Ladies,
So sorry I had to miss the closing session..... I figured I could let this post be my contribution to the closing discussions. Each project we did throughout Session 3 provided a unique insight into women's issues in Denver.
At the Empowerment Program we learned how their organization works to help women transition out of dire situations. The Program's dedication to making lives a little brighter made it easy and gratifying to provide the "secret santa" gift of painting their spaces.
The Joy House experience was eye-opening. One thing I noted particularly in this project was the difficulty that one woman had getting work after being isolated by her abuser for so long. That is a truly unique disadvantage of abused women that I would never have thought about before hearing that woman's story.
Project WISE was an evening of inspiration. Brave women in less than great situations that WORK to be part a community.
All told, I had a great experience. Thanks to the Team Leaders and all the team members for making it fun!
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Re: Vanessa's questions
RE: For the other TeamWorks: Women's Services team members...what were your thoughts about the project before we started? Did these change after completing the project? How do you think the women reacted when they noticed the freshly painted spaces?
Before we started I thought it was such an interesting project in both it's simplicity and it's potential for long-term impact. I was looking forward to meeting some of the women, but I understand why it's difficult for them to be involved. It was lovely of Lyndsey to stay late and come in early to help with the surprise for the women and the staff. Meghan was talking about turning this into another art project with the women, and I think that demonstrates the power that a rather simple project can have.
Before we started I thought it was such an interesting project in both it's simplicity and it's potential for long-term impact. I was looking forward to meeting some of the women, but I understand why it's difficult for them to be involved. It was lovely of Lyndsey to stay late and come in early to help with the surprise for the women and the staff. Meghan was talking about turning this into another art project with the women, and I think that demonstrates the power that a rather simple project can have.
Reflections
As we're approaching our last session, I figured it would be a good thing to post a note to the blog (sorry for not writing more - it's certainly not because I haven't been thinking about these experiences). Notably for me, I've been running over the last meeting with project wise in my mind, and how much I loved meeting in that circle. I've already taken so much away from that circle. It's one thing to recognize that as a society and as individuals we spend too much time focusing on the negative, but it takes an entirely different level of awareness to say, i'm going to take 30 seconds or five minutes to recognize the truly 'new and good' things about today/this week/my life/society. It takes so little time to do, and I knew that, but I still wouldn't consciously focus on the positive.
Since that circle, whenever something begins to bother me, I'll give myself a little time to process and to feel what's bugging me, but after a little while, I tell myself to stop, think about something new and good. There's always a point when fretting and worrying will not lead to anything productive or emotionally satisfying, and that session helped me to remind me that there are ways to pull yourself out of negative emotions.
I also liked the thought about making friends consciously. I admire the friends who go out of their way to stay in touch, even when no one knows when I'll see them again, but that admiration didn't translate into action on my part. Yet, it's important to my own well-being to know that I'm keeping track of the people who are meaningful to me. Like it or not, I'm not in kindergarten anymore and making friends will sometimes involve more conscious effort. It's worth it though.
Alexandra
Since that circle, whenever something begins to bother me, I'll give myself a little time to process and to feel what's bugging me, but after a little while, I tell myself to stop, think about something new and good. There's always a point when fretting and worrying will not lead to anything productive or emotionally satisfying, and that session helped me to remind me that there are ways to pull yourself out of negative emotions.
I also liked the thought about making friends consciously. I admire the friends who go out of their way to stay in touch, even when no one knows when I'll see them again, but that admiration didn't translate into action on my part. Yet, it's important to my own well-being to know that I'm keeping track of the people who are meaningful to me. Like it or not, I'm not in kindergarten anymore and making friends will sometimes involve more conscious effort. It's worth it though.
Alexandra
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Repainting for Empowerment
Last week, TeamWorks Session 3 had the opportunity to visit The Empowerment Program, a nonprofit providing case management, support services, basic skills education, housing and resource coordination for women coming out of crisis situations. Whereas most of our other volunteer opportunities will be working directly with women, we had used our service hours that week to repaint several rooms and hallways at Empowerment. I had to wonder, before the project began, how much impact we would feel like we were making that night because we were serving the women who use The Empowerment Program "indirectly."
At the conclusion of just a couple hours of painting, we had managed to transform a hallway, spruce up a bathroom, and prepare an office for a staff member. The vast difference that just a couple coats of paint made to those facilities was impressive. Lindsey, the volunteer coordinator at The Empowerment Program, not only expressed her gratitude frequently, but also let us know how quickly the changes would be noticed by the staff and the women. Through her enthusiasm for our work, I realized that our time spent painting wouldn't affect the women "indirectly." Knowing that a group had been invested in their recoveries and their lives enough to donate their time to improve the facilities they use and to help the staff that they work with daily, will impact those women. The building they spend their days in is brighter, the staff has time to focus on programs and treatments instead of stained or incomplete walls. For these reasons, I felt our service at The Empowerment Program was more direct than I had ever anticipated.
For the other TeamWorks: Women's Services team members...what were your thoughts about the project before we started? Did these change after completing the project? How do you think the women reacted when they noticed the freshly painted spaces?
Vanessa
At the conclusion of just a couple hours of painting, we had managed to transform a hallway, spruce up a bathroom, and prepare an office for a staff member. The vast difference that just a couple coats of paint made to those facilities was impressive. Lindsey, the volunteer coordinator at The Empowerment Program, not only expressed her gratitude frequently, but also let us know how quickly the changes would be noticed by the staff and the women. Through her enthusiasm for our work, I realized that our time spent painting wouldn't affect the women "indirectly." Knowing that a group had been invested in their recoveries and their lives enough to donate their time to improve the facilities they use and to help the staff that they work with daily, will impact those women. The building they spend their days in is brighter, the staff has time to focus on programs and treatments instead of stained or incomplete walls. For these reasons, I felt our service at The Empowerment Program was more direct than I had ever anticipated.
For the other TeamWorks: Women's Services team members...what were your thoughts about the project before we started? Did these change after completing the project? How do you think the women reacted when they noticed the freshly painted spaces?
Vanessa
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