Americorps, Pre-Service Orientation

I would really much rather do a post on the Black Gold Festival that started tonight in Hazard and will continue through the next 2 days.  It is pretty much consuming my life since I live in downtown, one block away from where the action is happening.  Just this morning, I discovered on my way to work that the city switches the direction of the one-way street in front of my house just for the three days of the festival.  Go figure.  The policeman seemed to think I was an idiot when he stopped me, but oh well.  But... more to come on the festival later, when I have experienced the full extent!

For now, I will talk a little bit about my Pre-Service Orientation for Buildcorps.  I spent 4 days at Camp Cedarmore, outside of Frankfort, learning all about what it means to be an Americorps service person, poverty/homelessness, and we managed to find time to do a few fun things too.  The training on Americorps was a lot of learning how to do the paperwork and reporting.  Apparently Americorps is always at the top of the list for programs the government might cut from the budget, so as a result we have to make sure we are representing the organization in a correct and positive light.  A big part of this was learning which terminology to use.  For example, I am not "working" and do not have a "job" instead I am doing "service."  What some people would consider my "boss" at the Housing Development Alliance is technically my "site supervisor." And I do not earn "income" or a "salary," instead I receive a "living allowance."   And so on...
Branches of Americorps seem to be divided by state, and Buildcorps is one of the Kentucky branches.  I found out we would be competing against the other Kentucky Americorps programs in a food drive this fall, in order to stock the local food pantry's of Kentucky with canned food.
Apart from the expected team building, we learned a lot about poverty and homelessness in the state, which really could apply to our country as a whole.  We did a poverty simulation on the first day where we learned how frustrating it can be trying to balance making ends meet, childcare, finding a job, and/or looking for government or outside assistance.  In the simulation, there was never enough time to get everything done in a day, or even a week.  We were given limited transportation passes as a symbol of how hard it can be to get around if your only option is walking, or if you have to pay for gas or public transportation that you really can't afford.  Also, it taught how common it is to be sent from one agency to another, and how the next agency or even the one after that isn't necessarily the one that you need.
We also learned about how in the US, even 20 or 30 years ago there was a much larger safety net in place for people who were at-risk of homelessness  (most Americans, in reality, are only a few paychecks away from financial trouble and maybe even homelessness).  This safety net has been greatly reduced- but I won't elaborate anymore since I can't have an official political stance while being represented as an Americorps!
As a break, on the last night of our training we went to Frankfort.  We ate at a seafood restaurant on the river, and went to Buffalo Trace Distillery- a stop on the "Kentucky Bourbon Trail"- a tourist attraction that I want to continue exploring!  We did a ghost tour at the distillery, I guess Ghost Hunters, the TV show had shot a show there in the last year or so.  Along the way, we got some of the history of Kentucky Bourbon and Buffalo Trace.  I'll include some pictures I took on the tour:

Running for The Hills

Very soon after I arrived in Hazard I found out there was a rapidly approaching 5K the I could participate in.  It is appropriately named "The Run For The Hills 5K."  Since it will be held October 6th, I went ahead and started training.  Since I didn't exercise all summer while at ASP, and had only just started working out again during the month of August, training is necessary.  But once I started going for runs here I quickly realized that getting back in shape was not going to be the only problem.  As you could probably guess, there are lots of hills here, even more than in good old Chapel Hill.  Another problem is the Coal Trucks that frequently drive through the area at very high rates of speed.  These are a problem when I run on the main roads, not only are they scary, but they also tend to kick up a lot of dirt and dust from the side of the road.  So I decided to try the back/more residential roads.  Please googlemap downtown Hazard, so you can get an idea of the maze of roads.  Finding my way around the windy roads which usually are missing street signs isn't too bad though really, I kind of enjoy the adventure.  The real problem with the more residential roads is the Appalachian dogs.  Any person running (to them) looks like a fun chasing game just waiting to start.  So I endured lots of barks- some behind fences and others not.  As I keep running, I'm learning which roads are runner friendly and which ones to avoid.

But my real purpose in writing this post is to share the good side of my Hazard runs.  Not only are they helping me to find my way around, but also I am able to notice things that I otherwise wouldn't (when driving).  My discovery yesterday was the Bobby Davis Park- an oasis in the middle of Hazard.  It was a small, but welcome sight.  Even though I'm living in the mountains, Hazard sprawls out for quite a ways and since I live right in the heart of downtown, I sometimes miss having green space around.  Here are pictures of the park...

A post on my Buildcorps/HHCK training from last week coming soon...

Hello Housing Counseling

This posting may jump around a little, I want to talk about too many things to focus on just one!

I worked three days last week and got a jump start on learning things that most of my peers won't have to know for several years... primarily everything that goes into a mortgage/buying a house.  My main duty is assisting Pam, the permanent Housing Counselor, with everything that she does.  So apart from trying to absorb all of this new information, I also began doing client intakes.  This means that anytime someone called or came by the Housing Development Alliance, I was their first contact.  During this interaction I would determine whether they wanted a new home or rehab on their current house, and then ask a long list of questions in order to determine their current financial situation, and whether they would qualify for a loan.  A big part of this process is determining their level of income, since the HDA is committed to serving people who are low and very low income.  These terms may seem vague, but there are real values behind them.  Most of it is based on the Area Median Income (AMI) of the county.  At or below 50% of the AMI is considered very low income and at or below 80% AMI is considered low income.  As I learn more, I will be able to talk to the client further through the process in collecting the appropriate documents and helping the client to actually apply for the loan or grant.  In other words- I will sometimes serve as a loan originator.

I would also like to share this description of Buildcorps:
"The largest competitively funded AmeriCorps program in Kentucky, Build Corps serves homeless and at-risk men, women and children throughout the Commonwealth.
Build Corps members provide housing case management services, construction and weatherization services and financial literacy education to low income Kentuckians. Members make an in-valuable contribution to their host sites by providing direct service to clientele; recruiting, training and supervising volunteers; raising funds; and building community awareness about challenges faced by homeless and inadequately housed individuals."
I will be learning much more about Buildcorps at my training in Northern Kentucky next Tuesday-Friday.

And finally just a few fun facts about my life in Eastern Kentucky:
1. The only place to buy wine that we have discovered so far is the CVS pharmacy
2. I watched a live recording of What's Cookin Now the world's only LIVE radio cooking show (that we know of).  It comes on the radio once a month
3. One of the chefs of What's Cookin Now did a review of a recently opened local restaurant, reading it provides a pretty accurate view of Hazard living.  Also I ate at the Treehouse Cafe and enjoyed my sandwich very much.  Here is the link:
http://www.whatscookinnow.org/?p=541

The Big Move

I moved back to Appalachia today (Monday), but this time I'm not here with ASP.  My employment situation is a little hard to explain (I don't fully understand it yet), but I'll try.  I am being paid by the Kentucky branch of Americorps- called Buildcorps, and interchangeably (?), the Housing and Homeless Coalition of Kentucky- the HHCK.  They are placing me in a nonprofit where I will work for the next 12 months.  The nonprofit is called the Housing Development Alliance and is based in Hazard, KY.  Hazard is a little over an hour south of West Liberty where I spent this past summer.  My decision to take the job and move to  Kentucky was a little impulsive but I'm still very excited.  I am living in the upstairs apartment of a house in downtown Hazard, and am in the process of settling in.  My job should be less hectic than my summers at ASP, much more like a real M-F 9-5 kind of deal... so that should leave plenty of time for blogging!  I start work on Wednesday and should know more about my position then, and I'll spend tomorrow setting up utilities, unpacking, and exploring Hazard.