As a small group project, I think that I would like to set
up a booth at AIDS Walk Austin (Sunday October 21st). We could sell
and promote Trashy Bags as well as educate people on the organization. This would be such a great opportunity
to spread the word on Trashy Bags and raise some funds for other potential
events. Maybe if we all came up with a small event for Trashy Bags, we could
each be a leader on the small event and then work collaboratively on a large
event (something like World AIDS Day). I was heavily involved in LifeWalk 2011
(the Dallas version of AIDS Walk Austin). I also lead the entire event planning
for World AIDS Day 2011 at the University of North Texas in collaboration with
AIDS Arms, Inc. of Dallas. So, World AIDS Day is no stranger to me.
As far as an individual project goes, I have been racking my
brain trying to figure out something that I could do. I only moved to Austin at
the end of May and I haven’t had the chance to do some serious social
networking with many organizations. I did projects like this throughout my
entire undergraduate career, and I don’t want to duplicate an experience. I am
going to try and talk to Nancy Ellis of Caritas and see how my position in the
organization could open up any doors for me.
My goal this semester is to expand my social network in
Austin and get comfortable in my new environment. I feel frustrated because I
don’t have that strong network here like I did in Dallas. I am a relatively
sociable person and all the projects I have considered so far involve getting
engaged with people and initiating discussion. I love setting up booths and
doing educational activities! I hope that we have a few activities that involve
doing a lot of one-on-one talking and educating.
We should make a list of group assets in class one day… just
to discuss our personal strengths and confronting some weaknesses. I think that
would help us not only utilize those strengths but become more aware of areas that
need growth.
Beverly Tatum briefly mentioned Audre Lorde in, Complexity of Identity: “Who am I?” during
her discussion of the concept of subordinate and dominant allies. Audre Lorde
happens to be a personal hero of mine. She once said, “It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to
recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.” To begin any discussion on
who I am, I have to communicate who I know I am not. I am not a racial or
ethnic minority. I will never know what it is like to be a minority. However, I
may have brief experiences in which I am the minority (for instance, this
class!). Regardless, I am a White, educated, upper-middle class, US-born female.
I do not feel shameful or abashed for being White. When describing myself, I’m
not afraid to add “White” as a descriptor. I am a typical America mutt -
consisting of Czech, Mexican, Scottish, and British. I’m a lot of things, but I
guess if you are looking at my skin… I am White. I think that people who are
White sometimes are afraid to advertise their Race because showing ‘white
pride’ tends to have some negative connotations. Oftentimes, people from the US
feel comfortable recognizing the region that they are from (the South, East Coast,
West Coast, Midwest, etc). There is more comfort and social agreeableness to
saying something like, “I am a southern girl” than “I am a white female”. I
think that it’s important to embrace however you may define yourself, if you
don’t, you could be denying yourself a true identity. That sounds incredibly cheesy,
but true. Like Audre said, differences should not be uncomfortable, they should
be revered.
Poverty at Home
While I was applying for
Teach for America, I spent hours on the computer researching the different
cities I could be placed in. There
are 45 cities that Teach For America sends corps members to, all of which house
infamously tough communities. Why are groups like Americorps and Teach for
America in so many US cities? Because America has a problem with poverty. When
I think of poverty-stricken communities in the US, I think about president
Johnson’s war on poverty that started in Appalaica. Central Appalachia has up to three times the
national poverty rate, an epidemic of prescription drug abuse, the shortest
life span in the nation, cancer and chronic depression. A few
years ago 20/20 did a segment on the children on Appalachia and they called it
“Inside a Hidden America: Children of the Mountains”. I think that there is
something to be said with this title. The same problems the children are facing
in Appalachia and the same problems the kids are facing in your city. Poverty does not decidedly go into hiding, the privileged just don’t want to see it.
In my opinion the US is in denial about it’s own deficiencies. It reminds me of
the AIDS pandemic. Under Reagan, all of America’s energies and expertise were used
to go abroad rather than treat the epidemic in the US. I feel like the Reagan
administration failed to address the issue in the US because a disease that
killed people was too “foreign” to reside in the US. I think Americans would
like to think they live in a safe haven, far from the pains of poverty or
disease. Addressing poverty means addressing our inability to deal our own
issues on our land.
Learning the Language:
deficit-based/needs-based
We are taught in social
work to call the low SES (socio-economic status) communities. People who are
unaware of this terminology may call these communities “underprivileged”,
“poor”, “at-risk” or “dangerous”. The reading put out by the Points of Light
Foundation prefers the terminology “tough”. Negative language and terminology
just further disenfranchises people. By pointing out a community’s
deficiencies and problems, there is a wall put up that further segment these
communities. This only highlights problems and deficiencies, not capacities or
strengths. Deficit-based needs mapping for a community neglects the internal
capacities of the individuals, unofficial associations (cultural groups) and
formal associations (nonprofits, churches, businesses). When we point out all of a community’s deficiencies
and problems – people in communities become consumers of services. This
needs-based way of analyzing a community can only guarantee survival, but not
enact serious change or community development. When we use an asset-based model
of mapping out a community, we locate all the available local assets and begin
connecting them in ways that multiply their power and effectiveness and harness
local institutions that can assist in development purposes. This path leads
towards development of policies and activities based on capabilities, skills,
and assets of the people in their neighborhoods.
Tory Reed
Tory Reed is a documentary photographer featured in our Community-based arts
book. Before she became a documentary photographer, she was just a photojournalist
with the associated press. She realized that photojournalism didn’t have the
heart she did, and she left to document a reforestation project abroad. This
event led her to her new passion: community development! I think I felt tied to
Tory’s story because she was someone who found herself unfulfilled with what
she was doing and decided to embark on a change. During her journey for
internal change, she ultimately helped change an entire community in Denver,
Colorado. She was an artist turned activist by wielding her knowledge in art
for the good of a community, sparking dialogue and organizing an impact! All of
the stories have a similar underlying basis, but to read about the power and
will of one woman with a simple vision of reuniting a community deeply
resonated with me.
Here is a video on Venezuela's "Community Councils". Venezuela became Democratic only 10 years before people in rural areas began participating in community building projects. If anyone has the time to watch this entire documentary, Beyond Elections, I highly suggest it. The entire movie is on YouTube posted in segments.
Also, below I have posted a music video I find really inspiring - I call it my social work anthem. Enjoy!
My name is Christy Camp and I am a graduate student at the School of
Social Work at UT. I have a CAL (Community and Administrative Leadership) focus
here at the School of Social Work and I am pursuing a portfolio from the LBJ
School of Public Affairs in Nonprofit Management. I got an undergraduate degree
in Social Work with a double minor in Psychology and Substance Abuse &
Addiction from the University of North Texas in May 2012. Currently, I serve as
a Refugee Advocate at Caritas of Austin. I am being mentored by a case manager
from Nairobi and we work specifically with people from Nairobi, the capital of
Kenya. My passions lie in advocating for the LGBT community, people living with
HIV/AIDS, and sex workers. I decided I wanted to be a social worker because I
was essentially raised by clinical social workers as an adolescent. Social
workers changed my life and fostered in me a deep love for people. So, now I
plan to give back to the profession that gave me so much. I come from an
upper-middle class suburb of Dallas called Flower Mound.
I choose to devote my professional career to community
development/community leadership because it empowers the underrepresented, the
vulnerable, and the disenfranchised by giving a voice to those who may not
otherwise have one. I believe assisting in strengthening a community's
capacities to meet their own needs helps solve social problems. (Whether
that be globally or domestically)
I look forward to learning from my classmates, who have such a diverse and
different story from mine. I am a huge fan of photos, so here are some pictures I would like to share:
