Being AmeriCorps

Today I spoke at a city council meeting in Greensboro, NC.  The council made a proclamation for December 21st to be memorial day for people who are homeless.  Americorps, through the Partnership To End Homelessness and the Interactive Resource Center, will have a walk on the 18th to memorialize those who have died while homeless.  It officially starts at 6 pm.  There will, however, be a meal served at 4:30 if anyone wishes to join.  Mayor Vaughn will speak as well as members from the Interactive Resource Center (IRC) and Partners Ending Homelessness.  The walk will be fairly short, approximately one mile.  One of my fellow Americorps members will read a poem at city hall and then we will return to the IRC and say our farewells.  It was nice to publicly speak today especially in front of the mayor, the city council and everyone present.  Our proclamation was the second item on the agenda.  The first item was about a man who recently tra...

Today was a day of thanks.  I made sticky sesame cauliflower in honor of that thanks.  That was my big hit.  The banana bread was not a huge hit but it will be part of my breakfast and snacks for the coming days.  This thanks was made in part by Peacehaven Community Farm for giving the opportunity for folks to show up with their dishes.  There was lots of turkey and ham.  There was dressing and cranberry relish, one might say.  There was salad and green bean casserole.  There was amazing mac and cheese.  I had some.  For this meal I extended my diet to include animal products such as eggs, cheese and milk.  There were chocolate chip cookies and pumpkin pie.  The living room was filled with tables bedecked with table cloths and little ornaments such as tiny little pumpkin like miniatures and some vases filled with sparkly things.  All the normal furniture was in the hallway- the couch, the TV, the table.  Around th...

Today I spent my day with the Core Members, who are adults with special needs, at Peacehaven Community Farm.  We did some work-out activities at the YMCA gym such as basketball (my team won much to one of the Core Members chagrin) and racquetball.  The Core Members seem to have more fun with racquetball as they are not so competitive. In the afternoon we read books we borrowed from the Burlington downtown library.  This was somewhat challenging but my cohort and boss, Adam, helped.  At one point some of the Core Members got up and left the table while another Core Member was reading.  I pointed this out to them when they returned and they didn't have much to say about it.  I am laughing as I write this because this is how they are sometimes!  We had the most fun with a mostly picture book as we all commented on the various green objects such as an anaconda, tiger eyes and grass in the shape of a spiral. My Americorps site partner, Gina, showed up a...

Partners Ending Homelessness with Bennita Curtain Today I met with Bennita from Partners Ending Homelessness.   They have two locations, one in Greensboro and one in High Point.   Bennita started working with people in need when she was young and started volunteering at Open Door, a ministry for people experiencing homelessness.   She has a bachelor’s degree in social work from Andrews University in Berrien Springs, MI.   She has worked with people who have AIDS/HIV and others who are marginalized in our society due mostly to a lack of support from family and friends.   We talked about a great many things.   I sat in her office at the Greensboro location.   I learned that the number one problem is lack of affordable housing.   Most people experiencing homelessness are there due to a lack of support when times are rough such as losing a job or experiencing a great loss of some kind.   Sometimes people have a criminal background a...

Here I sit in my favorite, I suppose, coffee shop.  I have not ordered anything.  There is usually always a line when I enter.  So I sit down, set up my laptop and do my thing and usually eventually order something.  I was researching ending homelessness strategies.  Nothing came as a shock, really, or new.  What did I find?  Housing first.  Instead of fighting and criminalizing homelessness, cities have begun helping.  For example, cities set up campgrounds, basically, for people.  They set up sanitation stations.  This temporary base-camp gives people a home-base to work from so they do not have to worry about where they are going to stay that night.  It does requires a tent.  Some cities used semi-trailer containers as temporary housing.  In our community in Greensboro, North Carolina there is a Tiny Home community.  It houses six residents.  I would like to see more of these.  There are plenty of ...

I was encouraged to write a more full-time blog by my Americorps "boss".  She's the one in charge and the one who edits and contributes to the blog for the Partnership To End Homelessness that I write for. I drive for Lyft.  This keeps me afloat because the monthly stipend from Americorps just almost covers my rent.  I have to drive to pay my car payment and insurance and utility bill.  I have to buy gas for my car too and buy groceries when my Snap benefits run out.  It was pretty easy to get the Snap benefits being an Americorps member. I am at a coffee house.  There are mostly college kids here it looks like.  It's pretty busy here.  I never visited or worked out of a coffee house when I was in school.  I like it.  It is nice being in this community with everyone doing their studies.  I can tap into the brain waves of higher learning.  I've been considering higher learning lately.  I looked into various Grad progr...