a long question of the week....

Hey folks,
   In my current volunteer program we have online questions of the week that we answer... This week we actually had 16 questions, so it took a bit longer than usual.  After spending all of that time on those questions, I thought I'd share 'em with y'all...

They are in response to the NY Times article "Close Encounter of the Human Kind"
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/18/magazine/18lives.html

1. What values do you associate with community activities?

 

I associate the values of empowerment and solidarity with community activities.

By empowerment I mean how common folks can be involved and participatory in helping themselves and about how important the concept of solidarity is in coming together in a way that acknowledges the struggle some members face. 

 

2. What are your perceptions of the community you serve?  What are the community's self-perceptions?

 

I wanted to first add a small disclaimer that I'm uncomfortable with the terminology of service.  I do see my volunteer time as an opportunity for me to utilize my skills to support the community and it is my sincerest hope that they benefit from my work.  However, I also know that it is mutually beneficial because I benefit through learning and gain enriching experiences.

To answer this question, I first have to define the community I work with.  Primarily, I work with people in Madison County.  However, the Energy and Empowerment group collaborates with other communities in Appalachia for projects in recognition that our electricity's impacts are beyond our county. 

Because my work is supporting the collaboration of community groups working on energy, the members of the community who are very active tend to be the community members I see most.  My perception of these residents is that they are committed to working for energy justice within the spheres that they feel most passionate about.  They are empowered, they are speaking to the City Council and leading workshops for the greater community.  However, the spectrum of people who I would consider myself "in service to" doesn't just include the leaders starting new non-profits to benefit low-income residents, but also those residents with a low-income.  My perception of that portion of the community is that they are hardworking people who are unable to afford energy efficiency upgrades and least able to cope with unstable energy costs.  They are people who are often living in sub-standard rental housing or trailers without insulation.  It's true too, that many of these people are in generational poverty.  Many of the residents in low-income situations in Madison County and around the state are being engaged in transforming the policies, infrastructure, assumptions, and behaviors that drive energy use in the region; and in this engagement gaining a more empowered self-perception.

 

3. What did you think of the doctor? 

 

It sounds like the doctor is dedicated to service.

 

4. What qualities does the doctor possess?

 

The doctor is thoughtful and compassionate and that he recognizes the systems of oppression.

 

5. What did you think of the 70-year old patient?  What qualities does he possess?

 

I think the doctor's description of the 70-year old patient's feet has a greater application and that he as a person has shown resilience in the face of the bigger problems mentioned (homelessness, disenfranchisement, and despair). 

 

6. How did the patient's statements about Air Force One and refugees make you feel?  Explain.

 

When the patient saw that the President was flying overhead, while he was waiting with his feet dangling in the water, to me it illustrates the disconnect between the rhetoric of the current administration and their actions.

 

7. What does the doctor mean by steeling himself, as if putting on armor?  Do you ever do this?

 

When the doctor talks about steeling himself he means putting up emotional barriers so as not to be vulnerable to the suffering of his patients.  I have done this to a certain extent in the past, particularly in my last volunteer position.  As a caregiver for adults with developmental disabilities, at times it was necessary not to feel fully the anguish that residents were experiencing.  I always felt solidarity, but to varying degrees.  It was important for the emotional health of the caregivers that we have boundaries and did not take the expressions of anguish the residents felt personally. 

In my current position I'm armored in the fact that I have more privilege than some members of the community.  As long as I have more privilege than some members of the community I serve, I will not fully feel what they experience.  I can be very personally invested in utility reform, etc, but if at the end of the day I return to a warm apartment there is a disconnect there.  Now, I'm not saying that I think our volunteer group should make less money, but I think it's important to recognize our privilege.  

 

8. How do we really know what others need?

 

In order to ensure that our service is relevant, we need to ask people what their needs are and work to engage them in working for the solutions. 

 

9. How does a person learn compassion?

 

People learn compassion through their own wounds and through listening with an open heart.  Though we may not have experienced disenfranchisement or despair to the degree that the members of communities we work with have, we can draw on our own experiences to get some idea of where folks are coming from; recognizing that there is a difference between the privilege of a college educated volunteer and a person living in involuntary poverty.  We can also listen. 

 

10. What makes us able to connect with others?  What stands in the way?

 

What stands in the way of connecting with others are perceptions of prejudice and the corresponding stereotypes to those perceptions.  We need to acknowledge that all people have unique experiences and bring something to the table because of where they have been.  When we can name and acknowledge our prejudices we are closer to being able to connect with the people we are misperceiving and recognizing our shared humanity.

 

11. Is it more helpful to be attached or detached from the people we serve?  Explain.

 

It is imperative that we balance the two.  We must be attached enough to know the communities we work with and have a personal connection to the work we do.  We must be detached enough not to be immobilized by the sometimes overwhelming nature of scope of poverty. 

 

12. How does interacting with others help us to understand ourselves?

 

Our interactions with others can be a source of feedback for us about how effectively our intentions are forming our actions.

 

13. How much of a difference are we making in our communities when poverty is so massive and systemic?

 

This is a tough question.  It's hard because it exposes the fact (which we all know) that we can make a difference in our communities without changing the systemic nature of poverty.  Also true, is that difference in one community is something, however small.  This is expressed by Sydney Smith, "It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do a little."

 

14. How much of a difference did the doctor and the elderly patient have on each other in the face of a major disaster?

 

They may not have impacted the major disaster in their interaction.  Nevertheless, interactions by individuals like them are the hands and feet of a movement towards serving individuals affected by the major disaster. 

 

15. What does the doctor mean by "The willingness to be wounded may be all we have to offer"? 

 

The doctor sees the central role solidarity has in service work.  In being willing to be wounded, we may not lessen the hurt others feel, but our listening may help them recognize their own voice.  In turn, that voice may speak the words to spark change. 

 

16. How willing are you to be wounded?

 

I was drawn to this particular project because energy justice is something I feel connected to, and am open to being wounded by.  It is my hope that my work exemplifies my connection to individuals, communities, and places impacted by energy injustices.