Oh, The Things We Can Accomplish Together!

Well, what do you know? Stephanie has taken the time again to help me log into the Soci 273 Blog. I am sure that it comes as know surprise to those of you who know Stephanie that she took the time again to help me log into the blog and this brings me to the point that I would like to make about the course, volunteer opportunities and the people that we come in contact with throughout the course of our lives. It is not possible for us to live our lives without each other. We both need and rely on one another in more ways than we can possibly imagine.

I began my volunteer experience with the Family Violence Prevention Center of Orange County (FVPCOC or FVPC) during the their Fall 2005 volunteer training. The training period at that time consisted of about 35 hours with a couple of shadowing shifts to complete the training period. At that time, the volunteer opportunities at FVPC were hotline advocates, child care providers, court advocates, community educators, support group facilitators and office assistants. The training took place on evenings and weekends and I think that made it possible for those who worked and those who attended classes during the day to attend trainings. Since the center is located in the college town of Chapel Hill, it is my understanding that it is a bit challenging to attract volunteers who are not students. I was not a student at UNC at the time I began the training. Although University of North Carolina at Chapel students and interns provide invaluable time and service to the agency, it is important for the agency to recruit volunteers who are not students as the agency must remain operational during the times of year when students are on holiday breaks.

The Family Violence Prevention Center of Orange County provides "free and confidential services in English and Spanish to adults and children who may be experiencing emotional, physical, and sexual abuse in their personal relationships" (http://fvpcoc.org/whoweare.shtml.
Their mission is to prevent and end domestic violence through direct services and community education. They could not do this work without the help of volunteers and interns like us. The services provided are:

24-Hour Toll Free Hotline
Emotional Support
Crisis counseling (in office and on hotline)
Safety Planning
Emergency Shelter Placement
Support Groups (English and Spanish) with free childcare
911 cell phones and voicemail boxes
Help with Domestic Violence Protective Orders
Civil and criminal court accompaniment and advocacy
Community advocacy and resource referrals

It would not be possible for the agency to provide the free and confidential services that it provides without the help and support of the volunteers that it trains and supports throughout the volunteer experience. Much like Dr. Blau and Rafael do when teaching and supporting students in Soci 273 and Soci 290 courses, FVPC is able to carry out its mission to prevent and end family violence through direct services and community education by recruiting, teaching and training new volunteers each semester.

I began co-facilitating support groups at FVPC in December 2007. I continued to co-facilitate the weekly drop-in support group for my Soci 273 apples service. I began co-facilitating the weekly drop-in group after a number of months completing day time hotline advocate shifts. For me, the work is extremely rewarding and powerful. When I engage with a client at FVPC or when I practice effective listening in general, all that is left in the interaction is our common humanity. Being there, witnessing and being present for someone who has experienced any kind of abuse based on who they are validates them as human beings and provides a safe space for them to share their negative and hurtful experiences. It is meaningful to me to take the steps that I can take to make the world a safer place for women and children. Soci 273 and FVPC create and provide opportunities that make it possible for me to do that.

I work full-time here at UNC and I did not get to spend time at the Humans Rights Center or in the space Dr. Blau and the rest of the class created for the Latino/a children who live at Abbey Court. Although it did not happen this semester, I am so completely inspired by the creation of the space and the work that you all did there that I plan to sort out a way to spend time in Abbey Court on an on-going basis. I will continue to volunteer at FVPC as a support group co-facilitator and perhaps there will be a way to take my love of spending time in that manner to Abbey Court.

Abbey Court Learning Center

During my time in Sociology 273, I have learned a lot about cultural identity and how important it is for immigrants to not completely assimilate into American culture. I feel that it is absolutely tragic for an immigrant to enter the United States and completely forget who they are and where they came from. People should continue to practice their own traditions and adhere to the customs of their own people. While working for the Abbey Court Learning Center, I have learned a lot about the importance of diversity and how important it is for people to continue to observe their cultures. That is why I am so excited for participating in Las Posadas. Las Posadas is a nine day Spanish holiday tradition that celebrates Mary and Joseph’s trek around Bethlehem searching for a place to rest and give birth to Jesus Christ. At Abbey Court, we will be having an end of semester get together to celebrate the completion of the course, and most importantly, to see the kids one last time before the holidays. While tutoring at Abbey Court I have built a connection with the children and have looked forward to seeing them every Thursday when I volunteer. They have taught me a lot about their own cultures. After their math homework is finished, I often ask them to teach me some something about them, most often in the form of a brief Spanish lesson. My goal is to reduce the size of the table that separates our cultures from interacting at a deeper level.

What I take away from my experience in Sociology 273 is that human rights include more than just the right to freedom. It includes the right to a proper education, housing, food, and much more. I have learned that it also includes the right to cherish whatever culture it is that people have grown up in. Humans have no right to force people of other cultures to assimilate into the large society and give up their own traditions. Also, as a result of the increase in telecommunications and the World Wide Web, humans are now able to communicate and interact with a much wider scope of people. Therefore it is very important now, more than ever, to respect other peoples cultures and heritages.

Family Center of Northern Durham

For my service-learning project, I volunteered at the Family Center of Northern Durham, which is a bilingual preschool.  The mission of the organization is to “support families and to foster children’s healthy development and learning by partnering with parents to develop leadership support networks, provide services that respond to the changing needs of families and communities, and facilitate collaboration of and access to community resources.”  In sum, their goal is to “meet the needs of the families in the northern part of Durham County.” The preschool’s enrollees have come mostly from the northern part of Durham County and the southern part of Person County.   Some services offered are Friday play mornings and a wide variety of education and fun activities. The Center also partners with a Durham Literacy Center, which holds English teaching classes.

When I began volunteering at the preschool, it was in a state of decline.  Funds were running out, few children were enrolled, and staff members were not getting paid.  It was clear that they needed to make some changes. During the time I spent at the Center I helped to achieve many things.  I reorganized the library, played with the children, developed marketing tools, rewrote a vague mission statement, brainstormed recruitment ideas to attract a diverse clientele, and further defined job descriptions for the staff members.  Moreover, I was able to help reduce their financial risk by searching for grant opportunities. 

As this course was my first real introduction to human rights, the service-learning project, along with the class project, really helped to inform my understanding of the importance and applicability of the concept.  Like those two gentlemen who came in to speak about their experiences of leaving Mexico and starting a life in America, I had encounters with people who were going through very similar situations.  The language barriers were certainly an issue, signifying the importance of the Durham Literacy Center and the educational classes it offers.  I also had the chance to sit on some of the Board meetings, where new ideas and strategies were discussed.  Behind everything that was said was the underlying thought and concern about how the families would be affected.  A place truly for the families, the Center provides people who otherwise would not be involved in the community an awesome opportunity to participate.   Aside from community involvement, there were other rights that the Center helped to achieve for families, including, but not limited to, the right to respect and protection of family, right to adequate standards of living, and right to social assistance.  While I have been a part of many volunteering projects in the past, I have always focused on productivity and sustainability of an organization and never thought in terms of human rights and how those were or were not being met.  Through my service-learning project, I now have a greater understanding and appreciation for these rights that are often taken for granted.  

NCHICA

As an intern at the North Carolina Healthcare Information and Communications Alliance (NCHICA) in Raleigh, NC, I have had the opportunity to take part in a large initiative to promote the adoption of health information technology. Since NHICA is a non-profit, governmental organization, it advocates for policy and legislation changes to improve the quality and access of healthcare through technology. My work with NCHICA encompassed a variety of tasks; however, my primary goal was to present an efficient strategic planning process that could aid NCHICA in their most recent push to promote health information exchange (HIE) systems. Through extensive market research, I was able to aid in the creation of a final strategic planning proposal that NCHICA will use in the following quarter to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of its processes. The market research component of the project included over 50 interviews which were conducted with upper-level personnel in similar non-profit, governmental organization. Although my work was business related, I indirectly supported the desired human right of healthcare in the North Carolina. My work was extremely challenging yet rewarding at the same time, and it was most certainly one of the most invaluable experiences I have had in my college career.

If anybody is interested in being a part of NCHICA, you can visit the website at www.nchica.org. The staff at NCHICA is extremely accommodating and enthusiastic!

Next Semester Work to Ratify CEDAW in Chapel Hill

As the semester closes, I want to make sure that a project we discussed this past semester does not get lost or forgotten. We spoke to Donna Bickford with the Carolina Women's Center about getting Chapel Hill to ratify CEDAW. We discussed making this a second semester project, but I think it's important that we don't loose sight of the significance of the movement.

Progress in the US has been seen within the US Senate when, last July, the Senate took action on the treaty. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted the treaty favorably out of committee with bipartisan support. It will go back to the committee for approval before consideration by the full Senate, where approval will require a two-thirds vote.

Just as a background, there are several examples of how CEDAW has made a really significant and tangible impact on women’s lives in countries where it has been ratified. In Turkey, for example, CEDAW was used to rescind a government policy that forced female students to undergo exams for chastity. In Tanzania, the High Court cited CEDAW in striking down a law that prevented women from inheriting land from their fathers. In Colombia, courts have cited CEDAW in their rulings to provide legal recourse to female victims of domestic violence. The state now ensures protection for all such women. India’s ratification of CEDAW was followed by an increase in girls’ education.

Many of the issues we see in these countries don't seem applicable to the issues in the United States, but the significance of getting CEDAW ratified here in the US is essential to taking a stand against atrocities against women worldwide. A strong U.S. voice and influence are essential to help halt sexual trafficking of women, to bring women into the economic mainstream, and to ensure that all girls and women have access to education and health care. The United States has much to offer as new democracies look for guidance on how to bring women’s rights into the 21st century. The United States can work with other countries through the CEDAW Committee to make women full economic and political contributors.

The Carolina Women's Center is looking into taking this project on next semester, along with the help of several student groups, and if you're interested in joining in the efforts, please contact Dr. Donna Bickford at dbickford@unc.edu.