The First Post

After being urged to write about my experiences by a relative who assures me that people will be interested, and after finding my self with things to say now that I am starting over in Chicago, I find myself starting blog. Welcome.

For the next year I will be living in Chicago as part of a program, working to increase use of low cost housing programs in the city. To be fair, I don't really know what that means. So far, it has meant that I moved to Chicago and attended a three day training about the umbrella volunteer organization itself is all about. And today, after not actually having done any really work, I have the day off and plenty of time to start writing.

Monday marks the beginning of my work adventure in Chicago but earlier this week I attended orientation and started learning what will actually be expected of me. While the orientation was generally about things I already knew about, I took it as an opportunity to observe other people become aware. For example, the whole first day was spent discussing poverty in the US. I watched grown women, who themselves had lived in poverty for years become aware for the first time how the US government calculates the poverty threshold (USDA's cheapest meal plan x 3 x 365). I watched some of these women realize for the first time that the government's way of handling poverty does not accurately meet the needs of people in poverty. While this was redundant information for me, I had to remind myself I'm not the sort that needs to learn in this case and that this information would help the other participants change their communities. These sorts of discussions are especially interesting when you remember that the volunteer program itself is a government program and its curriculum challenges other government programs, hmmm.

I knew the volunteer organization believes in "community immersion", but it was only after the poverty discussion that I realized the gravity of what I am doing by voluntarily stepping into poverty for one year. It's a scary proposition to step into poverty after we spent hours talking the trap of poverty. Some of you may have heard me joke that I would title this blog, "my year on food stamps" and should note I have chosen a more generic name after hearing some of my new friends talk about the shame and stigma of food stamps. While I still will be applying for food stamps in the new future, the title didn't seem as appropriate.

tune in next time for Emily's adventures exploring Chicago and the first day of work experiences.