Chilled at Tent City

Fellow VISTAs Gabrielle, Andrea and I spent a chilly day in downtown Toledo today at the 20th annual Tent City, a weekend-long homeless advocacy event organized by 1matters.org under tents set up on the Civic Center Mall adjacent to all the government buildings.

A former homeless man cum stand-up comic, executive and passionate advocate was inspired to found 1matters two years ago after singer John Mellencamp visited Tent City before a concert and gave away 60 tickets to the unhoused.

One of the concertgoers came back, expressing surprise that Mellencamp talked to him from the stage and that he actually mattered. 1matters is dedicated to making everyone know that they matter.

(The group prefers the word unhoused to homeless because it is freer of preconceived notions and allows people to focus on the fact that these are people without homes. The unhoused are referred to as "guests" throughout the event.)

I didn't go, but Friday, the opening day, was full of food and music late into the night. On Saturday, the event got down to business.

Project Homeless Connect was a day-long event working to connect the unhoused with medical and dental service, flu shots, haircuts, IDs, birth certificates, winter clothing, assistance with public aid applications and more.

Gabrielle and I agreed the event was one of the more successful, productive and inspiring the Benefit Bank has attended recently. We arrived with an arsenal of three laptops and two mini printers and, working nonstop for almost 7 hours with barely time to scarf down a hotdog, were able to complete about 20 applications on site for food stamps, heating assistance and medicaid for disability.

Our table was under one of the big, white event tents, but the heaters didn't stretch all the way to our corner and the wind kept blowing up the tent sides, letting chilly air in and making the whole structure creak like the beams of a storm-tossed ship, so we were bundled up the whole time, shivering by the end with a combination of cold, hunger and braindeadness.

All in all, a day well-spent :)

Sorting Things Out

I was never able to help sort donated winter clothes for Tent City (a homeless advocacy event held this weekend) this month so I stopped by after work on Thursday to help load the clothes and get them ready to be transported to the event.

There were a ton of donations there, and another truckload was being dropped off as we were loading up the sorted ones. Yay for generousity!



I also sorted out Medicare Part D a little bit more this week by sitting in on a Webinar called "Part D in 2010," about changes to the program.

The Benefit Bank can't sign people up for Medicare, but it does offer applications for a few Medicare supplements, one being Medicare Part D.

Lots of talk of premiums, deductables, donut holes (by the way, where do they get off rebranding something so delicious with something so dull??), coverage gaps, benchmarks, yawwwnnnn -- I actually caught myself dozing off at my desk at one point.

Webinars, by the way, are genius, if you are not familar. You call in like a conference call, but then everyone also clicks a link sent in their emails so that everyone can also see the Power Point slides the speaker is talking about on their computer screens. There were people from across the country on the call. There's also a "chat" window that lets people type questions during the talk.

The Webinar was actually geared more toward people who work with Part D every day, so lots of it was not really relavent for me, but it was free and I did get a better understanding of the basic program structure before they moved on over my head.

Hangin' Out with Day Care Kids

Photo by Don Lamont/Corbis Images

(I'm probably violating some number of copyright laws by using the photo above, but I didn't take any photos of the adorable kids I visited with on my birthday last week -- and they sorely could have used documentation. I'll take my chances.)

On a very dreary, rainy day, I went to a Toledo day care for a site visit (one of the steps to becoming an Ohio Benefit Bank site), but the woman in charge had stepped out for a minute.

I was told to take a seat (in one of the tiny, yellow, plastic, preschooler-sized chairs) in a classroom, where I was immediately seized upon by a dozen giggly, wide-eyed four-year-old girls, hair braided and beaded, clammering over each other, asking a million and one questions: What's your name? Where do you live? Do you have a kid? Do you have a pet? What's their name? Did you make a pumpkin for Halloween?

They were getting served lunch. Just as the server was about to insist I accept a tray of ham, veggies and chocolate milk carton with a straw, the woman I was meeting with stepped in and we left to talk.

(I later found out it was the teacher's birthday that day as well. Crazy coincidence.)

Last week, I had one of the day care employees in one of my trainings, marking the first time I've personally taken an organization from an inquiry about OBB all the way through the process to becoming an official site with a trained counselor. All the rest of my new sites have been ones I inherited in the middle from the last VISTA.

Getting things done. Feels pretty good.

Blessed

Now that I'm getting more comfortable with the job, I caught myself a couple of days ago feeling like I could just coast through the day, logging my hours, doing my time and clocking out, without making any real progress, and no one would be the wiser -- at least for a while.

Immediately I knew I needed an attitude adjustment.

I have been given the gift of a fulltime volunteer job -- a chance to do all the good of a volunteer, but with the time to pursue it full time. I know this year will go faster than I'd like and I don't want to sqaunder my time, or feel like I didn't give it my all at the end of the year.

That day started off chilly, but turned into a beautiful warm, blue-skyed fall day, the kind that can't help but put a smile on your face and restore your motivation.

I feel blessed.

Bags! Bags! Bags!

I realized recently that my collection of cloth bags has more than doubled over the past two months due to various work events and conferences.

Good morning, Reentry Coalition!

This morning -- EARLY this morning -- fellow VISTA Gabrielle and I were sitting down at the ritzy Toledo Club for the Reentry Coalition of Northwest Ohio's Legislative Breakfast.

The breakfast, entitled "Building a Bridge to Effective Reentry," was attended by judges, elected officials, the chief of police, area ministers and other community leaders.

The focus was on the importance of reentry services and an update on the progress in implementing such services in Lucas County and across Ohio.

The program emphasized how reentry does not affect ex-offenders alone -- it is also tied to and touches the lives of the children, families and communities the offender returns to.

A lot of interesting stats were cited by various speakers:

-About 1 in 100 people are currently behind bars in the U.S., the highest percentage in history and a dramatic increase from previous years.

-1 in 31 adults nationwide are under some form of correctional control, which also includes those in halfway houses, on parole and on probation. In Ohio, the percentage is 1 in 25 (one-fourth of Ohioans)!

-10 million children in the U.S. have experienced having a parent in prison at one time(1.5 million currently).

-About two-thirds of released offenders are back behind bars within three years of release.

Illustrating with a personal experience how the correctional system touches the lives of everyone in a community, the executive director of the Reentry Coalition talked briefly about his personal situation. (That's him speaking at the podium in the lefthand corner in the top photo.) The oldest of seven siblings, his youngest brother is currently serving time in a correctional facility.

Another Reentry Coaltion official shared his story of spending nine years behind bars and how much reentry services helped him make the transition back. He said he realized how much of a readjustment reentry can when, just before getting out, he saw a quarter lying on a table -- and didn't recognize what it was.

To wrap up, a pastor urged the audience to consider mentoring a soon-to-be-released offender. Even just a small amount of time can make a difference in showing an ex-offender that someone cares and believes they can make it, even though it seems daunting right now, he said.

He pointed out that, for many of the successful people in the room, their lowest moments are still higher than some people's highest moments. But regardless of stature in the community, gaining trust is a process: "People don't care how much you know before they know how much you care."

Afterward, the executive director, greeting people on his way out, stopped to talk with Gabrielle and I, which was nice of him. He asked what agency we were with and when we said Ohio Benefit Bank, he shook our hands and said "Oh yeah, oh yeah! Good!" enthusiastically.

It's nice to be appreciated.

(Sidenote: The day turned out to be gorgeous and my snazzy red heels, seen above in the pretty leaves outside the food bank, always add festive brightness to my day!)

Multifaith Grows: Hunger is Hunger

Tonight I attended the innaugural Multifaith Harvest Festival at Monroe Street United Methodist Church, a program of Multifaith Grows and the Multifaith Council of Northwest Ohio.

The group would like to see a garden planted at every "faith space" in Toledo, and is willing to teach anyone who wants to get something started by pairing them with an experienced church or grower.

The evening included food, fellowship, singing, speakers and display booths with more information about various gardens and environmental programs around the city. My site, the Toledo Northwestern Ohio Foodbank, had a display.

The posterboard pictured above was one of the most interesting. It had verses or writings from a dozen different religions relating to environmentalism and stewardship of the earth.

While we ate the delicious potluck meal, a nun spoke about hunger not being denominational, racial, etc.

Hunger is hunger.

A young man got lots of applause as he spoke of working with Toledo Grows for the past year, and how working with the plants and chickens has helped mature him and keep him off the streets.

Another man spoke of how, in this high-tech world, we have gotten away from getting our hands dirty -- and the church is no exception.

He shared about his organization turning vacant lots into strawberry fields and orchards for people to come and take what they want with the hope that nothing will ever fall to the ground and rot uneaten.

The closing speaker remarked -- seriously, but to laughter -- that it really shouldn't be such a revelation to till the soil.

As an Islamic saying goes, if someone is not your brother in faith, they are your equal in creation. Everyone there was supportive of and excited about collaborative progress and possibilities.

An inspiring group of people doing cool things in the community.

Make a Difference Day

Saturday was Make a Difference Day, a national community-service event that all Americorps members participate in. Everyone was responsible with coming up with their own project or getting in on one already planned.

My site, the Toledo Northwestern Ohio Foodbank, already had plans to assist the James C. Caldwell Community Center with an application event.

The mission of the Caldwell Center is to identify, evaluate and respond to the needs and educational, social and physical growth of North Toledo residents.

The Caldwell Center papered the area with flyers and I helped distribute more the day before the event, but we weren't sure how many people that would actually translate into coming.

It turned out there weren't a huge amount of people, but there was a steady trickle. I helped a guy fill out his HEAP application.

Afterward, I tried to continue "making a difference" by helping sort winter clothing crive donations for Tent City next weekend, but the parking lot was empty and I guess they got done early and left?

I love the idea behind Make a Difference Day, but I don't feel like I worked hard enough. I wish I could have done more.

Hooray for software!

(Photo above courtesy VISTA Annen Stuckert)





The second day of tax training, we did Janis Hayes's taxes again, but this time using The Benefit Bank aoftware.

Hallelujah! Answer all the questions, fill in all the blanks, and voila! -- all six or so tax forms/schedules/etc ready to print out! In half the time and none of the headache of deciphering tax forms.

Also magical about doing your taxes on The Benefit Bank is that, if you would later return to fill out a FAFSA, it could transfer all your tax information over to that form, making the FAFSA process superfast.

As a bonus, we got out early and -- after stopping briefly downtown at the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks headquarters to pick up supplies -- took the scenic route home. Winding, fall-treed Route 315 does a soul good :) -- especially after two day of taxes aaaand a $50 parking ticket we didn't notice in our wipers until we were on the road. Ahh!

Don't mess with those Columbus meter cops. They're fast...

My Head Hurts...

I'm in Columbus for a two-day tax training so that later this year I can train counselors to use the Benefit Bank's tax software, as well as help clients file their taxes at tax clinics. (Yikes!)

The software will do all of the work, thank God -- because a) I don't think anyone is looking for MY tax expertise :) and b) just working through one fairly simple scenario by hand was enough to make me want to rip my hair out. Seriously? Tax forms are insane. How did this system even develop?

VISTAs from around the state gathered and prepared by hand taxes for Janis Hayes, a familar "fake client" around the Benefit Bank. (Janis, along with her son Tyler, daughter Carmen and grandson Simon, also "apply" for benefits during benefits trainings.)

I think the whole point of the exercise was just to make us appreciate the simplicity of the Benefit Bank software. No worries there!

I have to admit, there are fleeting moments when working out the big math problem is actually kind of satisfying. But that feeling soon passes as I'm quickly buried under an obnoxious pile of alphabet-soup schedules, forms and worksheets.

Sheesh. Stop the madness!

Another day of tax fun bright and early tomorrow...

Snickers Bars Hunger

I had some errands to run at lunch during a training on Tuesday and ran out of time to grab food. My only option was a vending machine, where the obvious choice was Snickers. Not only arguably the most filling of vending machine fare but the very wrapper announced its aptness for the task. A sponsor of Feeding America, the Snickers wrapper read BAR HUNGER.

Amen to that.

(Feeding America was formerly known as Second Harvest Foodbanks. My VISTA stipend is through the state arm of that organization, the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks.)

That training, by the way, nearly fell through the cracks, as it was supposed to start at 9:30 am, but I got a call at work at 9:45 saying there was a full class sitting in the lab but no trainer there. Ah!

Luckily the building was just around the corner from where I work and I was able to grab my training stuff, run over there and get started. Everyone was very gracious and we still finished on time, thanks to me cruelly depriving them of one scheduled break. But all's well that ends well. I think everyone left happy and learned.

Infinite Sadness/Wedding Bells

(Photo above courtesy of former co-worker James Kruger)


I haven't posted in a while. Sorry!

This past week has been a huge swing of emotions, from shocked and devestated to thrilled and excited, as the weekend before my college roommate's wedding, a former co-worker was killed in a car accident.

The funeral was in South Dakota and the day before the wedding in Illinois, so I couldn't make it back.

My heart is aching. Besides being an experienced, respected reporter, Russ' self-deprecating stories, appreciation for snacks and smokes, and easy, considerate manner made him everyone's favorite co-worker. I can't imagine the newsroom without him and I can't believe he's gone.

Rest in peace my friend.

Before I left, Russ and I talked about Americorps and my new job for quite a while in the parking lot during a break at work, in the spot pictured above. He was excited for me and thought Ohio Benefit Bank sounded like a great and much-needed program.

In fact, I was surprised how many Americorps alums were all around me without knoowing. In even just the small South Dakota city I moved from, I found out two people I knew had once been VISTA leaders!

I also discovered that a college classmate was an Ohio Benefit Bank counselor! (That, by the way, was discovered from going to research OBB in the Google search bar, but accidently typing it into the facebook searchbar instead...so yay for facebook!)

The wedding, by the way, was nice -- traditional yet personalized -- and it was good to catch up with college friends. My college roommates are pictured above.

Congrats Abby and Daniel!

Few Fairgoers -- But Tons of Freebies!

I spent Saturday tabling at the Wayman Palmer YMCA in Toledo for the Mercy St. Vincent's Hospital Community Health Fair.

It was a slow day with not many visitors, but I entertained myself by watching little kids play with their freebies (jump ropes, frisbees, face painting, hotdogs) and watching the hospital's hippo mascot (hippo mascot??) shrink or grow drastically throughout the day as a few teen boys kept switching who wore the costume.

I had my laptop, but oddly, the Ohio Benefit Bank's site locator suddenly wouldn't load for a while (even though every other page, including Quick Check would), so that's a good reason to be thankful the fair wasn't busy.

At one point, I talked about OBB for a couple of minutes to this unassuming, plain-clothed guy. After he left, the woman at the table next to mine told me he was the CEO of St. V's! So hopefully I sounded knowledgable...

Mercy St. V's were supergracious hosts -- they kept coming around asking if we needed anything and then handing out free stuff, including hotdogs, t-shirts and fleece car blankets -- which I was able to use that very night at the University of Toledo's homecoming football game, in which they lost in a tragicomical 58-26 massacre to Western Michigan. At least I was warm (and the tickets were free). Thanks Mercy!

As for the fire truck...sorry I couldn't help but snap a shot of Toledo Fire Department apparently needing to change the number of a truck -- and taking care of it with duct tape? How much safer do I feel after seeing that? ... (Kidding!)

Waiting on the World to Change?

The magnet above is on my fridge. I try to keep it in mind when I feel like I'm just a kid and can't make a difference or really affect any change and who am I to actually go out and do anything useful or interesting anyway?

I have another magnet: "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you've imagined." Simple advice, really, but strange how often playing it safe or perceived obligations curtail us.

At the risk of channeling Sarah Palin in quoting refrigerator magnets, I like to use the combination of those two sayings as a kick in the rear: See what needs to be done, what you want to do, where you want to end up, and then just go DO it. Why not? What's stopping you? Only yourself. (Of course, I'm bad at taking my own advice...)

This comes up because, the other day at work, the song "Waiting on the World to Change" came over the radio, and my deskmate, a fellow VISTA, groaned and remarked how much she hated that song. "Waiting on the world to change?," she said. "No! You need to get out there and change it!"

I'd never thought about it before, but it's true. Now the song kind of annoys me too.

Ironically, the lyrics are actually purporting that my generation is NOT apathetic -- they really DO want to do something, but feel like they can't right now, they are being held back by the powers that be. And so they are waiting for conditions to change, for the time to be right to step up.

I see that, I do. But that's also bunk. Stop procrastinating and wasting time and fearing failure and blaming others. Just get it done. Go out there and take it.

Me and all my friends
We're all misunderstood
They say we stand for nothing and
There's no way we ever could

Now we see everything that's going wrong
With the world and those who lead it
We just feel like we don't have the means
To rise above and beat it

So we keep waiting
Waiting on the world to change
We keep on waiting
Waiting on the world to change

It's hard to beat the system
When we're standing at a distance
So we keep waiting
Waiting on the world to change

It's not that we don't care,
We just know that the fight ain't fair
So we keep on waiting
Waiting on the world to change

And we're still waiting
Waiting on the world to change
We keep on waiting waiting on the world to change
One day our generation
Is gonna rule the population
So we keep on waiting
Waiting on the world to change

Mental Health Thursday

On Thursday, the first thing I had was an 11 a.m. appointment, so let myself sleep in. (I needed to cut some hours anyway, since I'm working an event Saturday). But then the day kind of went downhill.

I drove across town to go to an appointment that didn't show, only to discover I'd stupidly locked my keys in the car in the parking lot. Derrr. (Luckily I had a spare.)

At that point, with zero motivation to be in the office, I decided to just work from home -- but, on the way home, spaced off and turned down the wrong road. To my own house.

I worked from home for a wee bit, but then started feeling sick. I decided it was a sign, so I took some meds, read for a bit, slept it off and just chalked up Thursday as a mental health day. A time to rest my brain and recharge my batteries.

It's nice to have the flexibility to do that occasionally.

Reentry Wednesday

(Photo courtesy Beach House Family Shelter)

Wednesday was pleasantly busy.

FIRST STOP: At 9 am, I went over to Mercy H.E.L.P., the division of Mercy Health Partners that handles Medicaid cases, to talk to them a little about the Ohio Benefit Bank. It was very informal, just an informational presentation in a woman's office.

It was my first solo presentation and I think I was a little sporadic in my explanation/delivery, but luckily the two people there already had a pretty good idea what the Benefit Bank was about, so it was fine and now they are on their way to becoming a site, yay!

SECOND STOP: Next up was a monthly meeting called the Family Support and Reentry Resource Meeting (top photo). It's an informational meeting for ex-offenders and their families, a place to hear about area agencies that can serve their needs and connect them with help.

There were a lot more people there than I was expecting -- probably close to 100. One of these months, I'll have to give the little schpiel about Benefit Bank in front of them (eeks!), but this time my VISTA leader did it. Afterward, if people are interested in what an agency said, they'll come up and talk to you about it -- some actually interested and some because their parole officers make them.

The meeting was held in the County Commissioner's Chambers, which I'd never been in before. I got lost trying to find the place -- the first time Mapquest has failed me in a long time. I had to stop and ask for directions. When I finally made it, it was SUPER windy -- I thought I was going to blow off the parking garage.

Just before that meeting, I got some bad news. The just-released prisoner I met last week at the library who'd lost his food stamp application called to say he'd just gotten his letter from Jobs and Family Services and his appointment wasn't going to be for another month.

He has no income, no way to buy food, and should be eligible for expedited food stamps, which mean within 3-7 days instead of 30. I said that didn't seem right and I'd ask around, but when I asked, I was told JFS is so swamped that that is the soonest they are getting people in. There's apparently no such thing as expedited food stamps right now. All they can do is shrug and tell people to make do with food pantries until they can be seen. So I had to call back and tell him that. But I guess at least it gives him some time to collect his documents, etc. And find a ride.

THIRD STOP: Next was a site visit at Beach House Family Shelter. It was their last step in becoming a site and the caseworker I met with was about to be trained as a counselor, yay!

Beach House -- isn't that a great name?! I figured it was called Beach House because a connotation of luxury and relaxation is perfect for an emergency shelter where women, children and families might have a real roof over their heads and be relaxing under someone's attention and care for the first time in a long time. But it turns out Beach was actually the last name of the shelter's founder. So that's even better - a clever double meaning. I love it. (I know, I'm a dork.)

Food for Thought

(Photos courtesy of FFTToledo/flickr)

Two weeks ago, I went downtown to the main library on a Saturday morning to help a church group hand out sack lunches, hotdogs, coffee and hygeine items as part of their ministry called Food for Thought.

The lunches are delivered and mainly prepared by one church, but volunteers and food donations come from several different churches and groups.

I helped hand out fruit. Lots of people get in line over and over again and the food just gets handed out until it's gone. It's all very casual and low-key, like a backyard picnic in the grass.

While food is a major focus, Food for Thought considers forming relationships its main purpose. Volunteers are encouraged to hang out as long as they want and just talk to people. Many of the volunteers come every Saturday as do the people who come for food. So there are lots of "Hi! How ya doing?" and greeting people by name, which is cool.

The first time I went, I asked the guy in charge if he was familar with Ohio Benefit Bank and if it might be OK for me to come with some information to hand out to interested people next time. He actually was familiar with it (yay!) and said it was an excellent idea. So this past Saturday, I went again and brought some brochures.

At first, I set up shop at the end of the food table, but people were so focused on grabbing the food, they didn't even glance at the brochures. I moved over to the coffee/beverage table, but found the same thing. I had better luck at the personal hygeine table. Another thing that might work for next time is printing up some kind of flyer to just stick in each person's bag for them to read later.

It's a perfect setup since the event is right outside the library, so it would also be superconvenient to make an appointment with someone for right afterward, right there. I also talked to some people from one of the churches about OBB who seemed interested in learning more.

Speaking of library convenience, I had an appointment at the library right after with this guy who'd just gotten out of prison. He'd filled out a food stamp and medical application on OBB while there, but had somehow already lost the paperwork they handed to him on the way out. He just needed me to print it out again, so that was easy. Even better, now that he was out of prison, I was able to e-submit the applications, saving him a trip to Jobs and Family Services.

When he grinned, gold caps flashed. He said I was nice and asked me if anyone was bothering me. He said just let him know and he'd take care of it haha. So I guess I'll keep that in mind.

Hear that? Don't mess with me.

First Trainings

(This is a stock-photo stand-in, courtesy of Google images, meant to depict the training room at Toledo's Catholic Diosese. I meant to take one, but forgot. Oops.)

My main job this year as a VISTA is to train new Benefit Bank counselors. The day-long trainings consist of practice on the software and a basic rundown of the benefits, including food stamps, medical coverage, home heating, child care, FAFSA and more.

After what was supposed to be my first training got canceled last week, I had two in a row this week -- Thursday and Friday. The Northwest Ohio Regional Coordinator (RC) sat in on both and critiqued me. There were five people at Thursday's training and six at Friday's training.

FIRST TRAINING: I was less nervous than I thought I would be. I think it helped that I spent a ton of extra time beforehand making a ridiculously long outline of everything I needed to cover in the order I planned to cover it. That way I could just go down the page step by step and not stammer and think and worry about missing something. That's just the way my brain needs to operate and so it was helpful for ease of mind.

I thought the first half of the day -- introducing the software and learning to log in -- went pretty good, but I was shaky on explaining the specifics of the benefits during the second half. (Which isn't that surprising, since I still DO feel somewhat shaky in my understanding of them.)

Part of the reason my benefits half was shaky is because I tend to get tentative when I don't feel like I fully understand something. My RC wants me to just say what I know and move on. But it just doesn't feel right to state the basics authoritatively and just hope no one asks any questions outside the realm of my limited knowledge.

Speaking of my RC, I think she was getting a little annoyed with my hypothetical questions about benefits. I kept asking, "Well, what if..." and "Ok, but what if..." That's just the way I learn. Testing how the situation will change if I change this, or add that. It's how my brain starts to feel like it's really wrapping around something. And it's the only way I can start sounding more confident when I explain something to others.

I ran over time a little and my RC had to leave before I was done, so I didn't get any feedback, except to watch my time. But luckily the group was pretty cheerful, patient and understanding. Several people thanked me and said I did a really good job. I thought it was adequate, although no great shakes, but at least they were fooled :)

SECOND TRAINING: The next day, my second training, I arrived and -- uh oh -- there were no computers set up. Luckily I found someone to get that going, but most of the group had already arrived before they started hooking up the laptops.

Trainingwise, I thought the second day went smoother. I stayed on time -- and even got done early. I talked about the benefits more confidently -- tried to just say what I knew and leave it at that -- and it worked! Luckily no one really had any questions. I don't know if that's because they were already familiar with the benefits or if they were too confused to even start haha. (We'll go with option 1.)

When we broke for lunch, my RC made some good suggestions and pointed out some things I hadn't been aware I was doing to fix for next time.

For example, apparently I'd said "dealing with clients" rather than "assisting clients," which I agree is better and I hadn't even realized I said that. Also I'm not supposed to say "playing" with the training web site -- it's "practicing." Which also makes sense. Puts it in a more serious light, which it is.

Partway through that critique, I learned there were correctional-officer-specific handouts that I should have known about and which would make the second half of the day more relavent to my group. So instead of eating, I ran over the food bank -- luckily just around the corner -- and printed off copies. No food, but I think that was the right choice.

At the end of the day, my RC said I did a nice job -- or at least improved since the first day when she said she was worried about me. So I was happy with that. And just glad the loong week was over. I can still get a lot better, but I'm glad to have the first few under my belt.

And be done with observation. while it was nice to have someone there as backup and to offer tips, it's also kind of nerve-wracking knowing you're being watched and judged.

AND, my three-client requirement is now complete after my third person FINALLY showed up to our appointment on the fourth (or was it fifth?) try. Whew.

Boy, am I sick of talking.

Living Wage vs. Minimum Wage

(Photo courtesy of Getty Images)

This interesting Web site came across my email the other day.

Pennsylvania State University researchers came up with a calculator that lets you type in any U.S. city and then compare minimum wage to the actual cost of living for various household sizes.

For example, Toledo's living wage for a single adult has been calcuated as $7.76/hour. With a minimum wage of $7.25/hour, that's close enough that you might be able to squeak by.

However, add just one child and you're screwed. Living wage jumps to $15.53, but you're still only making $7.25/hour.

Moral of the story: Don't have kids.

Kidding!

Real moral of the story: Making ends meet can be tough, and in this economy, it's even tougher.

I Want My Life Back

(Photo courtesy of crows to burnaby on flikr.com)

I love listening to country music radio on long trips. It has the perfect cadence for the road. Driving to Illinois last weekend, a Buckey Covington song came on and the lyrics made me cry, right there, alone in the car. And then also laugh, because it was so pathetic that I was crying alone in my car.

I'd heard the song before, but apparently not. Now I was putting faces -- from the prison visit, from the homeless or down-and-out standing in the Saturday morning sack lunch line at the library -- with the words. And realizing -- even though I already "knew" -- how quick fixes, like handing someone $20, can sometimes be a saving grace, but many other times, doesn't even begin to address their real heartaches.

I'm such a bleeding heart. Geez.

"He was warmin' his hands with a hot coffee cup
Pourin' in whiskey as I walked up he never blinked an eye
He just asked for a light, I noticed he didn't have soles on his shoes
So I pulled out a twenty said go buy some food
But he just stared at his cup like I wasn't there
Then he looked at me said 'Son that's nice
But there's some things money can't buy',

I want my life back, I want that house that I called home,
I want that job I worked for twenty two years before I got laid off,
I want what I had when I laid down in the arms of the woman that believed in me
And the man I used to be, I want my life back