Everything about being a VISTA is perfect.

If you make it. This job is not for everybody, but it IS for those with a the ability to enter a situation and decide that you're going to love it. Luckily, Gabi, Michelle and I have that ability, and we did decide we were going to love this, and we do love it, therefore, everything about being a VISTA is perfect. (Besides writing sentences with too many commas, and overusing the word "and"). Really though, how many 22 year old recent college grads can say that they had to leave work to go meet with Congressman Joe Courtney? Technically, we aren't allowed to associate with a political stance while acting as a VISTA (meaning no rallies 9-5 Mon-Fri), but after touring the VA rehab facilities last week in West Haven I must say it was exciting to connect with a member of our Congressional District who so highly supports our veterans, submarine production (less homeless/unemployed vets!), and won support for an 18-unit supportive housing facility for homeless vets in Jewett City. There were about 10 VISTAs at Connecticut College yesterday to meet with Congressman Courtney and I think I am speaking for all of us in saying that we are so grateful to have his support and also for the opportunity to share our experiences and passion for eliminating poverty in the US, and specifically in the state of Connecticut.

Tomorrow we have the Three Rivers Community College Volunteer Fair, which will complete our world tour (county tour?). Absolutely going to make t-shirts for this now, New London Homeless Hospitality Center Volunteer Recruitment WORLD TOUR, complete with dates on the back...for a small donation I'll even sign it. We have gotten a hold of some really unbelievable volunteers lately from the Coast Guard Academy and Connecticut College. We haven't worked with the Conn College folks yet, but they are so enthusiastic and eager to help I want to meet every single one of them right this second. I plan on setting up some maintenance tasks for them, beginning with organizing our storage closet downstairs. The Coast Guard cadets have been amazing about bringing and serving the food from the Academy on Wednesday nights, so many of them jumped at that opportunity immediately. I must say, and not surprisingly, that I am extremely impressed with their compassion and the hard work that comes along with it. Hey cadets and Conn College students...WE APPRECIATE YOU!! thank you!!

Gabi is training so many Help Desk volunteers right now that soon enough, birth certificates, job apps, resumes, and all that jazz will be totally out of our hands (that's the goal). We have some day coverage 4 days a week and night coverage is up to 3 I believe. There are currently 7 or 8 Help Desk volunteers, when we started there were 3! Talk about world tour...Gabi is taking over this place!

Michelle got her first grant! It was like Christmas when the letter came in, the organization had $1,500 to grant, and $46,000 were requested throughout the process. She was up with some seriously stiff competition but she got it! For sure the best fundraising coordinator ever.

You dedicated readers will remember our friend, Pierre. I was starting to worry because I hadn't seen him in a while, nor had I heard anything about how he was doing. He stopped into the Drop In yesterday and I was able to catch up with him finally. Pierre is not only employed, but he has an apartment! Talk about a major success story!

Good updates, good updates. My Boston Bruins coffee mug (2-1 against Montreal last night preseason by the way) is about 1/4 full right now. That's right, NOT mostly empty, but partially full. So I'm going to refill the tank and make this the best Tuesday of the week.

-Jackie

Veterans and Volunteers

Yesterday solidified the feeling that we, as VISTAs, are in the right place. We were lucky enough to get the chance to go to West Haven (not the same as New Haven, though they seem to be parallel universes) to tour and be introduced with the Errera Community Care Center where veterans can receive rehabilitation services as well as reintegration. We were completely blown away by the immense care and compassion that is apparent as soon as you step off the elevator and onto the floor. We were informed about the ECCC Peer Specialist program that allows veterans that have been homeless or had mental health problems to counsel and support the veterans being served in the facility. This is such an amazing concept to me, because as Dr. Laurie Harkness, the ECCC Director explained to us, the veterans understand each other better than we can. They came from the same place and have experienced the same things, therefore their support can make all the difference in taking steps forward into the process of recovery whether it be from drugs or PTSD. The veterans utilizing the services offered at ECCC are given roles in upholding the functions of this community, such as orienting new veterans, running the community lunch program, and advocating for the needs of their peers. My heart melted and a tear dropped when one of the veterans told Dr. Harkness that she promised him next time he saw her he could sing her a song. He proceeded to perform in the most genuine, patriotic, and heartfelt manner "America the Beautiful". Patriotism is a commodity at ECCC, as it should be and as we strive to make it in our development of veteran's programs and housing.

Within the Errera Center is CVLC, the Connecticut Veterans Legal Center. CVLC provides legal assistance to more than 245 veterans, and more than half of the clients are homeless or were recently homeless. CVLC relies on volunteer lawyers and law students to help ill veterans get treatment to break down barriers.

After touring this facility and seeing the map of VA housing in Connecticut, we are beyond excited to continue working with ECCC and CVLC and improving our own services for veterans, including employment services. Gabi is looking forward to shadowing the Employment Specialist over at ECCC to learn more about how to get our veterans into promising jobs. We were so proud as VISTAs to be a part of this and to have these connections that will ultimately allow us to better serve our guests at HHC.

How many submariners does it take to sanitize a table?
 Just kidding guys, you're amazing!

our bathroom stalls have never looked better

Speaking of veterans, our favorite submariners did some amazing work this past weekend. They cleaned our vents, sanitized our tables and chairs, painted our bathroom stalls and railings, and they probably did tons of other things that I'm blanking on right now because they leave me speechless. In all seriousness though, they really do work hard and words cannot express how much their efforts save us. We are also SO proud and excited to say that 3 of the first 24 women to serve on US subs are volunteering with us! They came to the maintenance day and are working Friday nights in the shelter as Evening Support and Help Desk volunteers. The maintenance day consisted of our tried and true Mississippi volunteers, as well as the 3 wonderful women, and Help Desk volunteer who is currently in Sub School and recently graduated from the US Naval Academy.

It appeared that our vents have actually never been cleaned before.

Our guys at the VA House are working hard to keep the 9/11 Garden sustained and beautiful, in fact I heard they planted the next season of produce over the weekend including radishes. Tony just headed over there to talk to Patrick and Dave about composting options, this garden is really looking like it will be a success!

A favorite memory of ECCC that we will never forget: Margaret Middleton, Executive Director of CVLC tells us that she really wants a VISTA for capacity building, her exact words being "We are just a ball of capacity waiting to be built."

-Jackie

Is it fall yet?

I feel like writing 2 posts on Tuesday makes up for not having another one until Friday, but I know some people would object to that (coughCOUSINABBYcough). Let me shuffle through the figurative file cabinet in my mind and pull out the records of what's happened here this week/what's happening this weekend.

First of all, an incredible outcome to share with you is that Kenny (a client Gabi has been working closely with) got a job as an adjunct teaching Engineering Statistics next semester at Three Rivers Community College. It's been an exciting process of setting up interviews, getting interview clothes, talking with our Help Desk volunteer Ron, sending and receiving emails, and finally GETTING THE JOB!! This is so exciting and a huge accomplishment for Kenny, since he has a Masters in Engineering and all...

This weekend there is a cookout hosted by Shiloh Baptist Church at our overnight shelter location and though we've never been to it before, our guests are really excited about it which makes us really excited about it too. This week we've been planning the set up and rain plans, which are looking like they'll be unnecesary as we are expecting beautiful fall weather (assuming that you like fall, which I do, if not then it's going to be terribly awful fall weather.) It begins at 5pm and should be ending around 7pm.

Sunday we have a Bi-Weekly Maintenance Day (which we have completely failed to make bi-weekly). However, we could not be happier to welcome back our favorite PCU Mississippi volunteers who will be painting bathroom stalls and the outdoor railings, deep cleaning our bathroom floors and shower, and cleaning the vents in the community room. They'll probably end up doing a million other little things we can't think of because that's what they tend to do. Maybe they'll fold blankets again and try to do every task we casually mention should be done sometime in the next year.

I went over to the Veteran's House today with Charles to do inspections, I had never seen the inside of the building so that was cool, it was really nice, I guess I didn't know what to expect. Charles also told me I would make a good cop, which I'm sure my dad would be very proud of.

Gabi and I are now the proud owners of our very own file holder! Alyssa said it took her a year to get one of these but we were lucky enough to only have to wait 2 and a half months. I even labeled my folders. I'm hoping this makes you think that I'm organized and keep track of things well, however that would be a lie so I won't say it flat out. We have a few rules in this office...Jackie isn't allowed to hold onto receipts and Gabi isn't allowed to hold onto keys.

At 1pm we have a meeting with a professional soccer player who wants to come in and volunteer with us, so I'm going to wrap this up as we also have a meeting at 12 with our director about the Help Desk. Enjoy your weekends and this crisp weather! Maybe heat up a cup of apple cider and wrap yourself up in a blanket...I now feel inclined to post a few of my favorite fall pictures...

Vermont, of course.

Vermont again, Fall Foliage Festival 2007.

-Jackie

Step 2

A while back I posted the top 3 things my dad taught me when I was growing up; always be on time, always do more than expected, and never blame others. These are things that I was told constantly and grew up trusting. Another thing I was taught to grow up trusting is myself. This was mom's lesson, and still is every single day of my life. When you're 13 and mom tells you something, you think she has no idea what she's talking about and you just brush it off. I think I started realizing my mother was smart when I was about 17. She had always, ALWAYS, I mean like every single day and in every situation, told me "always be honest with yourself, Jack." and I can remember thinking 'what does that even mean, I don't care.' When my parents split when I was 18, I got it. It just clicked, my mom must have had a million things flying through her head with no way of sorting out the logical from the illogical. The choices she made in this situation made me truly see that making the decisions that make you happy are usually the best ones for the people around you too. As much as I promised myself I would live by her words from then on out, I definitely did not. I feel like I decided to see things through a haze to make them look better than they were so I didn't have to deal with their reality. Over the past year or so, I finally started living it. When something feels off, it probably is. When something is stressing you out, it's better to just deal with it than ignore it. I found myself taking control of my life and going in directions that could define me rather than letting things just happen or allowing others and their views to define me.

I hope it helps our guests when I blast this advice at them too. When I'm asked "Should I call any of these numbers?" and handed a list of detox facilities I cannot think of anything to say other than "be honest with yourself, are you happy right now?" When filling out job applications, someone hesitates to answer a question honestly and I probably get annoying saying "be honest with yourself, if you don't want to tell the employer about this, is this really a job you want?"

I'm also reminded of the book "He's Just Not That Into You", the whole point of this book (and the corresponding movie) is to stop accepting the haze you're looking through and just SEE things as they are. I have this philosophy, if from the outside I would not be envious of my life, I'm doing something wrong and I need to make changes. This comes full circle to being honest with myself, not settling for a life you know you can improve. This is something I LOVE seeing in our guests, as well as in other people I meet. When a guest is ambitious, it's obvious. These are the people who come to Gabi and I of their own will to fill out job applications, the people who want to further their education and get GEDs and CNAs, because they know that they can do it. It makes my day to see a guest take positive steps on their own to better their situation, because they aren't happy where they are and they're being honest with themselves about it. Ahhh, deep inhale, slow exhale, humanity is so beautiful.

If you took the time to read this one, thank you. I know it's unrelated to the stuff I've been writing lately but I've been thinking and thinking and thinking and just needed to get it written down somewhere. I hope you are happy with your life and the direction you see it heading, and if you're not, I have complete faith in you making changes. It's terrifying, it's intimidating, but it's also fun and exciting to know that you are being honest with yourself. I promise, try it, you'll see.

-Jackie

Step 1

Today is going to be a 2 post day. This weekend is update worthy for HHC. Beginning with Friday night at the Homeless to Hopeful Dance. I had NO idea what to expect, but I headed over to Ocean Beach Park to drop off some information and materials before the dance and was enthralled. It was so beautifully set up, I guess I just didn't know that Ocean Beach even had a banquet hall. Gabi and I went to the dance and had a great time. SO many people were there, it was great to recognize the immense support from our community. There was a raffle and a silent auction, both with amazing prizes, and we met mayoral candidate Rob Pero. I'm glad to know that next year I can recommend that everyone I know purchase a ticket and go to this event. Even after my year as a VISTA is complete and I move on to whatever life throws at me next, I will make every effort within my power to get back to New London for the Homeless to Hopeful Dance. (MAJOR props to Michelle for her hard work in preparing for the dance, selling tickets, making sure our guests had transportation to and from, and being an all around fabulous Fundraising Coordinator.)

capturing some of the finished products

first round of volunteers hard at work!

Saturday began our 9/11 Weekend of Service. How can I even begin this? WOW. How unbelievable it was to see so many excited, enthusiastic, hard working, fun volunteers in one place at one time. We had 2 amazing women (Ellen and Serena) teaching our volunteers how to prepare and can fruits and vegetables. Gabi and I got there at 7:30 am to meet Patrick and David from the Eastern Connecticut Community Gardens Association and get the Meal Center set up. Volunteers arrived very promptly (we could learn something from them) at 8am and got to work. We had about 13 volunteers from 8-10 and they were fantastic! Serena was so enthusiastic in teaching everyone how to peel and slice tomatoes, basil, oregano, onions, and garlic to make spaghetti sauce and as the volunteer coordinators, Gabi and I were ecstatic watching this all unfold. We had more and more volunteers filtering in and out of the Meal Center working hard every 2 hours. I wish I had words to explain how incredibly thankful we are for Ellen and Serena's contribution and skills. We had a GREAT time working with them and all of our amazing volunteers. I wish you could all see and understand how important you are to this organization and the impact you ultimately have on our guests. I'll insert a picture or 2 of the finished products and the volunteer work in action. The day went from about 8am-630pm, which is another reason that I don't think a blog post could possibly come close to commending Ellen and Serena, as they stayed ALL day. We had some visitors come and observe the process and check in towards the end, which was really exciting because sometimes I forget that people really care about the work being done. The day concluded with a long run, leftovers, and a social night with VISTA Jen from the Women's Center. Excellent.

3 of our veterans, Patrick Kelley and David Fairman of ECCGA,
and Daniel Garcia from the PCU Mississippi (not in that order)

The weekend ends with the garden dedication on 9/11. Tony literally saves my life at least once a week, by the way. He had everything planned for a cookout, had some of the vets at the house mow the lawn and clean the grill, and by the time I got there he was just chilling in a lawn chair and had tables set up for the ceremony. We had a good 10 people there, which was perfect because I had no idea what I was doing and was feeling intimidated.  One of our vets gave a little talk about what it means to him to live in the house and how HHC has helped him, David Fairman from the Eastern Connecticut Community Gardens Association told us about his organization and how they have 43 gardens throughout Eastern CT, and then I read our dedication. I'll copy/paste it for those of you who didn't hear or read it:

With the dedicated efforts of the Eastern Connecticut Community Gardens Association, our residents here at the Veteran’s House, and all of our invaluable volunteers, we are honored to dedicate this garden to those that lost their lives 10 years ago today in the events on 9/11. We plan to continue to combine our passions to help this garden grow and flourish, with constant love and care, and the ongoing support of our community.  We also will continue to provide our support to our neighbors who continue today to grieve their own personal losses of this event. Alongside this dedication, we would like to thank and honor the Veterans that reside at our house for their commitment, service, and devotion to our country and community. We extend this gratitude to those of you with us today who have served our country or are currently active in serving. The New London Homeless Hospitality Center, in conjunction with the Eastern Connecticut Community Gardens Association, officially dedicates this garden, the products that come of this garden, and the care put into sustaining it to the victims of September 11, 2001.

After this concluded, I enjoyed some time with our amazing vets and co-workers, then got in my car and booked it to my moms house in Westerly for a relaxing night. Took a mental health day Monday (I honestly, fully, and whole heartedly believe that mental health days are absolutely necessary).

I declare this weekend a success. I hope you all had the chance to honor the lives lost on 9/11 and to thank a veteran or someone currently serving. The next post for the day is coming soon, has nothing to do with this weekend or anything, just spilling some thoughts on my mind recently.

-Jackie

This I Believe

Today is my friend Katy's first day as a high school English teacher in Maine. First of all- CONGRATULATIONS KATY!!! Second of all, I asked her last night what her plan for her first day is. She told me that she's having her kids write "This I Believe" essays, I was intrigued by this idea and told her that I wanted to partake in her class this year (mainly so I can just read all the books, because I would rather read than do almost anything else). So today, I've researched what a "This I Believe" essay is and I have changed it from essay to prompt, because calling it an essay makes me feel like I have to do it and calling it a prompt makes it feel more professional. I'd rather pretend I'm a young professional than a high school student, though I do love this idea.

Love is All You Need

I sat down to write my college essay, with no idea where to start or where I wanted it to go when he came in and told me he was leaving. I thought it might only be for a few minutes and it was the whole night. I walked into school crying and was immediately engulfed into the arms of my girlfriends that I still call my best friends. As alone as I felt over those next two years, I always had arms around me and hands wiping my tears every time they fell. They stayed with me through the fights, the silence, the divorce, the moves, and the marriage. When my dad told me I could have 2 friends at his wedding, I said "ok" leaving out the fact that I had 9 confirmed. As soon as the ceremony was over, I felt the water works beginning and one of the hands that was holding me up took me by my own hand and led me away. I stood behind a tree with my eyes covered, crying for uncertainty and she let me cry the whole while telling me we would be ok. WE, not YOU, we were all in this and I was not alone.


I left for college and I found myself falling into directions that I didn't expect, I lost touch with my girlfriends. After spending three years with someone who made me feel invincible, I came to my senses and found myself facing my senior year of college alone. I should have learned from before that my girlfriends will never leave me alone. Katy ran me a bath almost every night, Meghann and Sam baked brownies that we all ate with a spoon, Rachel ate dinner with me even when mine only consisted of part of a bagel and chicken broth, Meredith left me a can of tea with a note on scrap paper in pink marker telling me she loved me, Kim told me stories of her vivid dreams (like the time she dreamed we were all penguins in the Soviet Army).


I graduated and the largest chapter of my life ended. It's not like in high school when you say goodbye and you literally mean "see you tomorrow", goodbye meant "I don't know" this time. I cried for days, thinking about saying goodbye to these girls still makes me hurt. However, Kim called my on her way to Vermont the other day and I went to lunch in Burlington with Meredith, Sam, and Meghann a few weeks ago. I browse Book Barns, play trivia, drink coffee, and “life chat” with my high school friends now. I believe that girlfriends are the best medicine, I believe in the words John Lennon wrote, "all you need is love". "Maybe our girlfriends are our soulmates..." is spoken by Carrie Bradshaw in Season 4, Episode 1 of Sex and the City, and this I believe.


Now that I've shared precious moments of my life with you, it's your turn. You know me know, and you clearly know my friends (YES...Katy the new English teacher is also Katy that ran me baths!) I'm finding more and more that my girlfriends are my panacea (well...my girlfriends and a good book.) I miss Sunday night family dinners and church dates! So anyway...HHC things:

Gabi is training a new Help Desk volunteer right now! Marlies is just so sweet and we're really excited for her to be here. Right before Marlies got here, Gabi was finalizing a resume for a client and sending him off on an interview (for an Adjunct position at Three Rivers! SO impressive!) She also works really closely with a client who went and applied for a job and got an interview on his own last week, he said this morning that the interview went really well. Next week, we're having an HIV/AIDS workshop to raise awareness (all courtesy of Gabi, because she is rocking this place). On Friday, I think she planned on leaving around 2 and was swamped, completely booked solid until 4:30. We were laughing by the end of the day but I think at some points we secretly just wanted to up and run. Luckily, she was able to get home this weekend to see her family, she says she's recharged which is so important because she works SO hard here all the time.

I got a phone call this morning from a woman named Abby who is an illustrator for children's books and wants to teach some sort of drawing class for us. So I immediately booked her for a workshop on the 21st at the shelter and honestly, I cannot WAIT for this. I love drawing, though my limitations probably end and begin around stick figures, the sun, and flowers. We are also booking volunteers to can vegetables and fruits on Saturday (the 10th). This is all for our 9/11 Weekend of Service and the canned produce will be donated to our Veteran's House, the overnight shelter, and a few other places in the area. Want to help can? EMAIL ME at volunteercoordinator.nlhhc@gmail.com to get a list of the 2 hour shifts throughout the day and pick one to help out with! It's all in New London, which is a great place if you haven't visited, so come on over!

I'm sitting here and Alyssa is at her desk in a red raincoat and khaki pants, then Elsie's dog Gus is next to us and he's a yellow lab wearing a red collar. I told Alyssa how well they match and how good they look together and she replied with "We called each other." I love it.

You all have a good rainy day, it's a good one for blankets and books (but isn't everyday?). I hope you enjoyed your holiday and got to spend some time with your family, or by yourself if you prefer that. We don't judge, you do what you do.

-Jackie