GET TO
THURSDAY, AUGUST 1, 2013 VOLUME XIX, ISSUE 17
THE POINT THE
NEWSLETTER
OF THE
NCCC
ATLANTIC REGION
Alumni Spotlight
Health & Wellness
Life After AmeriCorps
Kaylea Bridwell, Class XVII North Central Region
Using family experience to address mental health
Apply to be a Team Leader for Winter 2014
CONTENTS
IN THIS
ISSUE 03
Gallery Images from Round 3 projects
05
Bulletin Board Update of Independent Service Hours & Team Reminders
I’m a member of the National Civilian Community Corps, an AmeriCorps Program.
06 ↑ Laura Mahoney,
10 months getting things done for America
Southern Region Corps Member
Barbosa, Raven 5, Virginia’s Bluestone Gorge at Pipestem
N-Triple-C members are 18 to 24 and spend
Kaylea Bridwell, Class XVII
Moose 5, and Brock overlook West
Alumni Spotlight
08
Health & Wellness Shannon Herr, Buffalo 4 Health
Resort State Park
and Wellness Liaison, applies her
while working on the Reaching the
family experience to Mental
while developing their own leadership. We
Summit Initiative, a
Health First Aid
serve on teams to help communities prepare
five-day community
for and respond to disasters, build homes,
engaged nearly
and help the environment.
service event that
10
Apply to be a Team Leader
40,000 Boy Scouts.
To learn more, visit NationalService.gov or call 1.800.942.2677
Life After AmeriCorps
11
Shout Outs
12
Team Project Map
CONNECT WITH AMERICORPS NCCC ATLANTIC REGION Sam McKenzie, Community Relations Specialist (CRS) Phone: 410.642.2411 Ext. 6244 ● Email: smckenzie@cns.gov Mona Hillstrand, Assistant Community Relations Specialist (ACRS) Phone: 202.815.4259 ● Email: rhillstrand@cns.gov Ben Dillon, Community Relations Support Team Leader (CRSTL) Phone: 443.995.7940 ● Email: bedillon.guest@cns.gov
Facebook.com/NCCCAtlanticRegion @AmeriCorpsNCCC NationalService.gov
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AUGUST 1, 2013 | GET TO THE POINT
About the cover NCCC Team Leaders visited West Virginia’s New River Gorge Overlook with Wendy Spencer (center), CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service.
G ALLERY
Rounding Out Round 3 ↑
Moose 4 practices a team building activity in preparation for Activate, an educational youth camp organized by Project Crossroad in Elkton, Md.
→ Utilizing their environment at Tanglewood 4H Camp in Lincolnville, Maine, members of Raven 4 do physical training on a suspension bridge spanning one of the camp’s creeks. ↓
Raven 2 members Jeremy Flores and Skylar Larsen take a break atop a boulder near Summersville, W.Va.
GET TO THE POINT | AUGUST 1, 2013
3
G ALLERY
FEMA Corps Team Leaders to be inducted Friday, August 2 After four weeks of Team Leader Training at the Perry Point campus, the Atlantic Region would like to officially welcome Class XX FEMA Corps Team Leaders to the NCCC family! These 18 Team Leaders will be supervising Corps Members on emergency management projects across the Atlantic Region and the nation for 10 months. With the addition of FEMA Corps at all five campuses, NCCC is now one program with two options, both committed to “getting things done!”
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AUGUST 1, 2013 | GET TO THE POINT
BULLETI N B O ARD
Contributions for HAWL Logo Bryan Lundholm, Moose 2, is work
ing with Laura Tuck to design our HAW L logo. He has done a marvelous job. Wha t we need from each team or any Corps Member are quotes to “grow on” (inspiratio nal quotes or quotes about the eight spheres of health). The roots of our tree logo will be labeled with quotes contributed by our Corps.
Chandler Ballentine, Operations Support Team Leader, gives a lift to Courtney Strother, Program Office Support Team Leader, to show her how the world looks from his vantage point.
in second After several weeks Unit has ose Mo place, the Unit as the n ve Ra surpassed the nt Service de en leader in Indep urs. ho ) Project (ISP urs Complete Percentage of ISP Ho Moose: 74.55 Raven: 72.62 Buffalo: 68.23
“Trust is knowing that when a team member does push you, they're doing it because they care about the team.”
Sporting color-coordinated hard hats, Emily Tiffany, Moose Unit Support Team Leader, and Dave Beach, Deputy Region Director for Unit Leadership, tour the new Atlantic Region campus in Baltimore.
- Patrick Lencioni
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5
ALUM NI SPOTLI GHT
Kaylea Bridwell
How did you hear about the program? I had always been interested in joining the Peace Corps but heard you needed a degree in order to join. Having just graduated high school, I didn't have a degree. While talking to different people in my community I heard AmeriCorps a couple times and decided to look into it. I applied, went through the interview process and soon got an acceptance letter. Why did you join? I decided to join because I've always loved to travel. I like to see the world I live in. I like the things I can learn from new places. I also love helping people. I love putting a smile on someone's face. I like adventure and teamwork and a challenge. AmeriCorps seemed like a perfect fit for me. I could do the things I enjoy and experience a whole new type of lifestyle and receive an education award that would help my future. Not to mention the amazing new rĂŠsumĂŠ I would have.
Class XVII North Central Region Oak 1 Member
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AUGUST 1, 2013 | GET TO THE POINT
What did you learn from it? After being in the program I realized that community work pays off. Not only to the community you assist, but also to yourself and those you work with. You are able to physically see the difference you can make in someone's life and its mind blowing. It brings people together. When people work hard together amazing things can be accomplished.
ALUM NI SPOTLI GHT
“After being in the program I realized that community work pays off. Not only to the community you assist, but also to yourself and those you work with.”
Advice for future Corps Members: My advice for future Corps Members would be to keep an open mind. You run into a lot of situations that make you feel frustrated or uncomfortable or they just seem challenging. The end result is worth all the struggles. Do the things you’re asked to do. Make time for yourself. Bring out the good in yourself, your team, and the communities you work with. Your expectations of the program before entering: Before I came into the program I tried not to make any expectations. I wasn't sure if I would be physically able to do the work. I wasn't sure if I was socially able to make the friends. I didn't think I would be mentally or emotionally able to last throughout the program without questioning or doubting my decision. And though there were plenty of times throughout my adventure when I truly believed I wouldn't make it, I did. And the feeling when I graduated outweighed all the bad feelings I had. Your actual experience: I don't even know how to put my actual experience into words. It was such a roller coaster. I had to be really flexible as I had to change campuses, and then had five different team leaders, I was in multiple disasters, we had to work in extremely humid/hot conditions, etc. Overall, my experience was extremely gratifying. I spent hours driving through the fields of the Midwest to work on
houses with Habitat for Humanity, to help the preservations at Western Michigan University, to put on a kids camp in Indiana, to muck and gut homes destroyed by a flood in South Dakota and much more in between. My team was truly lucky to have such amazing sponsors who put on dinners for us, gave us tickets to events like the Brickyard 400, took us fishing and so on. Like I've said, words can't truly explain the feeling when you lie on your cot in the middle of the woods with thunder and lightning all around you. The moment when you finally realize you're not in your own house anymore, but you can still feel like you're at home wherever you are. Some of your most prevalent memories: Playing ultimate Frisbee with my team in the rain, swimming with kids from camp, getting lost while using GPS.
GET TO THE POINT | AUGUST 1, 2013
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HE ALTH & WELLNE SS
DRAWING FROM FAMILY EXPERIENCE TO HELP OTHERS By Shannon Herr, Buffalo 4
B
eing a Health & Wellness Liaison (HAWL) for Buffalo 4 has been an amazing, rewarding experience for me. I've always been the kind of person that loves helping people and I’ve never had a choice but to be that way. I have a sister at home who is three days younger than me. Due to Cerebral Palsy, a muscle disease that can affect the whole body, she has the mental capacity of a three year-old. She can't walk unless someone's holding her and only has use of her right arm. She has a wheelchair to get around the house, but when she's out of it, she crawls around “soldier style.” She's capable of putting herself in bed, getting out of bed, sitting on the couch, and feeding herself. With assistance, she can get into her wheelchair, on her chair at the table when it's time to eat, and on her shower chair. She also has a very limited vocabulary. Her favorite word is “hi” and she'll wear that word out because she loves saying it. She's someone who can never be left alone, so with my parents being working people, she
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AUGUST 1, 2013 | GET TO THE POINT
goes to an adult day program so she can get out of the house for a couple of hours and have interaction with other people outside of the family. Prior to this year, I was her primary caretaker when my parents were working or had other commitments. Until I came to AmeriCorps, I had been living that life for 20 years. After taking care of my sister, it’s natural to take care of other people, even my entire team. I take care of them before I even take care of myself, which is why I'm paying for it now health-wise.
This whole time, I needed to learn to take care of myself before taking care of others. I know as a HAWL, I have to monitor the seven dimensions of the team’s wellness: physical, social, environmental, vocational, spiritual, emotional, and intellectual. I know that, being certified in Mental Health First Aid, the role also requires me to be more alert to signs of mental illness and stress and to be ready to jump in to help when it's needed. But I cannot be effective as a HAWL until I address my own health and wellness first.
HE ALTH & WELLNE SS
There’s a history of mental illness in my biological family. My mother has schizophrenia with a severe learning disability. Due to her disability and mental illness, she was a loner as a child and very quiet. When she was 15, she wanted to grow up and be a nurse's aide or a teacher's assistant, but because of the illness, she wasn't able to achieve that goal. She's a passive, depressed woman and has gone through many relationship difficulties and suicidal attempts. She's extremely dependent, has very few living skills, lacks selfconfidence, and had a very rocky marriage with her husband. My father presented problems of paranoia, threats of bodily harm to his self and others, and was diagnosed with a disabling personality disorder. Because of his mental
illness, he also had deep-seated fears of abandonment which resulted in anger and hostility, and he acted on his anger by making threats to others and himself. Due to his illness and behavior, he spent his life in and out of jail. It
was noted, however, that his intellectual skills were a bit higher than my mother's. However it was apparent that his emotional problems had a disabling effect on him. I know my younger biological sister inherited schizophrenia and suffers with it time to time, and I inherited asthma, because my biological parents abused drugs and alcohol when I was in the womb. Although I never had to take care of any of them, I'm very aware of mental illness and know that awareness of mental health issues, especially Mental Health First Aid, is important for anyone. Overall, my purpose in being a HAWL is to look out for the others and help them in any way I can. I hope that I can use what I’ve learned from my family’s struggles with mental health to help others in need.
Chunky Vegetarian Chili INGREDIENTS
2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed
2 cups chopped onion
1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed
1/2 cup chopped yellow bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
PREPARATION (45 MINUTES)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1. Heat the oil in a deep pot over medium-
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover,
2 (16-ounce) cans stewed tomatoes
and simmer 30 minutes.
and drained
high heat. 2. Add onion, bell peppers, and garlic; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. 3. Add sugar and remaining ingredients,
GET TO THE POINT | AUGUST 1, 2013
9
LI FE AFTE R AME RI CORPS
APPLY TO BE A TEAM LEADER
All interested applicants must submit a TL application on the
1. Email indicating that they do not meet the requisite requirements to
my.americorps.gov portal before the September 1 deadline. No
move onto a TL interview.
applications will be accepted past this date. Please note that a new
2. Email indicating that they do meet the requirements and that a USTL
application must be submitted so you cannot resend your CM
will be in touch to set up an interview.
application when applying for a TL position.
If you are applying for an STL position, you need to let that staff POC or
campuses for interviews as well.
Unit Leader know. You can apply for both a Field TL and STL position.
Winter 2014 TL applications will also be screened by the Vinton and
references to be from your current TL. Even if your TL hasn’t submitted a reference online, ULs will be contacting them for feedback.
Unit Leaders will be present on an interview is if the interviewee is
Each applicant must have two online references included in their completed applications. We strongly recommend that one of these
applying for a USTL position.
The offer date for all TLs will be in either early or mid-October.
If offered a position, you will be given a set # of days (3-5) to accept the offer. We give this time because you may also receive offers from Vinton
You can still submit your TL application even if your references haven’t
& Vicksburg.
yet submitted their recommendations.
If you hit submit and get an error message, you must contact your USTL/ UL. They will then get in touch with enrollment staff at HQ who will open
If given an alternate status, you will also be contacted.
If you accept an offer at one campus and then change your mind, you
the portal to allow the application to be submitted.
Applications will be reviewed and members will receive notification of the following:
Interviews are ALL telephonic and last approximately 1 hour. Interviews are staffed by at least one Unit Leader and a Unit STL. The only time all 3
Vicksburg campuses as they are on the same hiring cycle.
Keep in mind that you may get contacted by the Vinton and Vicksburg
will be ineligible for both and ALL offers rescinded.
Team Leader training will begin at all three campuses in January 2014.
You can also apply for FEMA Corps TL, which will follow the same deadline for the Sacramento and Denver Campuses.
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AUGUST 1, 2013 | GET TO THE POINT
SHOUTS OUTS
Raven 2: second to none. Happy Birthday
$4.75 is great for a
Laura! You’re the oldest best TL around!
meal. Cool beans.
Raven 2
Raven 5 Have fun on the
Best of luck on Phoenix
FOURce round.
4 Max, We will miss
We decided that
your sassy self dearly.
as soon as our
Be safe out there!
entire team reaches their 80
Raven 3
ISP hours we are
Raven 4
going to throw an "all ‘80s"
Shout Outs?
Shouts Outs are short messages submitted by teams each week to share with the rest of the Corps. Whatever it may be, a Shout Out is one little way to keep the Corps connected throughout the service term.
party!
Shout out to Stephen Silber for being the gooey part of our STL s'more and bringing it all together.
Moose 5 STLs
Congratulations to Class XX FEMA Corps Team Leaders for finishing Team Leader Training and officially being installed this week! We look forward to meeting your Corps Members next week!
Staff Members
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Where in the Atlantic Region Are They?
Round 4, Week 2 MOOSE 3 Sanford, Maine City of Sanford Environmental Stewardship
This week, six teams will return from projects with the Citizens Conservation Corps of West Virginia and begin transitioning to Round 4 projects. An additional six teams have already deployed to Round 4 projects throughout the region. One team is assisting with disaster recovery in New Jersey, one team is doing disaster mitigation and preparedness work in Connecticut, one team is BUFFALO 3 improving education facilities in Torrington, Conn. Massachusetts, and three Torrington AHD/MRC teams are doing a Urban & Rural Development combination of environmental MOOSE 5 stewardship and Newburgh, N.Y. urban development in Habitat for Humanity Newburgh Baltimore. Urban and Rural Development
RAVEN 1 Chelsea, Mass. Phoenix Charter Academy Urban & Rural Development
MOOSE 4 MOOSE 2 Toms River, N.J. Jersey Cares Disaster Services
Rockaway, N.Y. St. Bernard Project Environmental Stewardship RAVEN 2 Hackensack, N.J. Volunteer Center of Bergen County Disaster Services RAVEN 3 Queens, N.Y. Respond & Rebuild Disaster Services
PHOENIX 4 Suffolk, Va. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Disaster Services
MOOSE 1
BUFFALO 1
Elk Township, Pa. The Nature Conservancy Environmental Stewardship
Baltimore, Md. Creative City Public Charter School Urban & Rural Development
RAVEN 5
BUFFALO 4
King of Prussia, Pa. Valley Forge Environmental Stewardship
Baltimore, Md. Baltimore City Bureau of Parks Urban & Rural Development RAVEN 4 Baltimore, Md. Baltimore County Reforestation Environmental Stewardship