Working on the next chapter ....Commitment!

WORKING ON THE NEXT CHAPTER ……..

COMMITMENT!

      

Hi, my name is Glory White and I am a new AmeriCorps member serving at Metro Community Development in Flint, MI.  I work mainly with the HARP Housing Choice Voucher.  There is nothing more rewarding then assisting a homeless client find and move into safe and clean housing.  I do however, have to admitted I feel torn between the satisfaction of assisting a homeless client succeed in meeting the goal of being housed and the feeling that the client should contribute more in preparation for and the maintenance of housing once they receive a voucher.

One of my clients lived on the street last winter.  I assisted him complete TBRA and the HARP programs applications. He slept at an abandoned house on most cold nights while waiting for a voucher.  A friend and I would go to the abandoned house where he slept on some of the colder nights and take blankets or hot coffee.  We were able to convince him to go to a shelter on the bitterly cold nights.  When his name was pulled from the TBRA list and he picked an apartment, he looked so happy when the property manager gave him the key to his own unit.  He proudly said to me “If you need me I’ll be at my apartment”

The client lived at the unit quietly and seemingly happily.   He attended substance abuse counseling, found a doctor and started treatment for some long standing physical ailments.  He attended support group sessions held for TBRA and HARP recipients’ everything went well until, he received his SSDI approximately nine months later.  He stopped participating in his support and treatment groups and reverted to in his words “a Lover”.   He began cause problems in the neighborhood around his apartment necessitating police involvement.  His main goals seem to be substance abuse and finding a mate.

I enlisted everyone on his “Team,” his Disability network counselor, his doctor, his substance abuse counselor to work with him but, nothing we could do steered him back on track. The most glaring part missing from this team effort was the support of the TBRA voucher.  There is nothing in the program that mandates (or in the HARP voucher) a client continues services or treatment once they receive a voucher.

 I feel the most powerful weapons that should be in the arsenal to end homelessness are Individual accountability and Personal Responsibility.  Many of the grants written for programs assisting the homeless find and maintain homes do not contain an expectation or a mandate for those individuals receiving assistance to participate in building independence by learning skills necessary to maintain housing, such as budgeting, how to pay your bills, (or paying your bills) how to be a good neighbor, getting a GED , job training, attending college, or attending substance abuse counseling.  This could   lead to the achievement of total independence without relying on a housing voucher or any other government helping services.

On the Certification of Eligibility and Residency used in the HARP application packet there it is noted

“Applicant household is willing to engage in a jointly-developed plan supporting housing stability” this criterion has no “bite” voucher recipients are not held accountable by the progran when they discontinue the plan.

 This chapter in the client’s life ended with his losing the voucher.  He spent time in jail and when released he then went back to living in shelters and places not meant for human habitation.  The furniture and household items the team found for him were lost or stolen.   He showed up at my office after almost a year looking for housing.  He still has his SSDI and said he is willing to work on a new chapter of his life.  I continue to assist him however, since this housing search is sans program, we put together a plan with several goals he must meet to maintain services.   Including but not limited to, substance abuse treatment, not being under the influence of substances when he meets with me, making appointments with his medical doctor and taking his medication, attending budgeting classes and applying to CMH for therapeutic services.

How AmeriCorps Service has Impacted my Life

(Melissa here. We're having some technical difficulties, so I am posting Kevin's entry on his behalf. Enjoy!)

My name is Kevin Bell. I work for the Housing Support Services group at Catholic Social Services of Washtenaw County (CSSW)/Avalon Housing in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I started my second year of service in October 2011.

I graduated with a Master of Public Health degree in Health Promotion and Education three years ago. At the time, I scoped out ideally the type of work I wanted to do—coordinate and facilitate wellness activities in an employee or community health program, designing and implementing health intervention programs, and working with older adults. I applied for lots of positions and had many interviews without landing a full-time, living wage job.

I found my Americorps position, answering an advertisement on the CSSW Web site. I was unsure how this would impact me as a person and my future employment plans.

As a person, I feel more independent and self-reliant. I fee confident and less timid about making important decisions. The mentoring and supportive staff I work with has had the greatest impact. These folks are my support network, my friends—people I can trust and on which I rely. These people and the memories I have will be with me forever.

I have become a more grounded individual. Any change is hard, but this position has made it less difficult to adapt to change. I have become more flexible in dealing with other individuals—family and friends included.

I have gained a lot of good job skills and experience, too. Two years of full-time non-profit experience! I coordinate and facilitate the care of eleven consumers. I plan, organize, coordinate, and facilitate events like health fairs and a walking group. I have linked consumers to thousands of dollars of emergency funds to help them avoid eviction or utility shut-off.

I continue to learn about the services local social service agencies provide and network with many professionals that work with these agencies. My hope is that these contacts will enable me to find employment in the local community once my service ends.

"The start to a better world is our belief that it is possible." --Katherine Shaw

I am one of several AmeriCorps members currently serving at the South Oakland Shelter (SOS) in Lathrup Village, Michigan. We serve in various capacities to support the SOS mission of ­­­­ providing temporary shelter and supportive programs to assist individuals in making the transition from homelessness to independent living.

My first month of service has been an exciting whirlwind. I have adjusted to the structure of our program and am becoming acquainted with the resources available in Oakland County. I have participated in a Community Resource Day, acting as a representative for the South Oakland Shelter. This event was greatly beneficial, as program participants and other community members were connected to resources in a central location, and I was able to explore other agencies and display our services.

Much of my time is spent conducting intakes, assisting clients with their transition to shelter, establishing goals, and connecting clients with community resources that may assist them in achieving those goals. I meet with clients regularly to discuss their needs and what can be done to address them, whether it may be a referral to another agency or a program provided by SOS.

While much frustration can stem from a lack of adequate resources or the difficulty of the job market, I have been finding great joy in the connection I am making with my clients and their pride in small successes. Providing support and encouragement for clients during their stay has been rewarding thus far and I cannot wait to see what this year of service has in store for me!

Best wishes in your service,

Katie

New year, new challenges.

My name is Melissa Grant and I'm the Program Director for Michigan's Campaign to End Homelessness AmeriCorps Program. While this blog is for the thoughts of my members and not my own, I felt compelled to talk a bit about the start of our new program year and some of the things we have in the works.

Our new members began officially on October 24th, save for Corey Saylor, who returned for a second year of service and started a bit earlier. I'm pleased to share that Corey will be serving as our LeaderCorps representative for the 2011-2012 year. If you'd like more information about LeaderCorps members and their greater role in National Service, check out their blog.

October is an incredibly frantic month for me as I plan orientation and try to balance the needs of my new members and site supervisors. Orientation also makes me nervous. I have to select what information is important enough to cram into two and a half days of intensive training and what can be reserved for later; I have to hold a good event in a decent venue while still being cognizant of our small budget; and I have to teach a group of strangers with radically different levels and styles of learning. Some years, orientation is a runaway success; other years, not so much.

I'm happy to say that this year's event was overall quite successful. This year's group of members is impressive in their level of intelligence and ability to dialog with me. I received some great ideas on how to tweak things for the future and also got some ideas on things I had never considered. Idea sharing, I think, is one of the unsung virtues of involvement in a National Service program such as ours. I have one way of doing things, one way of thinking, one way of interpreting; thanks to my members, our program can improve because we now have 20 different ways of thinking through things.


Now that orientation has drawn to a close and things are returning to a more manageable pace, there are a few other things of note coming up for our program. First, we're in the midst of re-competing for our federal funding this year. If you're not aware, AmeriCorps programs such as ours are federally funded; if we apply for competitive funding and receive it, we have guaranteed funding for three years. The program year that just began is the last year of our first three year cycle and so writing a new federal grant has been another task of mine this autumn. We should know toward the end of this month whether or not we've made the cut at the state level and will be invited to apply on the federal level for funding. I believe strongly in our program and the service our members provide, but I'm also a worrier and so I wonder about our prospects. As I've gotten older, I've learned to temper my irrational paranoia some and try to be cautiously optimistic when it comes to such things and so that will be my mantra until we find out next year whether or not we received the money. Deep breath and...ahh...cautious optimism.

We won't find out about funding until May 2012 so let us speak of more immediate things. The AmeriCorps Member Celebration hosted by MCSC will be happening at the Lansing Center on November 17th this year. The Member Celebration is a great one-day event for Michigan AC members, giving them the opportunity to network with members from other programs and attend professional development workshops. For whatever reason, our program has usually had a poor turnout at the event but this year we have a decently sized group going. I'm doubly pleased because this year, we'll finally have a picture in the slideshow! For those not in the know, MCSC has a slideshow that plays during the even featuring photos of members in action. Because of our program's nature and privacy concerns, our members can't exactly take action shots of their daily service. This year, I made sure to get a photo of everyone standing on the Capitol steps after our tour.

If you'd like to see the photo and won't be present at Member Celebration, head on over to our Facebook page and "like" us! One of my goals for this year is to greatly increase our social media presence (I refuse to Twitter though) and one of the ways we'll be doing this is through the Facebook page.

I believe I've prattled on enough and so would like to sign off by saying thank you to all of our program's supporters and the wonderful members that make our program possible. Here is to an excellent year of service!

A Year Of Service

My name is William and I've been serving the Lenawee Emergency and Affordable Housing Corporation for almost a year now. The mission of this non-profit is to end homelessness. It's a lofty goal but then again, most noble causes are.

Now that my service is coming to an end, I have a chance to sit back and reflect on all of the projects that I've assisted on and the number of people that my service organization has helped. It's mind boggling to see the amount of good that this agency has done. The number of people that they've helped is staggering. The people that receive services are grateful and most of them begin to look for a way to give back to the community that gave them the critical help that they needed so desperately. It almost feels like a pay-it-forward system. It truly is amazing to see how people interact and respond to these situations.

To me, homelessness is not a "challenge" as some might say. I believe homelessness is a problem. "Challenges" are something to overcome, problems are something that won't go away until there is a permanent fix. For the most part, if we lose a challenge, we just try again next time and if we decide that we don't want to try that challenge again and try a new one, it's no big deal. Most challenges don't have a lot of negative side effects. Problems on the other hand, aren't as easy to dismiss. If you have a problem and it isn't fixed, there is almost always negative repercussions. I look at it like this, a challenge is something like "I couldn't finish that 5K race, I'll try better next time!" and a problem is more like "If you don't change that circuit box, the building could burn down due to an electrical fire." That might be a little bit exaggerated but that's kinda how I feel about.

AmeriCorps is a great program to help address this problem. When I started I wasn't sure how well I would be able help combat such a tremendous foe or if I'd even be any help at all. The staff that orientated us at our first meeting really dug in and showed us what we could do to help. It seems so impossible in the beginning but as my service year started to get underway I was involved with the November Needs Drive and then in January, Project Homeless Connect. It didn't take much time to see that ANYONE could help if they were given a little direction and the facts behind the problem.

The experiences and knowledge that I've gained from my service have been outstanding and irreplaceable. I also have gained a new appreciation for everyone that works in human services. It takes a special kind of person that has a lot of heart and patience to do what they do. The determination and convection to the job that they have is unwavering. I salute all of them.

In the end, I would like to thank AmeriCorps and LEAHC for an unforgettable year of service and experiences. I am truly grateful for everything and wish the best to all that fight to end this problem. I'll remain as a volunteer for the organization that I was serving. I hope other AmeriCorps members do the same.

My name is William Willnow, I fight to end homelessness.

The Real World

The Real World: As my service year ends, I am able to reflect and look upon all that I have learned and accomplished. I think AmeriCorps provides its members with more than “service” experience to the community but also gives us working knowledge and expertise in the community that we are 'working for". Nowadays, getting into the work force takes more than a college degree. It is also very important to get working experience and develop good connections. I have always had a “heart for service” but the reality of the world told me that I needed more real world knowledge. AmeriCorps provided me with this knowledge and experience in addition to allowing me to provide services to a community "in need". I am thankful for being able to serve my community in a very “real” way while attaining life long experience. I am so thankful for being part of such an immeasurable force that has touched so many lives.

-Soyini-

"Life's most urgent question is: What are you doing for others?"

My name is Erin Connolly, I am currently finishing up my service with Goodwill Industries in Traverse City as a housing assistant in Housing Support Services. Goodwill Industries in Traverse, is comprised of a variety of programs ranging from the retail store, to a homeless shelter, to a paper studio, as well as this program that assists individuals in locating housing and becoming successful and self-sufficient in their own housing.

In my position I have been exposed to a variety of different experiences. My service began with assisting homeless "guests" at the Goodwill Inn, and community members in finding either temporary or permanent housing. This aspect of my service could be very frustrating and disheartening at times. The realities of working with these populations is that often there are not the resources available to help, or they do not have the resources themselves. As we all know, MSHDA HARP HCV's are currently frozen and in Traverse City, other housing vouchers and subsidized and low-income rentals are on waiting lists of up to a year. The housing market in Traverse City for market rate rentals is very expensive. On average a one bedroom apartment ranges from $595-700 dollars, for a family, these numbers can be anywhere from $675-1000 dollars depending on the size of the family. Many of those served by Goodwill, have little to no income, or it is very sporadic. One of the most frustrating and devastating aspects of my service has been having to explain to individuals and families that it could be over a year before they find something appropriate, and that there are very few temporary options. If someone has no income, it could be even longer. Many individuals expect that I will have a magic solution, however, without adequate funding for housing assistance, and with little to no growth in the job market, my hands are often tied, and it becomes an issue of brainstorming what is the best possible solution for the time being. Probably, one of the most difficult times of my service was in the late spring when the hotels began to raise to their summer rates, and families that had been staying there all winter came flooding into my office, most often with not enough resources to house their families. Initially, I found this very emotionally overwhelming. I have a champion poker face, that often does not give away how I feel but there were days, especially during this time that I went home fairly devastated by not being able to come up with any adequate solution. I have become better at being able to turn it off when I go home, but I think the empathy I feel for these individuals is one of the things that makes me well suited for this line of work. I have an unconditional positive regard for the people that I meet with, and always have the main goals of assisting them with what is best and right for them.

On a lighter and more positive note, there isn't a better feeling than when I am able to assist someone in locating a rental that is affordable for them. Often an individual has not had their own place in a long time if ever. In many of these cases, Housing Support Services at Goodwill assists them in being successful in their housing. The case management services provided here are often extensive, with contacts ranging from assisting to paperwork, to organizing their homes, to finding activities for their children, the possibilities are endless. HSS has contracts with two local subsidized apartment complexes. Within these complexes, case management services are provided as well as educational classes that an employee of Goodwill and I have developed to enhance the skills and experiences of residents at these complexes. We have held classes on nutrition, organization, stress management, routines, and have also had social gatherings, such as an ice cream social, a holiday party, and an upcoming cook out. Often the attendance is low, but those that attend on a regular basis report gaining valuable skills and often enjoying the time that they spend with their neighbors as well as Goodwill staff.

When people think of Traverse City, they often think of a wealthy lake side community. One that is associated with boating, wineries, golfing and the Cherry Festival. This aspect of the town is wonderful and thriving, however, there is a side that many overlook or don't see. There are estimated to be nearly 600 people in the Grand Traverse area on any given night. When people think of homelessness they don't think of low populated rural areas, they think of urban settings, but homelessness is a reality for many of those in our northern communities. They face the same hardships as those in cities however; there are few shelters and very harsh winters. Except for college, I have lived in Northern Michigan my entire life, and had no idea that there was anyone that was homeless in the area. I may have been naive, but it is also an issue that is not talked about and kept out of the public eye. I learn more everyday about the differences in the life experiences of individuals.

Oncorps says that I have 6.24 weeks left of my service. As of right now, I'm not sure what this fall holds for me, I won’t lie, I’m nervous. This is a pretty scary time to be unemployed in Michigan. However, I will be beginning my second year of graduate school, and am more sure than ever in my decision to pursue a Masters Degree in Social Work. This experience has been life changing and priceless. This year has changed and bettered me as a person. I have been exposed to so much that has opened my eyes to both the suffering and joys of those struggling with poverty and have become stronger because of it. In the past, I have struggled with searching for "meaning," and I have found not greater "meaning" for my life than doing my part in assisting others in difficult times in their lives. I am excited about what my future holds, but will miss this particular experience. I have developed relationships with both people at the agency as well as those that I work with on a regular basis. My two years of experience in the AmeriCorps have been wonderful and beneficial for myself as well as those I have had the pleasure of serving. I am so grateful to have had this opportunity and have been able to serve at Goodwill.




"Life's most urgent question is: What are you doing for others?"
Martin Luther King, Jr.