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Engaging young adults in transformative mission to inspire a lifetime of caring.
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Springtime Reflections from 2017-2018 Volunteers
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Cammie Coulter
Prior to this year, hearing the word felon would have conjured up other words like 'criminal' or 'dangerous'. Through my work at Green Opportunities and the wise words of Michelle Alexander, my framework around incarceration has been reconstructed. Green Opportunities is an Asheville nonprofit striving to bring equity to workforce development through construction, culinary, and job skills training. In addition to training, we provide case management where we work to help break down employment barriers for our students. Our students often experience many systemic and personal barriers to employment such as poverty, homelessness and interactions with the law. I have always known that after being incarcerated it might be harder to find a job, but it wasn’t until our community read Michelle Alexander’s, The New Jim Crow that I better understood the scope of mass incarceration and the added barriers one has to overcome with the prison label. After learning more about what reentry is like for those leaving prison, it was shocking to me that anyone is able to gain employment and the high recidivism rates made more sense. One day shortly after finishing the book I was driving with a coworker to pick up some construction equipment. During our ride, he shared with me what it was like to reenter society with the felon label. He had no money, he wasn't able to live in public housing, he couldn't get food stamps, he couldn't vote and he couldn't find work. In this conversation, he thanked Green Opportunities for seeing him as a person and not just his past. At this moment I had never been more proud of the organization I have grown to love and I was ashamed that I too had only been able to see the stigmas and not the person. Because of my time at Green Opportunities and my new knowledge from Michelle Alexander I was able to have a beautiful and honest conversation about race and incarceration. While I cannot remember how the conversation started, it is one I will never forget. Now when I hear the word felon I am reminded of the hard working generous people I’ve met in Asheville and words like 'friend' and 'coworker' come to mind.
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Lauren Rye
I have spent my year of service working with elementary students who live in public housing. 85% are African- American and 100% live in poverty.The program is run by a woman who is African American; so are her supervisors and her predecessor. The two volunteers who preceded me are also African-American. Suffice it to say, I am in the minority for several reasons. Despite this, I have never once felt unwelcome. The hospitality which has been extended to me is overwhelming. As a white, college-educated woman, I am incredibly privileged. For generations, the narrative has told me to use my voice to enact change because white educated people supposedly know how to “fix” people of color or people who have less money or education. In recent years, however, I have heard a new narrative which encourages people of privilege to create space for the often unheard voices. This had seemed oddly daunting, because for years I never interacted with people who didn’t look like me or who had different life experiences. Recently, my boss, predecessor and I were having a conversation about our students. At one point, my predecessor said, “You know, the people of color in this community…” and in this moment, I realized that although they were not interested in my thoughts on the people of color in Asheville, I was nonetheless welcome to be there as these two people of color shared their thoughts on the matter. You see, these women have known for generations that having their voices heard is crucial. They have learned firsthand all of the ways that our society has tried and will continue to try to silence their voices. As I have grappled with the question of ‘how do I lift
every
voice?’, through my interactions this year, I have become acutely aware that often times it is only a matter of being present and willing to learn.
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Ar
thur Parks Smithey
What I have learned through my service experience is that it takes longer than 1 week of volunteer work to engage with communities who are marginalized. I reflected on this while reading Jo Ann Van Engen’s “The Cost of Short Term Mission.” Throughout this year we have had the opportunity to engage in experiences, reflections, and learn action steps that a 1 week experience could never accomplish. We have built relationships that changed our perceptions on race, gender, and religion. I have lived with four different people who face discrimination and harassment on a daily basis based on their sex and have heard stories from brothers and sisters who are oppressed and sub casted in our community. I have stood in line at Homeward Bound's day center with folks after a restless night on the streets and I have felt the joy from those moving into permanent housing. I have listened to the stories of men standing on the corner "flipping card" board because they have no way of securing a job. During 1 year of service my perception on reality and the “real world” has completely changed. And this program has offered strategies and space for reflection so that we can act! In his article, “What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Service," Adam Davis writes that "
by pretending service is simple, we risk turning service bad—bad for the served and for the server."
I have learned that service has several gray areas and that reflection provides the needed space for discussion, which gives way to better action. Being willing to put one’s self in an environment and listen to our brother's and sister's stories and struggles builds a bridge between middle/upper class reality and that of people living on the margins. We experience, we reflect, and we act, and lives are changed.
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Willa Van Camp
I’ve learned a lot this year in my work site placement about what it means to lean into inefficiency. My work site, 12 Baskets Café, counts on the idea that if we all simply show up and bring what we have then there will always be more than enough. I’ve also learned a lot from the books and articles we have read. We explored some of the important questions in our current societal climate that are too easy to shy away from. Namely, how does the racial history of our country continue to play out in modern systems? How do we participate in those systems? And what does our faith call us to do about it? While I have learned many things this year about race, faith, food waste, de-escalation, and finding my place among the issues of the world, my greatest learning is not something I expected. Having heard transformational stories from past YAVs I kept waiting for that one book, discussion or conversation, that would put everything into perspective. Some singular moment in which all the challenges of the past months would suddenly seem small in comparison to some larger truth. What I never would have expected is that the truth I found wasn’t found in a singular moment, nor was it even found in growth. My truth was found in breaking. I came into the year with unprocessed relationship trauma. I was so focused on surviving and graduating from college, that I never took time to heal. It was like a broken bone that healed without having been set or repaired. This year of service and community gave me a safe space to truly begin healing. The remarkable aspect of this program isn’t found in a specific reading list or a programmatic outline, it’s found in the environment that is cultivated. Our site coordinator doesn’t just tell us what we should know, she encourages and inspires us to seek out our own learning and follow our questions, not always to answers, but to a deeper level of critical thinking and self-reflection.
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Savannah Fraser
I am a second year YAV serving here in Asheville. I served my first year in New Orleans and am lucky enough to be in the here in western North Carolina this year. I am working at Homeward, a nonprofit organization working to end homelessness through the "housing first" practice in Buncombe and Hendersonville Counties of North Carolina. Through the "housing first" practice, Homeward Bound's mission is to get people into housing, so they have a sense of security from which to grow. If you stop to think about it, how could anyone get their life in order if they are living on the streets or in a shelter without safety and security? I had a client recently tell me that being homeless is is like being in a fish bowl. It doesn't matter where you go, you are always being watched. Often people become homeless due to normal life crises that we all face. The difference is often in access to a support system that aids us during times of duress. I work at Homeward Bound's Day Center, AHOPE. AHOPE is the front door to accessing housing and other resources. We offer basic needs like showers, mail, storage, phone services, and coffee. I do a little of everything there. I try to be present and meet people where they are. It is not always easy and it has been worth it. I see people fight to survive everyday and I am moved by how they do it without breaking their spirits. I see their struggles and their triumphs and I carry their stories with me because they are now a part of mine. I have learned more than I ever could have imagined during these past two years with the YAV Program. My life has changed and I am grateful.
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End of Year Storytelling Event
Monday, July 23
Habitat Tavern & Commons
174 Broadway St.
Asheville, NC 28801
Join us for an evening of stories from our 2017-2018 volunteers and hear updates from Hands and Feet of Asheville. We look forward to seeing you
(and a friend)
there!
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THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT
If you are invested in further supporting the amazing volunteers and non-profit organizations served by HFA, please visit
our
website
for more information on how to donate your time, talent, or money.
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