2021-2022 Vista service year and housing outreach
The americorps program
work and out reach
Working In the Nashville Promise Zone
Volunteers and Customers from the ENP Free Store
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What is the Nashville Promise Zone
The Nashville Promise Zone (NPZ) is a geographical area with in Davidson County. This area has been recognized as having a serious need for community engagement and outreach. The 46-square miles area represents a quarter of the county’s overall violent crime, and has a poverty rate of 38%. The residents of the NPZ also face sever obstacles in obtaining affordable housing and employment. The AmeriCorps VISTA program has granted over $7 million in grant funding to local organizations, and has formed workgroups to address the challenges facing residents of the NPZ. The work groups collaborate with the local organizations to address issues in education, employment, and housing. My Responsibilities
As a vista member it is my responsibility to ensure communication and collaboration between the local organizations that operate with in the NPZ. Workgroups meet at the start of each month with the local organizations to give the participants a chance to share their experiences with community out reach and to give updates on program results or upcoming events. I sit in on every work group meeting and provide information about upcoming funding opportunities and the data that has been collected over the previous month. As the data analysis coordinator for the NPZ my monthly update focus on the rates of detainer warrants being filed by property owners. I work to highlight evection hotspots in Davidson County and provide information for local organization to direct their affordable housing outreach. A summary of the data I collect and present can been viewed under “Data collection efforts.” However, my work does not stop at the data collection level. AmeriCorps places value in direct community involvement as well, and expects Vista members to directly volunteer with a local organization. I chose to volunteer with the Edgehill Neighborhood Partnership’s Free Store. To preserve the dignity of the community members the Free Store is set up, predictably, as a store. This helps to decrease power difference between those that use the Free Store and those that Volunteer at the Free Store. The community members are referred to as customers and not clients, and the resources we provide are never referred to as charity. AmeriCorps and the Edgehill Neighborhood Partnership work hard ensure there is equity for the individuals we strive to help.
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Reflections
My goal when starting my work with AmeriCorps was to find ways to ensure that all people have the chance to live with dignity, and have their basic need met. I want people to have access to shelter, clothing, and nutritious food. Through the NPZ and the workgroups I have attempted to meet this goal. I have helped create education programs about renters rights, taken community feed back about crime and police work, and I have created a system to track housing evection hotspots. All of these programs and opportunities have helped local organization create better lives for those in the community. But this experience has lefts its impact on me as well. I have seen first had the ways that poverty and lack of opportunities can impede the life and growth of our community. I now more than ever want to continue to dedicate my work to improving lives.