Onward, ho!

My name is Katelyn Sherman and I am serving for the Housing Services for Eaton County in
Charlotte, Michigan. My first assignment was Project Homeless Connect, which I began as soon as I started in October, and which is now finally being put to rest; the evaluation for the grant has been sent in, the grant application for next year's event has been completed, and the golden notebook of instructions, contacts, and advice is updated and ready for the next AmeriCorps worker in the office, if we can afford to have one.

I'm sitting in my second-floor, corner office on a rainy day and I'm sucking down coffee, trying to think of what to write. It's hard to tell a story about this project. I had never seen any of the attendees before and I will most likely never see them again that I will know of. I could describe the event, give some 26th, 2012, a Thursday, Eaton County agencies, businesses, churches, and volunteers gathered to offer a statistics or numbers, share what new services were made available to guests, and some of the positive reactions from participants. Is that what you want to hear about? Because if you have never heard of Project Homeless Connect, held annually in several counties, you might be interested to hear that on January 26th, a Thursday, Eaton County agencies, businesses, churches, and volunteers gathered for one day to offer a string of resources to those in our community who are homeless, low-income, and/or at-risk of becoming homeless. If not, oh well.

Since PHC, I have begun working with a Social Theory class at Olivet College on Monday mornings, as they rewrite the Ten Year Plan to End Homeless in Eaton County. As this is a new project for our nonprofit and for the AmeriCorps position, I'm particularly enjoying it; being able to be the liaison between a fresh group of younger adults and a crew of experienced agency workers is perfect for someone like me who seems to find a place somewhere in between the two levels. And until I find where my life eventually takes me, onward and upward!

“I have found the paradox that if I love until it hurts, then there is no hurt, but only more love.” - Mother Teresa

My name is Lauren Hodson, and I am currently serving as an Americorps Member at Family Promise of Grand Rapids. Family Promise partners with families who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless by helping them get back on their feet so they can create a stable lifestyle for their children. We focus on providing hospitality and keeping families together in a time of crisis. We also strive to be a source of hope and encouragement for families as they create an achievable vision and develop a strong foundation for self-sufficiency. 93% of the families we serve find permanent housing at the end of their stay in our shelter, and 91% of those families maintain that housing for at least a year. I feel very blessed to be serving at such an incredible agency with staff members who are so full of love and hope for the families who stay with us.

Before this year, I had already been significantly involved in various volunteer and employment roles where I was serving vulnerable populations, both the homeless and the severely mentally ill. Because of these past service experiences, I thought I was very well educated about homelessness before the start of this Americorps year. But, I have found myself startled by the prevalence of family homelessness in Michigan and surprised at how little I actually knew. I didn’t fully realize the extent of the problem, how easy it is for a family living at the poverty level to slip into homelessness, and what a huge impact this situation has on the children.

Here are some of the statistics of which I was not fully aware of:

• 53% of the entire homeless population is children and their families.
• Over 22,000 children were homeless in Michigan last year, 7,000 of these children are under the age of 5 years old, and over 2,000 of these children live in Kent County, where I live.
• 7 years old is the average age of a homeless child.
• The central intake office for any individual experiencing a housing crisis in Grand Rapids receives calls from 12 families EVERY SINGLE WEEK for which there is no space for them to receive shelter in all of Grand Rapids.

These statistics are heartbreaking, but they are even more heartbreaking when the statistics connect with the flesh - When I see a young single mom with two kids entering our shelter program after spending the last two nights in a Wal-Mart parking lot, trying to protect her kids and keep them warm by pushing them around in a shopping cart all night. It’s the story of a mom with two beautiful kids who has lost everything in a house fire, has no family supports, and is now homeless because she had no renters insurance. It’s these stories that light a fire in me to do my best work here at Family Promise. It’s these stories that remind me why I am not only committing myself to doing a year of service through Americorps, but why I am committing to a lifetime of doing my best to be an agent of compassion and justice in this world.

At times, it can be hard as an Americorps member – Usually we don’t have a ton of experience in the field and the realities of what we are faced with can be overwhelming. But, my hope for myself and everyone else in the program is that when we hear the stories that break our hearts, when we come up against difficult experiences, and we are unsure of our abilities to make a difference amongst such daunting societal problems, that we are able to keep the bigger picture in mind and remember why we signed up to do this work. We will not get rid of the issues, but we can make a difference in small ways every single day, and that is worth it.

Housing, not Homeless

To be honest at first I was unsure if AmeriCorps or
Community Housing Network was right for me.
The idea of going to the same office and completing the same tasks
everyday was not one I had experienced before and was not something that I was
looking forward to doing, and housing was not something that I had some sort of
burning passion for. But after about I
week I realized that I was in the right place.
Here I was able to make a real tangible difference in people’s lives,
and my coworkers (both AmeriCorps and otherwise) enthusiasm for their work was
infectious.
My service with CHN is broken down into two basic
categories. One is Getting My Own
Address, which is a program aimed at getting families with autistic individuals
to both plan for, and achieve housing.
That entails helping to run a support group for parents and going to
various school and community functions to give presentations and help raise
awareness on the issue. The second is helping any individuals with mental or
physical disabilities to find a housing solution that works for them.
With Getting My Own Address I have been able to see the
effects of my work in the community immediately. While the first meeting was sparsely attended
which caused me to worry just a little, ever since then we have seen greater
and greater interest and increased rates of participation at our support group
meetings held on site. As word has grown
so has our outreach, and for the next several weeks we have at least one
speaking engagement outside of the office planned all over the county to help
families with autism plan their future.
Being at the beginning of a project like this is always exciting, and
while I do not know what the future brings or how we will grow it is satisfying
to know that I was there helping it along.
The second part of my service is more creative and sadly
more frustrating. Housing for people with disabilities is not
always easy to find, and it was at least surprising to me how little of it
seems to exist. It allows me to pursue unorthodox
angles in the housing world and talk to developers and real estate agents about
emerging trends in areas like micro housing. I also get the opportunity to try
and change their minds about renting in leaving behind the old and outdated
notions of exclusion in housing to new ideas based around inclusion. The process
is rarely perfect and there has been more than a few false starts or sudden
stops (and one case of what I am pretty sure was discrimination), but making
that housing dream a reality is something that I don’t think I will ever get
tired of.
So there is not more in which I can add other then I have really
enjoyed my time making a difference with AmeriCorps and Community Housing
Network.