As you may have read in my last post, the Disaster Recovery Center where my team has been working is no longer in operation and is waiting to open up at a new location. My teams leaves for Vicksburg, Mississippi in two days. Because we have not been able to work at the DRC, we have been doing Individual Service Projects, which means that we are not working with FEMA, but rather a non-profit organization. My team has been working with New York Cares and the traditional AmeriCorps NCCC, lending our hands and bodies to clean out houses, which they call "mucking and gutting". I was excited to do some physical work for once, though it was sad when we got to the houses and realized that all their belongings were destroyed by Sandy.
On the first day of mucking and gutting we cleaned out a few garages, taking the wet belongings to the curb side. We also tore down the walls of a room. On the second day we spent the whole day clearing the first floor of a house: taking out belongings, taking down walls, basically not leaving anything in the house. The owner of the house was really appreciative and said he didn't know what he would have done if it were not for us. Because we worked in homes, I do not have pictures of us actually working, although I do have a picture of us in our PPE- Personal Protective Equipment. This is important when working in houses with black mold and with working with tools. Knowing how clumsy I am, it's a good thing everyone is wearing a helmet!
We have gotten the official word that we are going back to New York after Winter Break. I am super excited to see my family, friends and congregation back in Lafayette!
A prayer that kept me going:
We believe that God is present
In darkness before dawn,
In waiting and uncertainty,
Where fear and courage join hands,
Conflict and caring link arms
And the sun rises over the barbed wire.
We believe in a with-us God
Who sits down in our midst
To share our humanity.
We affirm a faith
That takes us beyond a safe place:
Into action, into vulnerability and into the streets.
Hello all, sorry about my last post- I was posting from my Blackberry and could not see what I was typing. I tried to edit it just now so that you can understand. I have been on disaster for a month now, and today is the first day that my entire team has the day off!
We have been working at Disaster Recovery Center #9 in Rockaway Park, NYC. This area was one of the hardest hit areas. We have developed friendships with the survivors and the staff working there. First of all, I'll explain what a Disaster Recovery Center is. It's a place where survivors go to talk with FEMA and other agencies for their disaster-related needs. We had FEMA Representatives and representatives from the Small Business Administration in our Center. We also had a rep from the Social Security Adminitration, and also Housing and Urban Development. FEMA Corps role was to direct the survivors to the right place that they needed to go. My main role was the receptionist, where I took down basic information from each survivor and they breifly explained their situation to me so that I could point them in the right direction. My role was not so much physically taxing, but mentally taxing. We also had the chance to shadow the FEMA Specialists. That means that we sat down next to the Specialists and listened while they explained to the applicants of what their status on their claim is, and what their next step is. I learned a lot by shadowing them. We also bonded a lot with the staff there. Yesterday we got the news that the Center would be closing later that night, so we all said our goodbyes. We are hoping we can stay together once we get re-assigned. I'm going to miss all the survivors I have met this past month.
Since my last post, my team has moved ships. We now live on the S.S. Wright in Staten Island, which is convenient to get to Manhatten because the Ferry is only a mile away. I have visited Manhattan three times since I have been here. I saw The Phantom of the Opera, I went to the Thanksgiving Day Parade, went to Chinatown and Little Italy and of course visited many of the shops in Times Square. A few days ago, Fox News filmed my team at the Recovery Center. I was honored to have an interview with them that is airing tomorrow. I might post the link if I can get a hold of it.
Here are some photos from my experience:
Sharing the road with First responders on the way to Sandy.
The first weeks the lines to get into the Recovery Center were LONG. Many had to wait 4 hours to get in.
Me explaining the registration process to survivors.
Our first day in NYC, we see the effects of the Subway closing. Lines to get on the bus or "subway shuttles" were MILES long.
Our first day we walked around this neighborhood encouraging survivors to register with FEMA. We got a little wet.
Hello all. I am currently writing this post in the dining hall of my new home, which the Maritime College in New York. All 21 FEMA Corps teams from Vicksburg have been deployed to New York City, and all FEMA Corps teams from Vinton Iowa have been deployed to New Jersey. Much has happened in the past few weeks. First of, a few days before Sandy hit we headed from Atlanta Georgia to Emmitsburg Maryland to the Emergency Management Institute. We did some training there to refresh our memory of what to do as a Community Relations Specialist. We stayed there for almost a week, and finally headed out to New York, where we immediately started doing Community Relations- where you walk round and encourage people to register with FEMA. Then we found out that all of us will be living on the ship for the duration of our deployment. After the first day of working as community relations my team assumed our role as supporters of the local Disaster Recovery Center. We are working in The Rockaways- an area that was hit hard by the disaster and where the fires occurred It was heartbreaking to see the area of burnt homes. Almost everyone we talk to is displaced from their home. We have been working 12 hour days every day of the week, so it is very taxing physically, mentally and emotionally. However I am glad I can be of some help and a pair of ears that will listen to these survivors' stories.
Our team stayed here for "Staging" of Sandy. We waited until Sandy was over to head to NY
Let's go to the movies...let's go see the stars!!!
Okay folks, I am in a motel now! I now have a bed that has sheets and there is a bathroom right next to me! We are running short on toilet paper, but other than that we are doing great!
We left the woods last week. We are sure going to miss that place, even if we had to walk to the bathroom!
Tanner and I cooked a delicious meal,with LOTS of spices (:
This week at the office I continued to gather resources for volunteer agencies in Florida. I also wrote a presentation on FEMA Corps. I am one of the Corps Ambassadors on my team, which means I go out into the community, mostly to high school and colleges, showing through information, stories and experience what AmeriCorps NCCC is. We went on a field trip to the Habitat for Humanity office in Atlanta. I wrote the presentation and Lizz and I presented to the Habitat for Humanity employees on what FEMA Corps is all about.
I feel like every time I write there is always some sort of bad/sad news. Since the last time I posted, one team leader has left FEMA Corps, as well as a fellow teammate of mine. He is still here until the end of the week, and it's going to be hard to say goodbye to him. We love you Tanner :)
Settlers is a game of the past. It's all about ZOMBIES now. Yes, this is what we do for fun- pretend that it's the Zombie Apocalypse and kill zombies.
Afternoon traffic. This stuff is intense.
My team, Ocean 7, has started a weekly sharing of Life Stories. Each week, after dinner, a team member will have an opportunity to share with their teammates any experiences they wish to share with the group from their life. Tonight was the first night, and our team leader Sean started off with a great story. It was really inspiring. Although this sharing is optional, I hope everyone on my team has the courage to share their story. You can learn so much from other people's experiences. We have also started something called "Team Dates", where two team members go out for coffee, a meal, or just hang out and talk with each other, in order to bond and I suppose have more team morale, which we can always use more of. I have been on a team date with my teammate Lizz, which was a great opportunity to bond with her on a day when both of us were not working, and therefore not in the same work environment that we are used to.
Our new home is Suwanne, Georgia. There is a large Korean population here, so on the weekend a few teammates and I enjoyed the Korean Festival. I bought dried seaweed! YUM!
Okay gals and girls, last thing to report is my physical state right now. I did Physical Training with my team the other day and I am still recovering. Nothing to be worried about, it just hurts to walk and sit down and stand up. I literally look like an 80 year old woman hobbling around. Yesterday I could not bend my legs, and today I have made progress. I look pretty weird when I walk though. That's all, folks! Have a lovely week!
Hello all! This week I learned how to navigate around NEMIS, the applicant database for FEMA. Pretty exciting stuff. I also got a new assignment that I am working on with my teammate Tyler, where we are gathering social service resources for Florida and Kentucky, and eventually the other states too. We are putting the information on an excel spreadsheet. These resources will eventually be available to the public through CAN.org which is already a great resource for social services throughout the United States.
We also toured a FEMA distribution center where they keep trailers, ready to eat meals (over 2 million of them!), cots, blankets, filing cabinets, pretty much everything you would need if a disaster happened. Sorry, there was no picture-taking allowed, but it was basically each room was like a Costco, without the food court of course.
Six Corps Members have left FEMA Corps already, and more than a dozen are seriously considering it. I'm suspecting it's because of the office work rather than the "boots on the ground" kind of work that was expected. On a happier note, they have brought this up to the big guys/gals upstairs so perhaps they will be making changes to the program. I understand that I am making a difference, however it would be nice to make a difference in a way that engages me rather than sitting at a computer all day and getting a migraine...almost every day. At the least, this year is going to teach me to be flexible and professional, and even if I sometimes don't feel like I'm helping others, I can focus on improving myself.
October 27th is a National Day of Service, and our amazing POL's (Project Outreach Liaisons) named Nateanna and Tanner, have signed us up for helping set up and help with the "Skydive for ALS in Georgia" Fundraiser. It sounds exciting, and it sounds like some of us are going to be skydiving. I have not made a decision as to whether I'm skydiving or not, but I'm not ruling it out.
Have a nice week, everyone!
I am getting used to Atlanta. It’s pretty great here. We had a 3 day weekend a few days ago, which was really great because it was our first day off in 26 days! Let’s just say we were really tired on the 26th day of work. During the three day weekend, we got to take 2 West African Drumming classes! They were awesome. We watched this video during a class, and I think it’s so cool that I’ve got to share it with you! Enjoy!
We played the Djembe, Dununs, Dundunba’s, and others. We are staying at a Youth Village in Douglassville. This weekend we went to the mall and we also saw the movie Taken 2. It wasn’t that great of a movie but I did enjoy going out into civilization for once!
Because Monday was a holiday for us but not for the AmeriCorps team that works and lives at Youth Village, each of us shadowed a Corps Member all day. I was called Miss B for the day, and was paired up with Miss P (no first names with the students). She was helping out with girls ages 16-18. These girls were getting ready to be discharged and go live elsewhere, so it is very important for them to be searching for places to live and to have the required life and literacy skills needed to live either on their own or at an assisted living facility. There was a broad range in abilities in the classroom as well as behavioral and emotional challenges. I had the chance to go to African Drumming with them, eat lunch with them, and personally tutor one of the girls. The girls were (for the most part) really sweet and wished that I worked there too.It was a great experience, but I don’t think it’s the right path for me, at least not anytime in the near future.
It's pretty here!
There are a lot of things to do in Atlanta, such as six flags and the aquarium and I’m sure so much more- hopefully I will get to explore the city once we move out of our current housing and hopefully closer to the city. We are moving someplace different in one week.
Yesterday I made the team pesto pasta and served French bread with it, and we actually had real butter to spread on the French bread! It was pretty great.
What we do in the evening: Almost every night this week we have been shopping for groceries at Kroger, going to Starbucks for some hot drinks and wifi, or doing laundry at the laudrymat, which conveniently has wifi as well. We usually have a team meeting during dinner.
Settlers of Catan- the EXPANSION!!!
Team responsibilities on SPIKE: Each team member is expected to make dinner one night a week (with the help of another team member), do the dishes one night, and for us that do not drive, we are expected to be an “A Driver” once in the morning and once at night, which means you are the navigator and you back the car into the parking spot when you get to your destination. I have been an A driver a few times, and yes, I have gotten the team lost, but I swear it was the GPS’s fault.
This place is haunted: Many of my team members have experienced some paranormal experiences here at our housing, but nothing to be worried about. Footsteps, knocking, laughing, and some tugging on clothing, but it seems playful to me as if it is a child entity.
On a sad note, some members of FEMA Corps have decided that this is not the place for them. Many people left in the first week of training back in August once they realized that this is not the original NCCC, however others are now realizing how different it really is. Luckily no one on my team is feeling this way, however my friend named Alex who I got to know during training left for home today. My thoughts are that no one really knew what they were getting themselves into because we are the first class. I remember asking the team leaders questions during training in Vicksburg and they had little to no idea what we would be doing. Even when we were briefed in Vicksburg about each Specialist Role they did not tell us that almost everyone is going to be on a computer all day. When I first heard of FEMA Corps I thought of people out in the field talking with individuals one on one and helping them get assistance by handing out supplies and whatnot, which some FEMA Corps members have been doing/are going to do. However, some did not receive their first, second, third, or even fourth choice in terms of what specialist role they wanted. Although working in the Regional Office is not the most exciting job, I am glad I am here to ease myself into FEMA and get a sense of how they work and how the programs work. They are actually spoiling us here- giving us free snacks, arranging field trips to local non-profits, and giving us an opportunity to take classes online to learn more about emergency management. My advice to anyone who is thinking about applying to FEMA Corps, is that you have to be patient and flexible, yes FEMA flexible is a phrase I hear at least once a day here. I would also advise you not to join if you are not okay with sitting at a desk working on the computer all day.
Well folks, it's time to wrap up here at the laundry mat, I wish you all a good night!
Okay guys I wrote this at two different times, hopefully it makes sense. I have very limited internet here. Here are my thoughts:
Graduation: I graduated from training! yay! Here is a link to a news story! They zoom in on my team and you can see me! I'm the blonde...in blue hehe :)
http://www.abc3340.com/story/19673155/fema-corp-graduates-first-class?clienttype=printable
FEMA Speak. FEMA uses lots of acronyms- to the point of where we can talk to each other without other people knowing what the heck we are saying. Here is an example: This week I learned that when I get deployed as an IA ASPS, I will mainly work at DRC's and sometimes JFO's. I will be using NEMIS, and filling out Applicant Inquiries. It's confusing, huh?
Where Am I Going!? For the past week, we have been waiting to hear where in the world we will be deployed to. I can't speak for anyone else, but I have been singing the "Where are we going, I don't know, When we will we get there, I ain't certain, All I know is I am on my way" song from "Paint Your Wagon". Well my friends, I am happy to say that I will be deployed to Atlanta, Georgia in less than two days!!! I am super stoked for this. I have no idea where I will be staying, or even what I will be doing there. I just know I am going. Almost half of FEMA Corps will be stationed in Baton Rouge Louisiana, and only three teams- my team and two teams on the Summit Unit- are going to Atlanta.
The Office
Where am I working? In an office- Region IV's Regional Office to be more specific, in Atlanta- and it is somewhat similar to the show the office. For the past few days we have been attending meetings,working on our assignments and meeting A LOT of people. The people there are soooo friendly and excited to see what FEMA Corps is all about. They have been impressed of how much we are getting done. We also might get CERT certified! (Community Emergency Response Team) which would be great! What am I doing? I'm researching and preparing presentations for various preparedness topics.
Housing
We are living in the woods! It's fun but there are a lot of challenges. We are actually staying at camp/school for kids with emotional and behavioral problems, so we have to lock almost everything in the "sharps closet". Running water is available 75 yards away from the cabin which makes going to the bathroom and doing the dishes a longer process. We are also an hour and a half away from the Regional Office, so we have to get up at 5:30 a.m. in order to get ready for the day. Let's just say I don't know how practical doing PT is these next two weeks, which is how long we are staying here. I have no idea where we are going to be housed next. There is a six flags here, and we are thinking about going. But even more awesome is that the camp we are staying at offers west African drumming classes!!! So guess what we are doing on Saturday? West African drumming, which I am somewhat familiar with from Summer Music Institute. There are other AmeriCorps members staying at the camp with us but they actually work there and they are not NCCC.
Bag of Rice. My team randomly won a bag of rice the other day in training...little did I know that I would be using that same bag of rice to try and save my cell phone from the damages it faced while in the washing machine...yes...I accidentally put my phone in the wash...which I have done before...however, this time, my phone is not waking up...sad day. At least it was the not the government phone. I have learned a new life skill from this experience: Don't just check your pockets- make SURE your cell phone is with you before you close the lid to the washer.
Assassins. During the last days of training in Alabama, my unit started a game called Assassins, where everyone is given a clothespin that has their name on it that they must wear at all times. You are also given a target- someone to assassinate. And of course someone also had your name as their target. It started out really fun, but got too intense and we had to cancel the game after a few days. I assassinated two people-quite skillfully if I may say so myself- and I was not assassinated even though I got attacked in my room by my assassin.
Stay tuned for more info on my time here in Atlanta- I'm not sure how long I will be here. I am planning to make a slideshow of CTI and trainings and whatnot.
Oh and today is my Birthday! And as a birthday gift, I'm not asking for much, just that you register for the largest Earthquake drill in the nation! It's called Shakeout! And you can register at shakeout.org.
On October 18th at 10:18 a.m. everyone will drop, cover, and hold on for at least 60 seconds wherever you are. Thanks everyone!
