Thursday, June 2, 2011

Eye Opening Experience

Hi! My name is Chennelle Dismond and I am an Americorps Member serving at Metro Community Development in Flint, MI. I have been afforded the opportunity to serve in such an awesome organization addressing the housing needs of the community in a dynamic manner, surrounded by individuals who truly care about each and every client that walks through the door. The programs housed in this agency signify that “Partnering to Build Strong, Vibrant Communities” is not just the opening phrase in Metro’s Vision & Mission statement, but it is a sentiment that is woven into the very fabric of the agency and as a whole.
Before coming to serve at Metro as an Americorps Member, I had my own ideas about what homelessness looked like and what some of the causes could possibly be, however I never could have imagined many of the cases and/or causes that I have encountered over the past 7 months. Moms and their children living in cars, parks, or even abandoned buildings getting up going to school and work each day, not knowing where they would end up that night or how about the senior citizen taking care of a handicapped elderly sibling forced to decide on medication or paying the heat bill in the middle of a Michigan winter? Many of the faces of homelessness looked like me, to my amazement. To see an individual all made up, dressed in office attire, and revving to go; all the while sadness and wonderment locked behind their eyes and a cloak of pride to hide it all as the face of homelessness, left me in complete awe. I could have never imagined the many stories and faces of homelessness in our community and those abroad, that simply don't fit the bill of what homelessness used to be or what many still seem to think.
The upside to this is that there are agencies partnering and initiatives put in place to eradicate this seemingly growing epidemic. I am so very fortunate to have the opportunity to serve my fellow man and community in the capacity which I have. The services offered to every client that comes through our doors are not just tangible windows of opportunity, but also access to mental tools for success, by way of information. The consistent encouragement to attend every and any training and outreach that is pertinent to the success of the population we are working with is one of the many focuses of the agency where I am serving. Sometimes just the passing on of a little information can knock down barriers of most any size and/or origin. I have always been taught that "Knowledge is Power" and I know for a matter of fact that it truly is. Assisting clients in need of emergency services and linking them with the available community resources has been one of the most rewarding elements in my service. To see the sheer relief in a mother's face that her pending eviction has been thwarted and her babies' home is safe, or to receive a bear hug from an entire family because now they get to have heat in their home, or even to meet an expectant mom who's been couch surfing for over a year and be able to tell her that we can help get you into a home and also help you to stay there are just a the tip of the iceberg of rewarding experiences I can now claim in my life. These individuals and their circumstances, amongst many others I've met along the way, have not only "Opened My Eyes" in a new way to the world around me, but have begun to reshape my views on service, community, outreach and resources. I believe that because of my service as an Americorps Member serving in such an agency as Metro Community Development I am not only becoming a much better more informed person, but a far more effective and productive one in my community as well and for those reasons and this opportunity I am and shall always be grateful to Americorps and Metro Community Development.

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