I have officially moved to Lawrenceville, NJ! But because I am not quite settled in yet, having had to leave right away for Philadelphia for my orientation, I will wrote about my new room this coming weekend. For now, I feel compelled to share a bit about my orientation so far.
The core mission of an Americorps VISTA is simple: volunteer for one year to fight poverty in America. For one year, we live on food stamps and a poverty-level stipend to do capacity building projects for grassroots non-profit organizations all around the country.
I pounced on this with what I now see as premature excitement, not considering my sudden altruism as possibly only an impulse. Now I get to see if that can carry me through an entire year of the VISTA program.
As a group, we tackled and dissected the surfaces, stereotypes and causes of poverty. We shared stories, experiences, opinions and thoughts that demonstrated the many facets of poverty, a word that contains heavy baggage and issues bigger than I ever thought.
I'm still digesting and processing, so forgive me if I'm not very articulate in my reflections. What others shared today opened my eyes to so much I don't know. I don't even know how to tell someone where to get a cash checked without an ID. I only knew one person who didn't have a bank account and cashed all her checks right away. But she drove a car; therefore, she has an ID (driver license). And she had a house.
I can't begin to share what went on in my head today. How can I ever try to make a huge impact on such a widespread and iron issue? To help many of those in poverty, many things must change. The community and the wealthy need to offer resources for the poor who cannot afford them. The middle class needs to be rid of the selfish ambition that makes them believe poverty is a consequence of bad choices.
But, as I read in an article in The New Yorker, we love to believe that we support humanitarian efforts and causes; we're just not ready to feel the change in our individual lives. I'M not ready to change my life, I'll admit.
That's not a valid reason to drop out of this, however. I guess I'll have to dive straight into this, do it the hard way and just let the cold water wake me up to the horrors that go on under my nose. Sometimes I do feel foolish and uncomfortable and confused as to why I am doing this, but God's going to have to carry me through. This is His work I'm doing, and I actually found it so reassuring that I finally found a place where non-Christians didn't sneer at church or religious groups. The church is actually recognized as a great resource for the poor in these efforts, and that stayed with me through all my uncertainties and brief freakouts.
That's enough of a scratch, then, don't ya think?
