastes by people choosing their own wants. In both situations, the balance of
nutrition would be lost. The solution may be to provide more choices and serve
in a more customized ways. If the salad were from Whole Food and coffee from
Starbucks as at The Bowery Mission, I think few would reject. <br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: #212121; font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif;">At POTS, there are only two employees and others are all
volunteers. Jim worked as full-time volunteer. Deb said that when volunteers
not show up for the day, sometimes she had to do everything with Erin (another
employee). It is good to know that a high school volunteer worked on our day
has fifty hours required volunteer time at POTS and other 150 hours at other
places. At all these three places, there are staff-treated volunteers. They
know more and know how, and they are part of the solution and cares for
everyone as guests and family members. On the other side, I heard some
full-time volunteers took stuff from food pantry as their rewards on our second
spot. Nu who worked there told me also that some of the volunteers had bad
attitude to guests and after her repeated persuasion, some simply quit the work
and now they only have one existed volunteer. Volunteers may react differently
due to their backgrounds and their awareness of what they are doing, but the
change in new generation of volunteers is positive. They can also try to use
more volunteers to serve shorter period as what is done at the shelter a
speaker talked about at YSOP. Well, that is only workable while split work is
repeatable and can be learnt easily, and some people need to know the big
picture and do more integrated job like cooking in the kitchen. Therefore, all-volunteer-run
soup kitchen may not be that easy as it is mostly in the daytime and the staffs
can only do a part-time job if they don’t ask for salaries here due to time and
labor limitation. <br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: #212121; font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif;">Can we save some volunteers for future use if the efficiency
of soup kitchen be improved, so that the possibility of no-show-up volunteers
be decreased at spots? I thought at POTS, they could try to use plates or carts
to serve drinks and plates in a more efficient way. I know they split the work
because there were quite enough volunteers that day, but I don’t know what they
choose to do to save human resources with fewer volunteers or even with only two
staffs. I asked Linda how they would do and whether they could put napkin and forks
in a container on each table to save some work. Linda told me that sometimes it
is important to have more than enough volunteers as a way to increase awareness
and spread it out. Also, each spot has some regular volunteers they maintain,
so they can call them if no volunteer show up on some day. As for the forks and
napkins, they have to serve them in case guests touch other forks, as a
sanitary requirement, if napkin not folded on the forks. The truth is usually deeper than first seen or with shallow thoughts. Therefore, the engagement
and exploration is encouraged to see the big picture and seek the roots of
issues as more engaged citizens.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: #212121; font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif;">I also found that it is necessary not only to do the work,
but also to connect emotionally with other volunteers and employees. Mostly,
they are doing the same job day after day and may get tired sometimes
especially when they have other tasks, like looking for a job, in such a big
city. They have a desire to share their happiness and pride of doing their
jobs and discuss their thoughts and spread out the awareness and
responsibilities. It is so encouraging to see how my teammates showed their
interests to know more about everything-funding, difficulties, resources, employees,
operations, how they tried to accomplish constructive conversations, and the
relaxing and respectful atmosphere they tent to offer. It is so cheerful each
time I saw how they mopped the floor as shining as a same mirror at different
places! Having a feeling of part of a team is critical to bring more people into the “volunteer’
position in the active citizen continuum. “Great things may be done by mass efforts."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: #212121; font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif;">When I worked as a host at POTS, Deb asked me to fill a table
before bring people to the next one. The lunch hour at POTS is 3.5 hours, which
is much longer than other places we served. In the middle of the period, I worked
around the “rules” by placing people more to the table near drinks and food spots
so that other volunteers wouldn’t walk back and forth that long. Sometimes
conflicts exist between human and rules, but the basic values and principles
are worth persistence. As the words in the kitchen of the Bowery Mission, it is
all about “Serve your guests as you are serving a King.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: #212121; font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif;">by Xin Zhang</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8061608077462290270.post-22392546710381531762016-01-18T06:58:00.005-08:002017-01-09T19:23:47.629-08:00The Power of Food and Love<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Last week our Explorations of Urban
Poverty class packed as much fun and service as we could into our trip to NYC.
The trip as a whole was a great experience and taught me much about poverty.
The day that stands out to me is the day Group A served with Muslims Against
Hunger. We arrived at our destination around 9:30 a.m. and were unable to find
the correct unit, mostly because a tiny little juice bar, Goloka Juice Bar, was
the front for the nonprofit’s operations. As our instructor called our contact
another regular volunteer showed up and let us in. Mario immediately put us to
work. We helped frost and cut cakes and I helped him finish preparing the main
dish. It was a kind of lentil stew with roast vegetables and rice. My job was
to stir the rice into the lentils as he poured it in. This was no simple task
as the pot holding everything was about 4 feet high and 2 or 3 feet in
diameter. A small adult could have easily fit in it. After finishing the stew
and cakes Oddey (not sure exactly how it was spelled), the head of the
operation, showed up. He was extremely kind and welcomed us. After that we
loaded up an SUV with all of the food made and drove it a few blocks to
Thompson Square Park where we would be serving. We set up a table. On it we
placed jasmine tea, lentils and rice, salad and banana blueberry cake with
chocolate icing. All of the food looked and tasted delicious; we were allowed
to try the food after we served everyone else. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
This service experience was unique
in my eyes for a few reasons. The only instruction given to us by Oddey was to
give people whatever they wanted. Some people only wanted cake, others wanted
everything and some even brought Tupperware to take some home as well as eat
some there. This was a stark contrast compared to other soup kitchens I have
served in where everyone gets a specific amount and no more. As a result, some
people went through the line three or four times and had multiple containers to
fill up. What effects does the “give the people what they want” attitude have on
the psyche of the people being served? <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Another thing that was interesting
to see was the diversity of people coming to get food. Some, if I had to judge,
were probably homeless, some were dressed for work and others were dressed in
suits and ties. The people being fed ran the gamut from abject poverty to being
seemingly wealthy. Why serve everyone and not focus on the population that
arguably needs it more? Don’t those in poverty have much more potential benefit
than those who are already well off? In
talking with Oddey and Dimitri, one of the other regular volunteers, I learned
a lot about their philosophy. They didn’t feel that feeding the hungry was
going to suddenly pull the people they were serving out of poverty. They were
very accepting of the fact that people were going to be homeless. All they
hoped is that some spiritual hope and enlightenment could be brought to their
lives through the food. Oddey prayed for hours before preparing the food and
whilst preparing it was sure to keep his mind calm and prepare it with love
otherwise, his negative thoughts and energy would get into the food and the
people who ate it. So to answer my earlier questions, the food isn’t
necessarily about actually eradicating hunger. The food is meant to bring love
and happiness into people’s lives to maybe give them the little extra boost
they need to make it through the day or get through whatever hardships they are
enduring.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Today’s service was a great
teaching moment for me and gave me a minor epiphany. I realized that service
such as Muslims Against Hunger and others that fed or clothed people weren’t
going to solve poverty. They are just a bandaid on a much larger issue. What
these organizations can strive towards is bringing a little happiness, hope and
dignity to the people they are serving. They can do this by simply treating
them as fellow human beings, by looking them in the eye and acknowledging their
humanity. This leads to the more root issue of how the average person treats
people in poverty. Many people we served last week had their heads down and
would not meet your gaze. Most people ignore and won’t even look at people who
they might consider to be homeless or poor. So much can be done for the psyche
and mental and emotional resources of people if they are treated kindly and a
few nice words are said. Something as simple as that can have much greater
impacts than a meal can. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Just as Mark challenged our class,
I am challenging everyone reading this, not just those directly serving, to say
a few kind words to somebody, give them a smile and look them in the eye. It
doesn’t have to someone you think is homeless or poor. Looks can be deceiving
and you have no idea what their situation may be. Picking people up through
words and love, exemplified by Oddey, are powerful tools that need to be better
utilized. <br />
-Ryan Wilbur</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8061608077462290270.post-45109621669655763342016-01-18T06:32:00.003-08:002017-01-09T19:23:47.646-08:00Exploring Povderty<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our up-close look at poverty during our trip to New York was an eye opening experience for me. Throughout the week, we volunteered at various sites - soup kitchens, food pantries, and even a day care. On our first day of volunteering, we served lunch at an organization called Part of the Solution (POTS). It was here that my view of homelessness and poverty was first challenged. I had assumed that a lot of the people at POTS would be homeless. During the two hours we served lunch, I saw plenty of people that looked like they had homes and jobs, families and kids. I sat and talked with a man named Martin, who told me a bit about why he comes to POTS. Martin has a full time job as a janitor, and a small home in Queens, but with four children to support, the money he makes isn’t quite enough to make ends meet, so he most days he comes to POTS for a meal. Talking to Martin is when I realized that it could be anyone in that situation, even me. The face of poverty isn’t the stereotypes of a homeless person like you see in the movies - it’s a normal person with a family, a home, and a job, struggling to make ends meet.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Growing up in the suburbs of Minneapolis in a middle class family, and attending a school like Drake, I think it’s easy to be naive about homelessness. My view of homelessness was mostly shaped by pop culture, and the occasional times I’d see homeless people on the streets of Minneapolis. I had a lot of assumptions about people that are homeless, many that are now hard to admit. Many people make the assumption that people are homeless because they’re lazy, or they choose to be. On some level, I think I bought into that belief that if the would just go and get a job, they wouldn’t be homeless. This week in New York changed that outlook for me. It’s not easy to get out of poverty. There’s not a lot of jobs out there, and people who are homeless often face many challenges in getting a job. Even if you do manage to get a job, minimum wage isn’t even close to enough to make ends meet. We spent a lot of time this week talking about ways people can get out of poverty. In the Pursuit of Happyness, we saw an unrealistic, one-in-a-million story of somebody striking it rich and making it through pure determination and willpower. Unfortunately, this isn’t the reality. After talking and interacting with so many people in these situations this week, I’ve realized that there’s plenty of people with potential, they just need a path out. That path starts with housing, and education. I think the best way to help someone “make it out” is by giving them a consistent environment to live in, and teaching them skills that will help them get a job. This is something we saw at the Dowery Mission on Thursday. They have an awesome program where they take in somebody living on the streets, give them a place to live for six months, and put them through an intense program focused on life training and job training. Of all the places we volunteered, I think this program makes the biggest difference in taking steps to get people out of poverty, rather than just putting a bandaid on the problem. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In class we talked a lot about generational poverty. Breaking the cycle needs to start with the kids. On Tuesday, we saw an organization focused on this. We volunteered at a daycare with an organization that serves women who spend time in prison, and their children. They house them, feed them, care for the children, and help the women find jobs. They talked a lot about the fact that in order to help these children, they needed to help the moms too. We spent a few hours that day helping out with toddlers in the daycare. The kids reminded me so much of my cousin when he was that age. That’s when I realized how important it is to help these kids. Breaking the cycle of poverty starts with them - giving them opportunities to develop properly, and receive an education. I think the most important thing we can do is find a way to reach kids growing up in poverty. If the cycle continues like it has in the past, 75% of them will live in poverty as adults. This week I learned how hard it is for an adult to make it out of poverty. There’s a lot of challenges to face, and it isn’t easy. Reaching kids at a young age is important, because it’s a lot easier to help them grow up and get out than it is to help them get out as a kid.</span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-be536004-5526-aa9d-666f-8e8ef3313202"><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This week in New York, my view of homelessness and poverty changed dramatically. In the end, I got to come home to my house, my comfortable bed, my job, and my friends. Not everybody has these privileges. The challenge I’ve been having internally is what makes me deserve these things more than somebody like Martin. The honest answer is, I don’t deserve them any more than he does. Everybody deserves to live comfortably, to have a roof over their heads, and food on the table.</span></span>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8061608077462290270.post-64737037009589646352016-01-18T06:18:00.002-08:002017-01-09T19:23:47.666-08:00Part of the Solution<div style="text-align: center;">
Part of the Solution</div>
<br />
On Monday, our team headed out to The Bronx and volunteered at Part of the Solution (POTS), which is an organization that offers just about every service imaginable for homeless and impoverished persons. Our team members were split into different roles. Some served food, others acted as servers for our guests, and one of our team members acted as a hostess to seat people as they came in. POTS was impressive--the place is designed to feel like a real restaurant, which fosters an atmosphere of respect and dignity. POTS has a kitchen, legal clinic, health clinic, food pantry, barbershop, and various other services to aid a person to self-sufficiency. This idea of self-sufficiency is one that I wrestled with throughout our trip. Whenever homelessness makes its way into national conversation, we always talk about solutions to homelessness and how we can alleviate poverty. Indeed, this is why the official absolute poverty line was established in the first place--we needed a metric to see how many people were moving out of poverty due to Lyndon B. Johnson's "War on Poverty." There seems to be a stark contrast between conservative and liberal views of the homeless: on one end, the homeless are believed to be personally responsible and need to get a job to get back on their feet; on the other, homelessness is the fault of the society we live in and is unfairly structured to benefit those on top, who should pay a greater share in taxes to help the homeless. The reality lies somewhere in the middle: indeed, we have a system in place that stacks the cards against the poor before they've even had a chance in life. However, we also heard a theme of personal responsibility develop as we spoke to POTS and other organizations about solutions to homelessness.<br />
<br />
We saw and spoke with plenty of individuals that are in situational poverty. A man who came to our soup kitchen was almost late because he was working on his resume and setting up job interviews. Another man had a storied background in commercial real estate, but fell ill due to a mental breakdown. Thanks to the services they're receiving from POTS and other organizations, they're going to make it out of this dark period okay. We also saw quite a few people on the other end of the spectrum, who likely will never make it out of homelessness, much less poverty. I think the conversation about homelessness, especially on the conservative side of the aisle, is geared too much towards solutions at times. The fact is that there's a number of people that won't be able to participate in society as we know it. Perhaps it is these individuals own fault that they're living on the streets. Perhaps it's not. It's irresponsible to view the homeless as a homogeneous group. Their stories, circumstances, and ability to obtain self-sufficiency all vary greatly. Perhaps there are individuals who are abusing the programs offered to them, but it's evident when you serve people all day that struggle to look you in the eye out of shame that the vast majority are not. People don't want to be impoverished. It almost sounds foolish in this context, but it's this kind of rhetoric that individuals will use to avoid contributing.<br />
<br />
I think my biggest takeaway from the New York trip was the importance of unconditional volunteerism. Sometimes we get so bogged down with the discussion of what to do about homelessness that we forget that there are individuals suffering right now and organizations trying to serve these individuals that desperately need a hand. There's no politics in volunteering. Even if you think we should cut welfare spending, there are still individuals that are miserable. Some of these individuals might just need a good interaction--a smile from a helpful stranger--to restore their humanity and their fight to create a better tomorrow.<br />
<br />
Kramer Howell<br />
<br />
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"The world is the biggest living organism. The tides have their highs and lows, the oceans pulse like our hearts, the sky changes colors like our moods. Thanking the world for allowing us to participate."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8061608077462290270.post-81281877156651583452016-01-17T19:36:00.001-08:002017-01-09T19:23:47.671-08:00Home Sweet Home<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I woke up <a dir="ltr" href="x-apple-data-detectors://0" x-apple-data-detectors="true" x-apple-data-detectors-type="calendar-event" x-apple-data-detectors-result="0">5:45 am</a> and realized today was our last day in New York City. No more freezing cold showers, sharing a room with 13 other people and get to sleep in my own bed later that evening. As I started to pack my stuff into my suitcase I began to reflect on all the all the different things we have done over the past week. Our class has volunteered at 8 different service sites and have gotten the opportunity to listen to the stories of many different people. We had also done all of the tourist stuff including <a dir="ltr" href="x-apple-data-detectors://2" x-apple-data-detectors="true" x-apple-data-detectors-type="calendar-event" x-apple-data-detectors-result="2">9/11</a> memorial, MOMA and the Natural History Museum. We would be traveling to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island later this after noon.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> The first week of class we learned about some of the factors that cause poverty. At every location we asked, “ What do you think are some factors that can cause poverty and what can we do to help.” One commonality between all the answers was motivation and the lack of motivation people may have. I never realized how this could cause and continue the number of people in poverty. One of the ladies we met said “ We have plenty of resources for everyone not to be hungry they just need to get up and find them.” At the Hour Children, the lady told us this organization motivated her to turn her life around and now she is one of the top people in the organization. You never realized how big of a role of motivation plays in everyday life. The people who have that sense of motivation to turn their lives around or even have that person to push them to go out and find those resources to make a better life for themselves. One of the main goals of this class to learn about what we could do to help change the cycle of poverty. I began to think what I could do to motivate people to change their lives for the better. As a future educator, it made me think what I can do to help my students motivating them at a young age and to be another role model for these children. <o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> As we traveled to the Statue of Liberty, it made me think deeper of the meaning of the statue. The statue represents freedom and desire for a better life. People came to this country for a better life and all of the obstacles they had to go through. Once we got to Ellis Island, we went through a guided tour to describe step-by-step what most new arrivals experienced. Ellis Island’s main function was to screen out those considered undesirable-the ill, impoverished, the disable and criminals. You had to have a certain income level before even entering the United States. The government was more concerned about how immigrants would either help or hurt our economy rather then helping those immigrants get a better life. It made me wonder if those immigrants knew how different their lives would be, would they have still traveled here.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> On the night of the dinner we cooked at YSOP, I had a conversation with one of the guests on why he decided to come to the United States. He had no family here and was not doing that well. He wanted a better life in the United States but in the end, he is not happy here. The cost of living in New York City was way to high. The man discussed that the average cost of living in a one bedroom apartment was about $1500 a month not including utilities. He worked two jobs and still struggled to have enough money for rent. It made me think about how hard this man had to work in order to survive. We learned about in class how cost of living varies from place to place. This then caused me to think about for my future career path salary, could I even afford to live in a giant city like New York. <o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> I was very nervous on what this trip had in store. I was pushed out of my comfort zone, I got to learn about many different successful organizations and heard the stories from many different individuals. Some other activities including budgeting on $2.50 for a meal, taking public transportation and even sleeping in a church with 13 other people. This trip made me want to further my involvement in the community and to continue my learning about these issues in our community. This class has opened my eyes to not what I can do as an active citizen as in my community but all the factors that are cause poverty. One of the biggest take from this trip is even the smallest things will make a lasting impact. From a simple smile, making eye contact and even making small talk could make someone's day. I am very thankful for this opportunity and can't wait to go back to New York City.</span></p>-Sparkley Gray<br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-pUSdJ8w86mY/VpxdrzOBVBI/AAAAAAAAAAo/pZuvTNH6VZY/s640/blogger-image--1687477398.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-pUSdJ8w86mY/VpxdrzOBVBI/AAAAAAAAAAo/pZuvTNH6VZY/s640/blogger-image--1687477398.jpg"></a></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8061608077462290270.post-46392960426159490142016-01-17T18:39:00.001-08:002017-01-09T19:23:47.653-08:00Life on the Other Side of the Language Barrier<div class="p1">
Group B's adventures today included riding the subway to the lower east side of Manhattan to the Trinity Church Food Pantry. After a few wrong turns and with a heavy reliance on Google maps, we finally made it to our service site. We were greeted by a feisty Latina woman on staff whose English and Spanish were nearly impossible to differentiate. Luckily for me, I know some of both so I could keep up with her orders (kind of). The work there was fast-paced and the woman expected us to do everything perfectly the first time, or she would become frustrated and take it upon herself to do the task. Right away I was put to work sorting beans--the dry kind that come in a bag. My job was to sift through 10 bags of kidney beans, picking out all the broken ones. My other group members were assigned various tasks such as cutting vegetables for the salad, slicing bread, or organizing the food storage room. Shortly after we finished our task, we were generously fed a hearty portion of rice and beans; a meal that has become a staple in our diet since serving in New York. Along with the rice and beans, we had salad, a roll, canned peaches, and apple juice. </div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
As the line of guests grew ever longer outside the doors, we assumed our positions for serving the food buffet-style and prepared for the rush of people coming to enjoy a free meal on this chilly winter day. We served food to nearly 200 guests, which was apparently a slow day for Trinity. The staff said this was due to the extremely cold temperatures (when it's cold fewer people are willing to wait in line outside for a meal). Still, I was surprised with the vast diversity of the people who came in. Americans were the minority, while Asians made up the majority of guests and Latinos were a close second. Many of the Chinese guests spoke little or no English, but through a little acting and sign language I completed my role of bread-hander-outer. Even as a mere lunch server, I made a conscious effort to make eye contact with each person, remembering the parting advice that Mark gave us before coming on this trip. By making eye contact, I can tell a person who may feel invisible that they are seen, even when language acts as a barrier--as was often the case at Trinity. </div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
After serving lunch, in a whirlwind of orders given by our boss-lady, we quickly tore down our stations, cleaned the tables, swept the floor, and helped transform the cafeteria room into a food pantry. At this site, there was a complicated system involved with giving out food from the pantry. The algorithm takes into account the number of people in their family as well as the approved guidelines for a balanced diet. Based on this algorithm, a person was allotted a certain number of points to spend on each food group (produce, grains, and protein). Every food item was assigned a certain number of points between 1 and 5. However, some items were grouped as 3-for-1 point, 2-for-1, or even 4-for-1. After a 2-minute run-down on the point values of a hundred or so different items, we were working against the clock and had no choice but to dive right in. Needless to say, it was incredibly chaotic complicated to keep track of. We were pressed for time as guests were lining up once again, and we were instructed to spend no more than 4 minutes with each person. Just as I was finally beginning to figure out the system, things got complicated for me. </div>
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<div class="p1">
Many of the "customers"were Chinese, which posed an issue since my Cantonese doesn't go much further than"hello" and "I'm hungry"(a few phrases I learned from one of my foreign exchange student friends in high school). Almost all of the Chinese people that I worked with spoke no English, which, as you can imagine, presented another obstacle to the already-confusing point system. As they tried to decipher the sodium-soaked goodness inside of the cans before them, I tried to explain, "These are mixed veggies," or "This one is pineapple." In the protein section, I politely asked them if they wanted fish or beef, trying to explain that fish was a 3-for-1 deal while beef was just 1-for-1. Then I would move on to the canned protein, patiently explaining the point system to them. "You can have seven more cans, if you'd like," I'd say. "Would you like some soup or some carrots or peaches? You can get that big can of tomatoes, but that's worth 2 points, so if you get that you can only have 5 more things." My attempts to explain politely were not helpful, I found, because I would often get blank looks or be ignored completely; a clear indicator that my English words were empty and meaningless to them. One lady, who had 3 points to spend, picked up a bag of flour, which was worth 5 points. "I'm sorry, that one is worth 5," I said. "You can only spend 3." She persisted, saying "yes," to indicate that she didn't understand a thing I said and that she really wanted the flour. "You can get rice or cereal instead," I explained as I pointed to the other options. She again motioned at the flour. Realizing that she wasn't understanding me, I finally simplified my response and just said a clear and firm, "NO." That was one of the few words she understood. </div>
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I couldn't help but feel bad and a little frustrated that I couldn't communicate as politely and kindly as I intended to. The my instructions either non-English speakers from that point on included simply "yes," "no," or "one more." I worried about sounding rude or condescending by being so short with them, which was the opposite of what I was going for. I was frustrated because I knew I wasn't accurately communicating the way I wanted to. Yet, I had to converse with them in the only way that worked; the only way that I knew how. </div>
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It was then that I realized, THIS IS PROBABLY WHAT THEY FEEL LIKE ALL THE TIME--frustrated at their inability to communicate effectively and understand in a majorly English-speaking country. This realization made me reconsider the way I interact with and judge a person, especially a foreign person, based on their ability to communicate. Perhaps they are not being portrayed the way they would like to because they simply lack the ability to communicate. Perhaps their true personality is trapped behind the language barrier. And now I know how frustrating that can be--especially when it comes to complicated topics such as the food pantry point system. I can only imagine how difficult other complicated things must be, such as healthcare or even American money.</div>
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Despite all the frustration of today, the cool thing about my experience was that I got practice to communicating without words, working outside of the confines of language. Through intentional eye contact, a little acting, and seemingly endless patience, I believe I was able to show the guests they were important and that my time with them was well-spent. I learned how to communicate non-verbally, with kind eyes and friendly gestures. With a loving shoulder pat I sent my new Chinese friends on their way, telling them to have a nice day. Because I learned today that your body language is often heard as clear as spoken language and sometimes your tone is more important than your words. </div>
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-Erica Noyes</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8061608077462290270.post-82493774062867535752016-01-15T15:48:00.001-08:002017-01-09T19:23:47.674-08:00Ellis Island and Immigration.<div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">
<br />
Today is our last day in New York and the only thing left on our agenda is
Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. Having never been there, I was very
excited to go see those last tourist attractions. Even though we all had to be
awake at 6:15am, we were all ready to go (for the most part).<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
We have been talking a lot about immigration and how people lived when they
came to America. Many of those people did not have much money or really
anywhere to go. As we learned in the Tenement Museum earlier in the week,
people tended to live near others of the same nationality. They would also live
in very small places with many people there. Going to Ellis Island was a really
great way to bring that conversation to a head. The Statue of Liberty was the
first thing people saw when they arrived here on the boat. Being a symbol of
freedom, they dreamed of the better life they were going to have here. Ellis
Island was the place where immigrants had to go get let into the U.S. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
In order to get to the Statue of Liberty, we had to take a ferry to the island.
We were herded into a line through security, and were herded on and off the
ferry. The entire time this was happening, all I could think about was that
this was probably exactly how the immigrants felt when they got to Ellis
Island. They were herded through all of Ellis Island, all to make sure they
were legal. I hated the ten minutes of herding that we had to do. I can't even
imagine what immigrants must have felt like going through that.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
The process of getting admission into New York was rigorous. After arriving
to the island, they had to go through a medical inspection. This inspection also
consisted of a mental health check. Then they had to go through a legal
inspection and could even have to go before a board of special inquiry. They
could even get detained temporarily if they were deemed "unfit" to
enter the country. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
I was born in the United States and so were my parents, so we didn't have to
go through any type of immigration process. Having learned how vigorous the
process was, even back then, I cannot even imagine having to go through that
kind of emotional turmoil. And what if I got separated from my family, which
I'm sure happened? That must have been traumatizing to not been with your
family in an entirely new country. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
It was amazing to learn that only 2% out of 12 million people that came
through Ellis Island got turned away. I know that it must have been terrifying
to leave your home country and go to someplace strange and different. Something
that I have realized this trip has been that if I was given an opportunity to
change my life for the better, I would take it without hesitation.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
Lately, there has been a lot debate on immigration and who we should let
into the country. Our country was founded by groups of outcasts from other countries.
It has always been a place that people go to for a better life and we pride
ourselves on that. I believe that if we start restricting the people coming
into our country, we will go back on everything we stand for. We are a country
that people look to when they have nowhere else to look. We cannot take hope
away from those people that are living in a situation with no hope.<o:p></o:p><br />
</div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">
-Allison Werth</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8061608077462290270.post-88965908085135938612016-01-15T15:41:00.001-08:002017-01-09T19:23:47.679-08:00To Be a New Yorker (Day 5)"I<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">n chess, you have to sacrifice and plan three or four different ways to go about it," says Tahadi, as he moves his pawn across the chessboard. He looks artistically at the board, making sure he's taking the proper steps to defeat his opponent. What Tahadi may or may not realize is that his quote about the game can be used to describe how one overcomes his or her obstacles in life, and how one must stay alert in case he or she is thrown a curveball. What this service trip has taught me is that poverty isn't a checkmate; it's missed move here, an unexpected opponent move there. These moves eventually pile up upon each other, leaving one's chance at victory at odds. </span><br />
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We started our day making the scenic subway ride to Brooklyn, home of a plethora of culture that I had only experienced through oral tradition until this moment. Brooklyn has always had a sense of pride, having the only professional sporting teams that claim true to a single county and an abundance of rappers flaunting braggadocio by claiming "Brooklyn is the borough." While Manhattan is concerned with the hustle and bustle of businesses both large and small, Brooklyn (known to some as "The Planet") was definitively created as a residential hub. I was ready to see a different side of the city, and could not be stopped from looking out the subway window after crossing the East River. The atmosphere of living in unity as a neighborhood struck me upon entering the borough, and from that point I knew that this service experience would differ from the one of the day before.</div>
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We exited the subway in the southern part of the borough, and to our surprise, the exit was above ground. The destination was right below the tracks and we got a glimpse of the organization we were dealing with. Ted, the leader, told us about his humble background and how his service was a direct result of wanting to help ease the problem that was so blatant in his neighborhood. The interesting thing about the organization was that Ted had no business background and did not understand how to effectively operate the organization until well after opening its doors. To put it frankly, Ted stopped in his tracks to help the less fortunate, a task that you and I would have great trouble doing if asked. His compassion for the impoverished was blatant, and being able to help his fellow Brooklynites was all he needed to achieve actualization. His organization's process seemed simple: an eligible individual would order a grocery list, an employee would put together their order, and an individual or family could take home their food. Although people would occasionally come into the building without proper documentation of needing assistance, the process was ran smoothly, with those asking for food receiving it in a timely manner. Ted's love for the less fortunate has been making an impact in his neighborhood by reducing hunger; however, the entirety of his operations are not as flawless as the collecting of groceries. </div>
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Another theme of this trip that came to fruition at this location was looks cannot determine a situation. Although the grocery area was very organized, the basement was nothing short of disaster. Food and other seemingly random items were scattered about, leaving very little room to move about. I mainly helped with the organization process, which consisted of me moving boxes of food around so a shelf, which would prevent fines to the organization, could be installed. I wondered how this much food got here in the first place, and as a result, pondered what they did with the extra food that they could not hand out. We soon realized as a group that feeding the hungry was not necessarily an issue of supply, but rather distribution. If this pantry had a network of other pantries in the area to distribute unneeded food products, their basement would not have been as much of a mess. More importantly, people who need to be fed could do so in a more efficient manner. At the end of the day, my work seemed to only be a small piece of an everlasting puzzle. I learned that non-profit organizations are not ran without flaws, and discovered that a pantry could actually have too much food. Finally, I began to understand that volunteering does not always have to be glamorous, and could at least leave knowing we made an impact. </div>
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My favorite part of the trip came that night, when we had a dinner party with a variety of guests that were struggling to find permanent housing. Cooking the dinner was our responsibility, but as I was assigned to cook the garlic bread, I had ample time to converse with the guests. It occurred early to me that paying attention to them was non-negotiable, as their wisdom and life lessons cannot be reciprocated by those in my immediate circle. I talked with a man named Sam, born and raised in the Lower East Side, who loved boasting about the ins and outs of the city. He could talk all day about the local delis, his favorite ball players, and how Steinbrenner sucked the soul out of the team from the Bronx. He could also pick apart our class from locals with ease, with me being the exception. He was shocked to hear of my Irish ancestry, but nevertheless admitted I had the looks of a New Yorker. From him, I learned that being a New Yorker was not something that one could simply look the part for. He or she being given the title must act like a member of the city, cherishing their attitude, demeanor, and cleverness. Although I have lived in the Midwest for the entirety of my life, I must admit that my personality did not deviate from those who resided in the city we visited.</div>
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Another man, who went by the name of Mike, discussed how he could play a slew of percussion instruments and thrived at live performance. With him being older, I asked him if he shared my love of jazz music. He excitedly confirmed, and talked about the wonderment of growing up during the bebop era in New York. Being a percussionist, he listed Art Blakey as his favorite, and recommended I listen to him once I had the opportunity. Although Mike was not very open to begin the conversation, he had no problem sharing information once we found a subject that suited the interests of both parties. I learned from him that there are events in all of our lives that make us excitedly reminisce on times past, regardless of one's current living situation. Tahandi, a Guyanese man from Queens, was filled with knowledge. His family and he moved to the country when he was young, and he excitedly recalled easier times in an environment that was not as hectic. He returned to the states, and while incarcerated, picked up his chess skills while watching more experienced players battle. Tahadi used the game to clear his head from the New York state of mind. From this part of the conversation, I understood that living in the city was more than just waking up every morning. One must grind out every minute of the day, leaving many wanting a calmer environment. He eventually wants to leave the city to find a more peaceful environment to settle down. Although tempting, I did not ask if he wanted to live in Des Moines in an exchange for me to move to his city. </div>
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Lastly, I talked to a man named Cade, born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina. My conversation with Cade was peculiar, as he had not opened up to any of the other students who had tried to communicate with him. In fact, the first time I tried talking to him, he was talking to his wife on FaceTime, leaving me unable to properly introduce myself. Later, I gave the conversation another attempt, and to my surprise, he had something to say in return. He stated unabridged that New York was overrated, and stayed true to his roots. Locals Stephen Curry and Cam Newton were his favorite athletes, and he was an avid fan of UNC's basketball team. As we talked more, I could see him becoming more comfortable around me, and began sharing personal details that he would not have revealed twenty minutes prior. We shared a common bond with basketball and old school R&B music, and as he continued the conversation with me, I became troubled in my own thoughts. Why would this man become comfortable talking to me? How can an introverted, small-talk avoiding, fake-smile devoid guy like myself be finding success talking to another with similar traits? At that moment, I understood why we clicked. We shared the same mentality, keeping to ourselves until we find something we are passionate about, and yearned for comfort with our surroundings. Our goals in life revolve around finding an area that we can truly call home, and both of us only want to keep conversation if it is conducive to these goals. It was through Cade that I learned more about myself; what I really was searching for in life, and how I configured my actions to aid my search. He must have sensed a common bond between us, which would explain why he finally decided to open up. After talking to him, I realized we were not much different; both of us human, introverted, and constantly searching for the external comfort that we have not sensed.</div>
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After getting home from the dinner party, I listened to one of Art Blakey's most famous songs, titled "Night in Tunisia". I had forgotten this was a Blakey piece, as I had played it in my high school jazz ensemble. For Mike's sake, I listened only to Blakey's drumming and percussion playing through the piece. His playing can be described as bold, busy, and demanding importance, a perfect representation of life in New York City and how one must act just to get by. Although it seems like a cliche, I learned that New York life is really as difficult as described. It takes a magician to simply pay rent in the city, and people have little compassion for the less fortunate because they are constantly surrounded by them. There are so many homeless and impoverished people that its residents have been sensationalized to the idea. What could I really teach someone who is homeless, other than what they have already heard? N<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">othing. Alternatively, I can learn just about everything I have not been taught from one who is homeless. </span>This service trip was not about the minor impact we made on a few organizations or the less fortunate we helped for a few hours. It was about humbling ourselves and interacting with these people, whom we soon realized were very much like us. <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> I learned that at</span> the end of the day, we are all scraping along to get by, whether it be in the form of studying, working, or paying the bills. As Tahadi said, we all eventually have to make sacrifices, it is just the form of the sacrifices that differentiate us. We all are trying to find peace and comfort with our surroundings, and like Cade and me, have not yet achieved this. More importantly, we are all confined under the some of the same labels after all else is considered. To Sam, labeling me a New Yorker was not out of the question, as he thought I had the look and the mentality to fill the part. I would be honored to be able to share the same title as these fellows, and perhaps one day I will.</div>
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-Written by Christian Higgins</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8061608077462290270.post-51834760519572577552016-01-13T20:12:00.001-08:002017-01-09T19:23:47.656-08:00Looks can be deceiving <p dir="ltr">Over the course of my career, whether as a service-learning student or administrator, I have been on more than 21 service trips. The social issues have ranged from poverty and homelessness to the environment and natural disasters. Each time I travel and participate in an experience like this I learn and grow, this week will be no different.</p><p dir="ltr">The first day my group went to Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen, one of the oldest and largest soup kitchens in Manhattan. Serving nearly 1,000 people Mon-Fri they have been a staple in meeting the most immediate need of hunger since 1982. Members of our group were assigned various tasks from the dish room, serving on the food line, discarding uneaten food and for me, clearing and wiping down tables 6 and 7. </p><p dir="ltr">The doors opened around 10:30am and as people started to file in I was reminded that the homeless and people experiencing poverty look and are no different than you or I. Whether they were wearing dress shoes, Columbia jackets, jeans or even socks with flip flops, we all had one thing in common: we are all human and trying to make it in this world. Most of us think we can "see" poverty but this trip is researching me that most of the time we can't. Sure some of the folks were visibly struggling with either a physical disability or mental illness and others wore the sign of poverty through the look of distress on their face or tattered shoes on their feet. But truth is, I wouldn't have been able to tell the majority of people were experiencing poverty if I had ran in to them on the street or subway; and chances are with 58,000 homeless people living in the shelter system here in NYC that I have. </p><p dir="ltr">All afternoon I kept thinking, why do we trust our eyes to pass judgment, for good or for ill, when looks can be so deceiving? I was reminded about how many times I have passed judgment simply based on looks alone. Judgement creates barriers, it prevents us from seeing what's really in front of us and from making an authentic connection. </p><p dir="ltr">It's been interesting because we've also seen this judgement being passed on at some of our sites. Going in to this trip I assumed that the people working in the pantries and soup kitchens were all compassionate people who understood the reality of Poverty and that it's way more complicated than what we can see on the surface. One of the pantries we served at the 2nd day was phenomenonally organized yet the staff were extremely rude to the prospective clients. I recognize it could be my perception, as for I was viewing the interactions through my "Midwest nice" lens, however I took the time to talk with the caseworker a little more in depth and discovered that she gave no benefit of the doubt for any person that walked in the door. She told me I wouldn't believe how many people they meet that are scamming the system, receiving benefits like disability when they don't have one, etc. My momma always told me that one bad apple can spoil them all, but I've never seen it really in action. Knowing what we have been learning from class through the John Iceland Book and factors presentations I knew I couldn't just let misinformation go unchallenged and so tossed back the information we learned in class from Allison regarding the number of people who are denied disability their first application (40%) and then have to wait 30-90 days to apply for reconsideration and then wait 12 months to get a hearing about whether their reconsideration will be accepted just to be denied again. The whole process for many people is extremely cumbersome and lengthy, chances are that most people looking to scam the system wouldn't have the patience or endurance to actually go through the entire process to do so. </p><p dir="ltr">Knowing I wasn't going to change her mind, and recognizing you become jaded when you deal with the same stuff day in and day out I decided that the only one's opinion and actions I could control were my own. Looking at the bracelet I wear on my wrist that says "Be the Change", I took it upon myself to hang out in the waiting room, and greet people and try to give them a little direction in the process of signing up although I myself was foggy on the process. But we've talked a lot about perceptions this week and how first impressions often times are the lasting impression someone has. If I was an individual coming in who really needed pantry services but was treated rudely I would have probably not come back and spread negative advertisement about how I was treated. But just like we often pass the wrong judgement on the poor it would have been the wrong judgment to pass on the pantry as for they are doing wonderful work and help more than 7,000 people every month!! So the next time you run in to someone rude or impatient pause and remember that we are all facing trials and we have no idea what that person is facing or experiencing. Everyone has a lens in which they view the world and they are entitled to their perspective but if we could all be a little kinder perhaps we will make a real connection with someone that can make a difference. <br></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZm21f_VqKjBd5D4PjHXpGKDzlIluFORd5gRdhFmb32sbMZqR0rf8idHEdSUnJqB5VH6js63hk2hc2jJLF5GwPNJ04rX941XAwQExabj_2xHZMmhRyKw4eubNRmzcXgpVGU7Y0TowQJAY/s1600/20160111_224819.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZm21f_VqKjBd5D4PjHXpGKDzlIluFORd5gRdhFmb32sbMZqR0rf8idHEdSUnJqB5VH6js63hk2hc2jJLF5GwPNJ04rX941XAwQExabj_2xHZMmhRyKw4eubNRmzcXgpVGU7Y0TowQJAY/s640/20160111_224819.jpg"> </a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbD59aR8le3jQZfYhq-1FJ9UM_flW80hFmUCvim46ENt7X_pqG5xMjiJtirolc8w7LtKxXM73YhU7qTQJvz49pH57AfW__vE7doM-7ac_e_pxQbAZ8IfdmXJLeUvoaigUTOJX6wDiIulk/s1600/20160111_100558.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbD59aR8le3jQZfYhq-1FJ9UM_flW80hFmUCvim46ENt7X_pqG5xMjiJtirolc8w7LtKxXM73YhU7qTQJvz49pH57AfW__vE7doM-7ac_e_pxQbAZ8IfdmXJLeUvoaigUTOJX6wDiIulk/s640/20160111_100558.jpg"> </a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-rxqhOcQIKcz4fdMs03Z5GQkSIPxnrlOWDVlMBgMD_rkiJt9nWWBmzdqEt9QX5iKMMyxzq1nj9pc0KVnHvNaI3Qjo_l7yf1KYbY5UEFuH8iLsYDeaB13q-WJrYWBnn0D2Cj3oKi4SEDE/s1600/20160111_103707.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-rxqhOcQIKcz4fdMs03Z5GQkSIPxnrlOWDVlMBgMD_rkiJt9nWWBmzdqEt9QX5iKMMyxzq1nj9pc0KVnHvNaI3Qjo_l7yf1KYbY5UEFuH8iLsYDeaB13q-WJrYWBnn0D2Cj3oKi4SEDE/s640/20160111_103707.jpg"> </a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiydstn8IAQvuwWv97F9DbWHxrl2cyQXX0Ek4qVE6yP_zv61jDnEuYTpMYtVY132tv9fkuQQTZM8i3O1JGEvdlLdlLWSaSLXyE93S65wrkmISle3l-G3N6vypTQZ1oLh5X6XUb8rPteiUA/s1600/20160111_094220.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiydstn8IAQvuwWv97F9DbWHxrl2cyQXX0Ek4qVE6yP_zv61jDnEuYTpMYtVY132tv9fkuQQTZM8i3O1JGEvdlLdlLWSaSLXyE93S65wrkmISle3l-G3N6vypTQZ1oLh5X6XUb8rPteiUA/s640/20160111_094220.jpg"> </a> </div>Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05563982969773211056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8061608077462290270.post-46019688787077056072016-01-12T06:51:00.001-08:002017-01-09T19:23:47.650-08:00Eye Opening Experience<div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">
On our first day of service, Monday January 11<sup>th</sup>
2016, our wake up time was 6:15 am. However, I had been awake since 5:45 am due to
Evan's alarm. I was a little frustrated with Evan because he woke me up from my
peaceful slumber. I experienced the best night sleep at this church since I
slept in my winter jacket and was warm and toasty.<br />
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For the first time on this trip, we did not have to make a
group breakfast. Ryan had been making us oatmeal every day, but today bagels
were waiting for us at YSOP.</div>
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YSOP stands for Youth Service Opportunities Project. This
organization is a service learning organization dedicated to giving young
people the opportunity to help the homeless in NY City and Washington DC. We
broke up into two groups at YSOP and proceeded to our different sites.<br />
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I am in group A. We went to Holy Apostles to serve
food. When we arrived, we had a short orientation followed by receipt of
our station assignments. I was assigned to putting desserts on the trays. I
assumed I would put cookies out, but I soon realized that dessert meant an
apple. On average, Holy Apostles serves 800-1000 meals a day. Today we served
780 which is a slow day for them.<br />
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I noticed several interesting aspects
throughout the day. First, some of the guests that walked through the door were
unexpected. Some guests looked homeless, but others appeared to be average
working people. These people were obviously going through a difficult time but
looked like ordinary working citizens. I would never guess their situation if I
passed them on the street. I saw a man in business attire and a man who wore a
Dominos jacket stop in. They came in on their lunch break. Secondly, I was
surprised the guests were not allowed to choose their food. Therefore, a lot of
food was thrown away. I was shocked that people did not eat their full plate of
food. I spoke with my classmate, Chris, who said bread was the most thrown away
food. I am extremely curious as to why bread was the most thrown food away.
When we spoke to group B later in the day, they expressed a lot of food was
thrown away too. Also, many people were picky when looking at the food. I
assumed if I was homeless, I would take what was given to me. Lastly, a
volunteer I worked with explained to me that many guests do not eat their fruit
themselves but take more fruit from the shelter and sell the fruit on the
street to make money. The volunteer found this action distasteful because other
homeless people need that food. In addition, he did not think it was right for
some to sell the fruit for a profit. Yesterday, my group discussed if we had
the right to care what the homeless do with our money we give them? When we
give money on the street, can we be upset if the money is used for heroine
rather than food? The volunteer’s opinion about selling the fruit is similar to
the question we posed in class. Once the apple is given out and becomes the
guests, do we have a right to say what they can and cannot do with the fruit?<br />
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Holy Apostles had unique opportunities compared to the other
service sights we attended. Holy Apostles provides other services besides feeding
the homeless 5 days a week. This organization provides counseling to guests who
need assistance. These counseling sessions can provide assistance in securing food
stamps, legal aid, health care, drug & alcohol rehabilitation and more.
Furthermore, numerous classes and activities are offered to guests to assist
them in acquiring skills that can help them escape their situation and/or
provide entertainment. Writing, music, movies, discussion groups, yoga &
meditation events are offered. I believe education is a piece of the puzzle to
help individuals out of poverty. Holy Apostles assists people in poverty by
teaching basic skills that others learn in school or at home. This education is
important because learning how to function on your own can change one’s way of
life. If one goes days without learning a life skill, it makes it harder to
change the situation. For example, if I sit and watch uneducated TV the whole
day, what did I learn to improve my life? For an individual in poverty, if they
can learn how to create a resume and look for jobs online, it might change
their life. Through the services provided by Holy Apostles, I learned a way I
want to give back and where my passion lies. Before we went on the trip, I gave
a presentation on the financial literacy in poverty. I indicated schools should
include programs to teach students personal financial planning. I would love to
volunteer my time to have a class at Holy Apostles on basic personal financial
planning. The computer class offered teaches basic skills on the computer and
resume building. My personal financial planning class would educate guests on budgeting,
cash flow, taxes, banks, savings, and other basic financial information. I am
extremely business minded and know my passion is sharing my skills regarding
handling money. I want to help end the cycle of poverty, but I realize this is
just one small cog in the wheel. <br />
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Another item I learned is how to put myself in the mindset
of a person in poverty. During my volunteer service I have done through the
years, I have never thought what would I do in their situation? For example, I
learned at noon guests can come back for seconds. I thought if I was a guest, I
would stay until noon to eat round two so I am extra full. Then I thought, if I
had a family and my children were at school they would need food. I figured out
I would invest in Tupperware and put the extra food in the Tupperware for
dinner. I would act like I want another plate and put it in the
Tupperware. Furthermore, many guests threw food away. If one did not want to
eat all the food at once, they can put it in a Tupperware and save it for later.
After we volunteered, I told Ryan my idea. He said he saw guests use
Tupperware! That was an “ah ha” moment, because I was spot regarding what some
guests were doing to survive. This was an important lesson because if I can put
myself in their situation, I have a better chance of helping them. It is
important to figure out what they need and want rather than making assumptions
that everyone is the same.<br />
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At the end of the day our professor threw a curve ball at
us. We were led to believe the church we are staying at was cooking us dinner--
this was not the case.<br />
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Our professor handed us each $2.50 and explained that is how
much we have to spend on dinner. All of our jaws dropped and Allison
immediately cried, "how is this going to happen!?!" Right away we
came to the consensus to pull our money together and make something. We have 12
students and 2 professors which means we have $35 to spend. The group headed
back to the church to come up with a game plan. We can all agree it was a
frustrating and stressful experience. It is extremely hard to please 14 people
on a tight budget. Personality traits and leadership styles definitely came
out. However, some people’s actions did not match their personality trait,
including myself. It was interesting to examine the people that stepped up and
took control of the situation. I am a dominate trait, but I found myself not
stating my opinion and taking a step back. I learned I do not need to lead
every group I participate in. I am not a picky eater so I did not care what we
were going to eat.<br />
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However, Mia is S trait which typically does not take
control. Mia is extremely picky with her food! Since she is picky she stepped
up and made her opinion known. She led the majority of the discussion. I
realized if we were talking about finance or business items.... my dominate
trait may have taken over.<br />
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Overall, I had an amazing trip to New York City to study
urban poverty. I went into this class with one thought on poverty, but flew
home with another mindset. On the last day Lisa asked the class, when you go
home, how are you going to describe this class? When I got home, people asked me
about my trip but I did not describe the class. I did not describe the service
I did or the activities we did as a class. I described how it has changed my
life and view point on the homeless. I explained we all need to dedicate time
to service and we should not stop volunteering when life gets busy. Erica was
100% accurate when she explained service is usually the first to go when people
get busy. I am extremely fortunate for the opportunities I have been blessed
with. As I stated above, education is part of the puzzle in helping people in
poverty. I have learned skills through my education and work experience. I want
to share those skills with others in order to improve their life and give them
something to be proud of. Volunteering and service, will be a priority for me. <br />
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