Regional Reflection Thoughts from Nancy Surella

11/19/2010

The excerpt from Joel Berg’s “How Hungry Is America” was timely since the USDA had just released the food insecurity figures for 2009, and because the Holiday season is upon us – a time when families come together to feast. Mr. Berg brought to light the media’s coverage of poverty (or lack thereof), with astounding statistics and historical anecdotes. On page 219 Berg states “In the 1960’s the media’s . . .question was “How can a country this wealthy let children go hungry.” By the Reagan era….the implicit question…became “Why are all these undeserving people getting benefits with our tax dollars?” Even though I lived through the 1960’s, I never had the notion put before me so bluntly, but it’s true. I have to wonder how we, as a society allowed this to happen. The divide between the rich and the poor is getting wider every day. It scares me, I don’t know where our country will be in 10 or even 5 years, and I feel weird making that statement because it’s exactly what I heard my parents saying back in the 60’s.

The media drives ‘water cooler chats’ - what’s on our mind. That in turn, affects our attitudes and the decisions that we make. ‘They’ have such power, and I don’t think they ever think about it. We should hold them to a higher standard. But that would require making media outlets non-competitive, non-commercial, and that will never happen, because after all, they control the very people who would have to initiate and manage the change.

Regional Reflection Thoughts from Katrena Kugler

Chapter 11 was a depressing read. It is hard for us to fathom having the millions that giant corporations bring in, nor some peoples' hundred thousand dollar a year paychecks. Nor could we fathom how corporations can spend so little on "poverty alleviation efforts" such as Tyson's giving $67,000 to soup kitchens when that's a drop in the bucket for them financially. I wonder how much of giant corporations' giving and donating is simply Public Relations to make their corporation look great to their consumers. Even if we could earn that much money, I don't think many of us would actually spend it on luxury items. Someone pointed out the fact that middle and upper class people are 'way out of touch with low-income lifestyles, vice versa, and the media really works to keep it that way, or to cater to those who financially support it.

Reflection from Katrena, Defiance College

We don’t need to give “thingies” as much as we need to educate.

Defiance is doing its annual Coats for Christmas. The local social service agencies are stressing out because the “need” for toys for needy children has skyrocketed this year (parents can pick up toys and food vouchers from agencies so children will have a toy and holiday dishes for Thanksgiving and Christmas). I know that my hometown and millions of others around North America will be trying to feed people Thanksgiving Dinner and provide things for them for Christmas so they’ll “have a merry holiday.” I remember going to translate for Spanish-speaking families at Delaware Ohio’s County Fairgrounds for their annual Christmas Clearinghouse, where rows of tables boasted bag after bag of preservative-filled, store bought food I knew some “needy” families would just throw away anyway. You could go through clothing department areas, toiletry areas, coat and outerwear areas, and toy tables, and depending on your income, could pick a certain number of pieces from each table, pick up a bag of food on your way out, and you’d be able to have Christmas with your family because otherwise, you couldn’t afford to. Besides the fact that we’ve long forgotten the real Reason for the Season, I walked away from that translating volunteer opportunity thinking that we don’t need to give “thingies” as much as we need to educate. People are going to “need” “stuff” every year. So by giving stuff, we’re creating a population dependent on giveaways and hand-outs. A population that thinks it deserves freebies, and that no amount of stuff is ever too much to ask for. I’ve heard the slogan, “Not a handout, a hand up;” the intentions might be great behind that “hand up,” but some people turn it into the handout that they want it to be. I wonder how other countries handle people who would come to a Christmas Clearinghouse “needing” stuff to “help them celebrate the holiday”. Do they give them the stuff they say they want? Do those who have not care about those who have not? Lots of us who have are guilt-tripped about not giving to those who have not. Do other countries let their “poor” pull themselves up by their bootstraps, knowing that if they really want to get themselves out of poverty, they’ll find it in themselves, and that life isn’t just rough for them, but for all? I know that I don’t need anything in the world more than to be with my family during the times of year that are sacred to us. So many people seem to have to make up for having rotten or dysfunctional family relationships with “stuff”.

On another thought, not that we would ever ask for it, but would those people working the Christmas Clearinghouse give freebies to my family? Our income is less than middle class status, but we appreciate what we have, we take care of our belongings so they’re not ratty, and we don’t beg or ask for “stuff”. We save what we earn so we can afford what really matters to us in life, like people did back in the day when people appreciated the value of money more. We get pressured to give, give, give, but think, why? When others don’t appreciate what we offer? We try to donate our gently used appliances to charities such as Love, Inc., and People In Need, or clothes to used clothing stores, and they refuse it, saying they only take brand new refrigerators or whatever. We rarely buy brand new for ourselves; why can’t others appreciate appliances that work perfectly well but aren’t straight from the department store? Or clothes that we’ve gently worn but aren’t “in style”? Hey, beggars can’t be choosers.

Reflection from Katrena, Defiance College

If major corporations like Walmart have so much money that they’re required to donate each year, why don’t they raise the wages of their minimum-wage employees and provide health, vision, and dental coverage for them? And it’s not just about money. It’s about earning a living wage: being able, finally, to make ends meet. It’s about not resenting your employer because they put so much stress on you, and don’t even pay you enough practically to drive back and forth to work; they avoid giving you benefits for as long as they can. Maybe if corporations invested the millions back into their workforce, we wouldn’t have so many people in “need” that charities would have to “help.”

Reflection from Gwen, University of Findlay

Who are we helping and how? The more I learn about Bridges out of Poverty and the more I think about my experiences with non-profits, the more I ask this question. I recently led a reflection with a group of international students who had volunteered at a Mobile Food Pantry here in Findlay as part of a Service-Learning course studying the Great Depression. At the Mobile Food Pantries, a truck from the West Ohio Food Bank delivers 10,000 pounds of food at about 7:30 on a Saturday morning at which point food is sorted and distributed by students. As we reflected on this experience, I informed the students that at 10pm the night previous, as I prepared the space, I saw 13 people in line to receive food for the next morning. The students became very vocal about their distress that some individuals had waited as many as 11 hours to receive not even a full grocery card of food. “How are we actually helping them if they are spending the night outside in line?” noticed one student.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about services offered to people living with poverty and how “helpful” they actually are. This Saturday morning time is very convenient for volunteers, but it is obviously not ideal for many of the individuals and families in need. Findlay is full of people ready to serve. Almost every community member I have met is either a part of a church group, civic organization, or a regular volunteer at a non-profit. Findlay is not lacking in volunteers. Unfortunately, I think sometimes the needs of the volunteers override the needs of the people being served. For many volunteers in Findlay, their volunteer work is what keeps them going. Many are retired individuals who get up in the morning because of this work. So, the agencies are serving not only those in poverty or their clientele, but the volunteers who invest so much in their work. Volunteers serve food to folks who need it, but what else is there? Will we perpetually serve food to folks who need it? I think so. But how will we do it? Where will we connect that missing link? How can we match the needs of people without enough food in a thoughtful and caring way with the equally strong needs of the human spirit to give and feel useful? I’d love to hear your ideas as I keep you updated on mine!

Reflection from Katrena, Defiance College

This is an article about homelessness and internet usage from the Wall Street Journal a couple of years ago: Wall Street Journal – On the Street and On Facebook: The Homeless Stay Wired http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124363359881267523.html

What thoughts / impressions come to mind as you read this article? How can we work to make computers more accessible to the homeless population?

• Should we make computers more accessible to the homeless population? Why? Where are their priorities? Where are our priorities? To make them feel more connected to society, more human, the article's Mr. Livingston would argue. If they can buy laptops, if they can go to all the trouble of acquiring the gear, lugging it around, finding creative ways to recharge laptop batteries, create electricity in their tents, and make their laptop batteries last longer by cooling them with damp washcloths, why don't they put that energy into contributing meaningfully to society? For example, why don't they join the AmeriCorps or Senior Corps and help fight homelessness through all the creative potential and problem solving skills they obviously already have? Seems they'd be some of the most experienced of us to do so. The article even mentions a Lisa Stringer, manager of a program that teaches job and computer skills to homeless and low-income residents, who "urges homeless students to put off buying laptops until their living situations stabilize." It's about priorities.

• Are people with jobs and places to live supposed to be impressed by this acceptance of homelessness and ways to make the most of their "lot in life," or to resent that these men living on the outskirts of society are a burden on the system? After all, we pay rising insurance premiums so that when they need medical assistance, they can go to the emergency room free of charge, for example. The article didn't necessarily address that issue, but seems to me these homeless men haven't given that a thought. Are (any type of) Volunteers and the rest of the North American public supposed to "help" these people who apparently don't need help and decided to accept homelessness? How do you help someone who doesn't want it and doesn't see why you think he/she needs it?

• Amateur philosopher, aspiring poet, aspiring computer programmer...what do those "titles" mean? Is that the same as my being a prospective graduate student, but I'm in the process of applying to graduate programs, and saving money from my job to not go into debt for the fees incurred? In other words, making tangible progress toward my dreams? Or are these hollow claims to fame that only men can get away with, just as men are much more suited to homelessness and this lifestyle they've accepted than women would be? These interviewees have no dependents. No family members to help feed, clothe, and care for. I would think that homeless men are much less likely to get raped, robbed, or victimized than women. There are men who also tolerate dirt, grime, and living in the elements much better than women.

• My service year with AmeriCorps VISTA has given me a lot of food for thought so far, and plenty of interesting learning opportunities!

Reflection from Zachary Bartush, UC Clermont

• At this point in the year, what does being a VISTA mean to you?

So far, being a VISTA at UC Clermont means motivating people to become civically engaged in their communities to fight the issues highlighted in our PAFAs. This can be done either intrinsically (e.g. the belief that “no child should go hungry”) or extrinsically (e.g. a service learning program really benefits our college as an institution with good PR, better learning outcomes, etc). It is recruiting others for the fight against poverty while helping come up with new better ways to fight it through service learning courses and advising and serving with a student group that is dedicated to volunteer work to benefit the community.

• What are you aspirations for this year and for your projects? What do you hope to leave as your legacy?

I hope to leave a culture for service behind, or at the very least the beginnings of it. At this point, a tremendous amount of work has gone into creating this culture by the previous VISTA and our supervisor and I feel that it is reaching a “critical mass”. I want to encourage more students and faculty to become civically engaged and combine this with the recent administrative support to catalyze the change in culture. Ideally, this could lead to a formalized office for service learning and civic engagement at UC Clermont. If an office is established, this would enable many more faculty to engage in service learning courses that can both benefit the community and improve the education of their pupils as well as sustain and improve upon the culture that already exists.

Welcome to OCC VISTA for 2010-2011

Hi Everyone,

We are so excited to begin another year of VISTA with our largest group ever! We have 34 VISTAs who are going to be doing amazing work on their 27 campuses, increasing the level of civic engagement and service throughout the state of Ohio.

This blog will showcase these VISTAs' stellar work throughout the year, telling their stories as they occur. We can't wait to see the wonderful projects they will undertake and their fresh insights on poverty alleviation!