Americorps*VISTAs: Our Secret Weapon in the War on Poverty
In honor of Americorps week, the Shriver Center would like to recognize the role that Americorps*VISTA members play in helping us to be creative and effective, and to highlight the significant contributions VISTAs make in the Shriver Center’s work to advance social and economic justice.
As a cost-sharing partner to the federally-funded Americorps*VISTA program, the Shriver Center currently has seven ”volunteers in service to America,” each of whom dedicate themselves for one year to building the Shriver Center’s capacity to develop real-world solutions to poverty. Because the needs of low-income people are constantly evolving, the Shriver Center's understanding of the policy environment must be current, and its advocacy efforts must constantly evolve. Through research and outreach, VISTAs help the Shriver Center generate a dynamic information loop in which current information from direct service providers and the low-income people they support is analyzed and applied to help decision makers formulate meaningful approaches to addressing poverty. VISTAs also help the Shriver Center build coalitions with key stakeholders, provide valuable train-the-trainer sessions, and generate reports, websites, and other tools that advocates can use to implement solutions. In addition, VISTAs help raise funds for the Shriver Center, recruit volunteers, and help the Shriver Center improve its advocacy and communication programs.
The VISTAs are currently working on seven projects designed to help the Shriver Center make progress on improving school performance and high school graduation rates, increasing employment and other economic opportunities, increasing financial stability for families, improving access to safe and affordable housing, ensuring healthy futures, and enhancing the capacity of advocates to delivery legal services to low-income people. Each VISTA brings his or her own skills and passion to furthering the Shriver Center’s mission. Here is a snapshot of our current Americorps*VISTA members and the many ways in which they are contributing to the Shriver Center’s success.
Ensuring safety, academic success, and school completion for children and youth who are parents, expectant parents, or survivors of domestic or sexual violence
Hannah Green, the VISTA for the Women’s Law and Policy Project, works on a variety of issues that affect women and children. One of Hannah’s main projects is the Ensuring Success in School Initiative. Under this project, she coordinates a coalition of educators, social service providers, students, and advocates who are working to address barriers to school success and completion faced by students who are parents, expectant parents, or survivors of domestic or sexual violence. Hannah is also helping to develop curricula for school personnel on how to recognize and respond to these students.
Promoting housing justice
The recent housing crisis has shown Americans the importance of preserving affordable and safe housing and protecting low-income homeowners and renters from foreclosure. As the VISTA for Housing Justice, Eli Wade-Scott’s projects are focused on safeguarding quality, affordable housing for low-income families. Eli serves as a principal researcher of local, state, and national housing policies and their potential impact on the housing needs of low-income households. In support of the Safe Homes Initiative, Eli also develops user-friendly materials for advocates and survivors of violence so that they can use state and federal laws to protect their housing and safety.
Bringing attention and financial support to the issue of poverty in America
Our External Affairs VISTA, Alexandra Seabrook, advances the Shriver Center's capacity by building a Shriver Center social and mainstream media program that serves policymakers, media, and other advocates with information on issues affecting low-income people. Alexandra also helps conceptualize, plan, and coordinate fundraising and community outreach events. From a grassroots Facebook campaign to a large-scale raffle, Alexandra has helped raised over $20,000 in the few months she has worked at the Shriver Center.
Training direct service providers and advocates
Since the 1960s, the Shriver Center has provided advocates around the country with the information and training they need to ensure social and economic justice for their low-income clients. Kathleen McNally, our VISTA for Communication Programs, develops content and provides editorial assistance for the Shriver Center’s bimonthly journal, Clearinghouse Review: Journal on Poverty Law and Policy. Kathleen also assists with marketing and outreach efforts designed to increase advocates’ access to the important resources available from the Shriver Center.
Addressing barriers to financial stability
One in five American households is asset poor, meaning they lack the resources to sustain themselves at the Federal Poverty Level for three months if all sources of outside income ceased. The current recession has revealed how many Americans will fall into asset poverty in the absence of strong policies to increase financial stability and asset building opportunities. Kelly Ward, the VISTA for the Asset Opportunity Unit, works to advance emerging strategies focused on asset building. Kelly is also involved with coordinating and writing recommendations for the Financial Education Workgroup to increase financial literacy among Illinois students.
Ensuring health care equity
Rachel Gielau, the Healthy Futures VISTA, works with the health care advocates at the Shriver Center to promote quality, affordable, and accessible health care for all. Rachel’s projects take her into the community as she educates consumers about health care reform and gathers personal stories from people who have had difficulty accessing care. Rachel also contributes to Shriver publications describing the effects of the Affordable Care Act on low-income families.
Investing in our workforce
As the Employment and Training VISTA, Jessica Palek works to ensure access to employment and career advancement opportunities for people living in poverty. Jessica partners with the Chicago Jobs Council to develop the Illinois Works for the Future Campaign, which seeks to align state strategies in workforce development and economic development and to ensure that these policies and programs are responsive to the needs of disadvantaged populations. Jessica researches and drafts communication on innovative job training and education strategies for people with barriers to employment. She also contributes to the development of an unemployment insurance manual resource tool aimed at assisting individuals apply for these benefits.
The collective work of the Americorps*VISTA members strengthens and supplements the work of the Shriver Center’s staff. In addition to moving the Shriver Center advocacy agenda forward, the VISTAs help to build partnerships and internal capacities that are strengthening the Shriver Center's financial and staff resources and helping us make progress towards our organizational goals for long-term sustainability. The Shriver Center is grateful for the excellent work of all of the VISTAs who work in service to America to advance social and economic justice.
