Understanding why I was called here

I have been working in the volunteer business for about two and a half months now, I am learning more than I think I ever could about anything and everything. New Orleans is a fascinating city to do volunteer work in because not only is there a culture that seems to have been built on and for volunteers by Hurricane Katrina, but the city welcomes you with open arms and hearts if you have the time to give to them. Volunteering is one of those things that really allows you to see the true generosity and kindness of the human spirit, not only are you seeing people who are willing to give a year of their lives to help, but also you see a different side of humanity, the truly grateful one.

Volunteering breaks down into two distinct parts at its core; the volunteer and those are being served.

Being a volunteer for a whole year is a truly daunting task, and I never whine because no one ever said this year would be an easy one. I am in a program where we take the time to examine all parts of who we are, it is unique and one I will never get to experience in the rest of my life. Down here in New Orleans, when you say you are a volunteer to anyone who is a local or who has been here since Katrina, the instant response from just about everyone is "Thank you for being here, and if you need anything just call, and God bless you!" I can't tell you how many people I have had say that to me. Whenever I told people up north that I was doing a year of volunteer work, and I would tell them it was in New Orleans, they would say "Good Luck, New Orleans is really needing to be rebuilt." When I got down here, I was always told be just about everyone, we as volunteers are not rebuilding New Orleans, that has been done, we are helping to sustain and heal. Sustain the almost near death city, by helping to provide services like mine which help people who can't always afford a new home, find the resources and be walked through the processes of buying one. Healing the wounds that were opened by Katrina, like what I do within Jericho Road, by working within Neighborhoods trying to get people to break the walls of difference and work together to create a safer place to live. I said earlier that you see through volunteering how truly generous people are; this I have found in two separate terms; people like to help those who volunteer, because they want us to be able to continue doing what we are doing. But also there is a spirit that is drawn out when you volunteer, a generous heart is called upon. You learn how to just forget about the politics of the situation, and just do what needs to be done.

The second distinct part of volunteering is those who you are serving, and those I have found to come in all shapes and sizes. I have heard stories from every type of person down here in New Orleans about how they received help from a volunteer, and how that touched their lives forever (and some of these stories come from before Katrina.) When I came down, I came with judgements about whom I would be serving, I had this assumed identity of the people who truly needed help down here. Then I got here, and realized that I would be helping middle income to low income white people,  let me just say honestly that was not who I anticipated working with. But over the past two months I have heard their stories about how they are desperate for help in revitalizing their neighborhood, how they just want to connect with those who have been living in their neighborhood all their lives. I am also finding out that the web of differences in New Orleans is a complicated one, I can't say how difficult it is to really delve in and figure out why Jim doesn't like John and Judy. But that is not what I am discussing here, I am talking about how my own perceptions of who needs to be helped in New Orleans were fundamentally changed by the work I am doing in Central City. I have also found a newly kindled spirit for the work when I did some very happenstance volunteer work the other night. I was hanging out with my boyfriend the other day, helping him and his friend set up their ritual for Halloween (they are Wiccan,) well it turns out that she works with a church non-profit every Saturday called The Desmond Project, which is an organization that on Saturday makes food for an hour and a half in the kitchen of a local United Methodist Church, and then they take the food and go feed the homeless under the I-10 over pass for two hours. What an experience it was to work with people making food, but then to go and serve it to people who some have not eaten in almost a week. So many smiling faces when started setting up, and all of the truly grateful thank you's and God Bless's when we were serving. One man started crying while he took the food away because that was the first real meal he had had in almost 4 days. When I say, seeing people who are truly grateful for what you are giving them, it was the most heart wrenching thing to do, but it was probably the most enjoyable experience I ever had.

Volunteering has truly become a major part of my life, and I don't think I will ever give it up. I don't think after this experience I will be able to, I will always be doing volunteer work in some way, probably not for another whole year, but definitely on a part-time basis. I don't usually say this, but I think that God has truly shown me what my destined work is for my life. I am a volunteer!

Also on a side note, I would love to see comments more often, just like knowing who is reading my posts. I only know how many of y'all are reading them, not who. Even a short post is cool.

Well peace on earth y'all! 

Refreshed Idealism

I realized tonight that I am not really updating this as much as I should be updating it. I apologize for that.

So Tuesday was a very eventful day for me at Jericho Road, we had our first real event as fellows in community organizing. Tuesday was "Night Out Against Crime" in New Orleans, what this is a national night where communities get together and sit outside and talk about the issues of crime and violence in their neighborhoods. For us as community organizers that meant we had to organize events in our neighborhoods, some of had block parties, and big events with some of the local churches. My neighborhood decided to just partner with two separate sites in the area; the local police station, and the Youth Leadership Council. Both sites were heavily attended by our residents, each had free food, lots of music, and many other organizations from around the area. I had to as the neighborhood coordinator be the point person making sure that both sites had materials, the spots reserved, tables and chairs to sit at, as well as making sure people were there to sit at the tables the whole time of the event.

Me sitting with a few board members, I don't look excited, but I am.

This was my first real experience in event planning, resident coordinating, and really being a leader for a large group of people, and even to a certain extent mass marketing. It was a tiring but exhilarating experience at the same time, I loved being out doing something, making posters, sitting at the tables talking to all the people about the wonderful neighborhood association that I was representing. I even got a compliment from one of the other neighborhood association coordinators that it was nice to see so much material out on the table and that she was impressed that I made half of the materials. It was the first time since arriving at Jericho Road, that I was excited about my job, not that I wasn't before, but I was starting to get burnt out a bit just talking about all these events, and having endless meetings about them. It was nice to see the final product playing out and talking to residents and hearing their enthusiasm to join the association. I was complimented by so many people at both sites, many saying it was so nice to see a young person with so much investment in a community of people.

It was also the first time I felt like I was being treated like a responsible adult and that people were respecting me for the job that I was doing. I liked meeting all of these people whom I can work with on future events in the neighborhood and it was refreshing to talk to residents about all of the plans that I had to work with them on. My idealism that I came here to New Orleans was refreshed by this experience, I came to work this morning with tons of ideas for new events that I want to propose to the Board of my association and to call up residents and get working on. Just a few little teasers of ideas I am thinking about doing would be upcoming for Halloween, I am planning "Safe Routes" for trick-or-treating, as well as a Halloween party with kids and some of the senior citizens in the area. In November I am planning a food drive to help the local Mission that is in my neighborhood. Lots of plans and ideas in my head have swirling around I am trying to catch them all and get proposals ready for my supervisor, so we can start fleshing them out with our residents. I am sure as the year moves along I will be excitedly be talking more and more about my upcoming events.

Well until I update again,

Peace!

Gay Reaction To Homophobia

I have been out of the closet now for about 6 years, I came out within my first year of college (I mean my one and only year at BGSU.) I came out into a completely accepting community of people who with open minds and hearts accepted my coming out of the closet with open arms and where always available to talk about my being gay when ever I needed to. I am out to my parents and my immediate family, while they are still learning how to accept it into the life force of the family, they have come to accept me for who I am, mostly because family in itself has the innate structure of unconditional love. It took me some time before I was fully able to just say "fuck it, you can take me or leave me, I am who I am and that is all that matters." I don't hide my sexuality to anyone, I am also one who doesn't advertise, (i.e. I don't walk into a room and say "guess who is the gay one here,") mostly because that is just obnoxious. I am not one to censor what I am thinking our what I say, even if I don't say a whole lot.

This is all leading to a point I promise. Last weekend, I had my first real bout with homophobia, and it involved my and my new boyfriend, while we were walking holding hands in the French Quarter. Here is what happened, me, Tony (my boyfriend), and his friend were walking through the French Quarter from one bar to another, talking admittedly pretty loud about some pretty lewd things (but only in the sense of making fun of the stuff, and pointing out it's stupidity), anyway, we were walking behind this couple, and all of a sudden the man turns around, looks down at Tony and I holding hands, and says "You're being too loud." First of all in the French Quarter one can not be too loud, it is basically impossible. Secondly, we all watched him look down at Tony and I, it was pretty obvious he was not making a point about our volume level. Let me just say it out loud to those not aware of what I am discussing; this was a homophobic action.

While this wasn't a blatant statement, and he admittedly didn't say anything like "I don't think you two should be holding hands," it was still obvious that he was irritated with the fact that he was being followed by a loud gay couple. I guess my point of this story is that if you are uncomfortable with two people holding hands and showing affection for each other, then you should find a more discreet way of avoiding it. I have a feeling though that if I was with a girl holding hands, the man probably wouldn't have made the comment that he did. But alas I cannot make that assumption. I just feel that if you are going to make a statement, then don't make it obvious that the volume is what you are really offended by, at least have the balls to make the homophobic comment that is really on your mind. I mean I really doubt it would have made a difference to me either way, but off handed homophobia is just another reason why PC attitudes in this country are messed up.

I am sorry for ranting about this situation, and I am aware that I am only really arguing about one side of this situation, I am just reacting to a problem that I keep seeing in this country all the time.

So that is my update on this blog and I hope y'all who are reading this are enjoying reading what I am really thinking about all of the time. Also I would love a comment once in a while just to know that I am not talking to myself.

Peace.