Santa's Helpers

We Southwest Community Trainer VISTAs had a great day today--we got to see Santa Claus! After our regional meeting with Jess and Meredith (and a quick burrito at Chipotle), we drove to Tri-County Mall for a picture with the man in the red suit. I brought my teddy bear Koko along, and, oh yeah, we also changed into our pajamas for the occasion.

Pictured from left to right, top row: Annen Stuckert, Santa, Michelle Lydenberg
Bottom row: Alex Moning, Kaitlyn Baker (and Koko)

Sadly, Alex Ives was not able to join us today, but we have plans on how to include him in this photo, which will be posted shortly.

Being resourceful in Dayton

Coming to you live from Kettering, Ohio (a.k.a. Dayton), I'm at another resource fair geared towards job-seekers. The fair is supposed to last from 3-7 P.M. in conjunction with a blood drive held at a church here in town. Being the early-bird over achiever that I am, I arrived at 2:30 to set up my booth. Slowly the other 15 vendors or so trickled in, and I discovered my neighboring booth would be the Dayton Public Library. I have spent the past several hours chatting with the woman staffing this booth, who has lived in Fairfield, Richmond, and Cincinnati before settling in Dayton. We have a lot in common and we've enjoyed each other's company.

I have also received a 10-minute chair massage from a licensed massage therapist here doing free massages. I am considering moving to Dayton solely to be in close proximity to this massage magician. Ah, so relaxing.

I have eaten a great free meal provided by the church, including a handful of fresh strawberries!

I have talked with a few representatives from local agencies about becoming a Benefit Bank site or at least how to refer people to a local site.

But I haven't seen many clients. In fact, I haven't seen ANY clients. No one has come through the doors today looking for help--everyone here is a service provider or a blood donor. So I've done my best, but I can't help but feel a little disappointed. Dayton has been hard-hit with this economic recession and I was sure that I could do quite a few quick checks and site finders to connect people with the help they need. But that wasn't the case. My neighbor from the library told me that a resource fair like this would have been better suited in a "worse" part of town. I'm not so sure--people are out of jobs and resources everywhere, not just in the bad neighborhoods, but for whatever reason, the turn out today was pretty low.

Now it's time to pack up and make the drive back home. Woo hoo, 13 hour days!

Miami Hami

I write this post from my third computer lab on Miami University's Hamilton campus.

Today I taught 7 new counselors how to use the Benefits module on the Ohio Benefit Bank. I arrived on Miami Hamilton's campus well ahead my class's start time, and was surprised to find our contact person waiting for me in our computer lab in Mosler Hall. He looked nervous, but pleasant enough, as I shook his hand and introduced myself. Turns out he had a good reason to be nervous--he had double-booked our computer lab. Normally I would have started hyperventilating at such news, but he had such a nice, pleasant demeanor that I was able to stay relatively calm as he explained the issue.

Fortunately, he had already solved the issue before I had arrived. He had arranged for us to use a computer lab in another building, Phelps Hall, until 2:00 when a class would be using the lab. At that point, we would need to move to a third computer lab in the library to finish the training. Because this third lab wouldn't be open until 2:00, we had no choice but to play musical computer labs.

I posted a sign to inform the participants of the change, and I was pleased to find everyone had made it to the correct computer lab by 9:05 this morning. To avoid further confusion and time-wasting, I decided to postpone lunch to 1:00 so that the class could reconvene in the third and final computer lab an hour later at 2:00. Once again, everyone found the final computer lab and we were able to finish the training without a hitch.

I don't mean to toot my own horn here, but I'm pretty proud of how I handled this change in plans. I didn't freak out, I didn't cry, and I didn't even need to call Meredith! The situation was resolved and I went on with my training. It's amazing to me just how much I am gaining as an AmeriCorps*VISTA member. Not only am I learning a lot about poverty, hunger, and social work in general, but I am also gaining valuable skills in communication and assertiveness. I'm learning the importance staying flexible and easy-going in the face of a "crisis;" valuable skills I know I will continue to use in the social services field.

Sunday in the Times

And here it is--Jason DeParle's article specifically on food stamps in Southwest Ohio has arrived! It originally ran in the Sunday edition of The New York Times on November 29, 2009. It is very well-written and even includes a quote from Tina, so check it out!

New York Times update

It has arrived! Jason DeParle's first article from his food stamp series has debuted. Here is the first installment of the series, with more articles to come shortly. This first article is pretty general, but does a great job in setting the stage on hunger and work support programs, like food stamps, across the country. The word on the street is that his articles on food stamp usage specifically in Southwest Ohio are coming soon!

Until then, enjoy!