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El Programa Hispano católico - vita

VITA stands for Volunteer Income Tax Assistance. It's a program provided by the IRS which includes textbooks, reference guides, certification guidelines & materials, and enforceable ethics standards. El Programa Hispano Católico is a local Social Services program based in Gresham which targets Spanish speakers and provides a range of services. El Programa Hispano hosts a VITA chapter annually during tax season.

​ My name is Tia Sharp. This page is about my experience as a Tax Prep Volunteer in 2016, and the Effective Change Agent Capstone at Portland State University.
Picture
image from elprograma.org

Why Vita & El Programa Hispano?

​I assert that Spanish is a native language in the U.S. and should not be treated as a foreign language in the public domain.

I chose to work with the VITA chapter at El Programa Hispano because it's directly related to my desired career path. I want to be involved in outreach and services for Spanish speaking people in the U.S., who often feel marginalized and unsure about conducting business in English. El Programa Hispano hosts a range of services aimed at this very marginalized community, and I wanted to help with a piece of that.

PROGRAM & VOLUNTEER REQUIREMENTS: TRAINING & CERTIFICATION

I first interviewed with the program coordinator and demonstrated that I am fluent in Spanish.

I certified before the training started that I understood the Ethical Expectations and Code of Conduct, and that I agreed to abide by them. This training probably took about 2.5-3 hours.

I then attended Saturday training sessions on procedures and tax preparation. Four Saturdays in January with 8 hour sessions per day, meant 32 class hours, plus homework. The Advanced certification test took about 3 hours to complete and I was an official VITA tax preparer.

I signed up to prepare taxes every Thursday for about 4.5 hours from The first week of February through Tax Day, April 18th, 2016.

All together I will have spent an estimated 80+ hours working with this VITA program during the 2016 tax season.

What's the social need?

Spanish speakers in America are often considered outsiders by their English speaking neighbors, local schools, and community institutions. The experience can be even worse for immigrants, whether they are documented or undocumented. Immigrants without documents still get employed here and invest in our economy. They have a need to file taxes, and through the policy of the current Executive administration and the IRS, workers without documents can apply for an ITIN, or Individual Tax Identification Number.

​Beyond calculating their proper tax obligation, when a taxpayer files their taxes with their ITIN it also gives them a paper trail of positive citizen behavior when applying for their documentation. The VITA chapter at El Programa Hispano provides welcoming, professional, and confidential tax preparation & filing, free of charge.

My experience

Every Thursday evening from 4:30-9 I'm at the office taking clients who have finished their intake interview and have all their documents ready. It's been amazing to implement my skills with the Spanish language in providing people with quality service in a welcoming environment.

Our clients are low income, they pay their tax obligations just like any citizen of their income level, and often receive less deductions and refunds because of their non-Social Security status. They are a vulnerable population, and I'm thankful to be part of a system that meets their needs.

​Their relief is palpable when they can have their questions answered in their own language and hear that their taxes are finalized.

Further experience with Spanish in Services

Along with my volunteer service for the VITA Chapter at El Programa Hispano, I also was hired in January to work at a new men's shelter in Downtown Portland called Peace. I was hired for my experiences in providing service to Holocaust survivors, management, and my ability to speak Spanish. All of the men in Peace are vulnerable in some way, but I argue that those who speak limited English are even more vulnerable. I noticed when the shelter opened that the Spanish Speakers engaged very little with English-speaking clients or staff. They seemed timid, unsure. As I started a process of engaging them in their language, they really began to open up. I noticed that they not only spoke with me more, but also engaged with English-speaking clients and staff more. They felt heard. They had more courage to stumble with English in an attempt to build community with others around them. It's very heart-warming for me. I know that I'm in a place where I'm effectively bridging the gap, a little bit at a time, for marginalized people. 

Effective Change Agent Capstone in my work

I spent a lot of time looking through Capstones available at Portland State University. I knew I wanted to do something related to services for Spanish speakers, as Spanish is my major. The VITA Program Coordinator for El Programa Hispano sent a notice to the Spanish Department's Adviser that they were looking for volunteers for this year's VITA program. I was instantly interested

I knew that I would not be able to dedicate the necessary time to the program unless I could get credit for it, and so I began to look into the option of doing independent study for my Capstone.  It turns out that many PSU students before me found themselves in the same situation. With the demand for a Capstone that would allow the student to choose their own community partner and service project, and staff who were dedicating to meeting that need, the Effective Change Agent Capstone was born. 

Throughout this Winter Term course, the instructor, Heather Petzold, gave us an opportunity to explore the University Studies Department goals and our personal goals for or service projects. We developed the curriculum for ourselves through the exploration of our understanding of social injustice and the need for change.  We talked about what does and doesn't work in conventional problem solving, and how we came to identify with our need to challenge the status quo in favor of change.

Signing up for this Capstone gave me the courage to leave my lifeless office job for a lead position in a men's shelter where my skills in speaking, translating, and interpreting would be vital for clients who depended on me. It came at a time when this work experience and the VITA experience will be very effective for my resume before graduation in June of 2016.

The course itself reaffirmed my recognition of burn-out and my ability to implement self-care and moderation. I recognize my limits. I recognize why I'm feeling down at times, and it's not because I'm failing. I recognize that I can't help people who aren't ready to be helped. I recognize what I'm bringing to the table, and the challenges I'm facing. This Capstone is exactly where I needed to be at this time in my academic career. I truly hate to imagine not taking this course, and not having the opportunity to evaluate all of these factors of service-based change with such a wonderful group of people.
Stubborn Ounces by Bonaro Overstreet
 
(To one who doubts the worth of doing anything if you can’t do everything)
 
You say the little efforts that I make
will do no good; they will never prevail to tip
        the hovering scale
where Justice hangs in the balance.
                           I don’t think
I ever thought they would.
But I am prejudiced beyond debate
In favor of my right to choose which side
shall feel the stubborn ounces of my weight.

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