Hi everyone! The first week of my internship has passed relatively smoothly (as smooth as anything ever goes for me)(other people may not consider it smooth)(what is smooth, really???)(not my parking let me tell you). The parking situation was ... interesting my first day and I am really regretting not learning to parallel park. Also the office is right next to train tracks and there are lot of one-way streets which I hadn't driven in before, so I was a little out of my comfort zone.
Anyway, once the parking/driving situation was handled my On-Site Mentor, Cassandra, gave me a tour of the office and introduced me to everyone. The office was much larger than I had initially expected and there were so many people working there; people in charge of home renovations, emergency home renovations, finance, and so many people in accounting. I realize my perception is most likely skewed and that there are way less people than there would be at a big company like Motorola or something, but it seemed like a lot in comparison to my previous (nonexistent) experiences. Everyone was so, so nice though and I felt super welcomed.
After the tour was complete, I was given orientation, which was basically more background on Habitat for Humanity as a company and how it is run. Fun Fact: Habitat for Humanity was not created by Jimmy Carter, as many people believe. He was a big supporter, however. One of the most common misconceptions about how Habitat for Humanity works is that houses are given away or donated. Really, the recipients pay for the house with sweat equity, which is basically the hours they put in to build it, as well as interest free loans. Side note: I was given a cool cup!
The next day I officially started working. For groups of high school kids there is a homelessness simulation basically where everyone has a character and they have to try to find housing (adults pose as officials at apartments, shelters, etc.) and the students try to find a place to stay on an extremely limited income. While the simulation is good for high school aged kids, the back stories of the characters can get pretty dark and there are a lot of references to drugs and alcohol and suicide, so I'm trying to tame down the backstories. It was also a PDF so I'm just redoing it in Microsoft Word so that it's in a more current format.
Before
After
Haha, Sarah, your post sounds just like you, and I would have loved to have been there for your parallel parking situation! Not that I can parallel park either (and I'll probably regret that when my time comes), but for now, it's just you. It sounds like a bustling place down in Peoria, and it's great to hear that everyone's friendly. I'm sure you'll fit right in. I think the simulations are an awesome idea, and even better that you've made it less detail-oriented. I was wondering if you could clarify what the simulation is, again? It's for giving high school students experience in finding homes for low-income adults? I really enjoyed reading your Week 1 post, and I can't wait for your next one! :)
ReplyDeleteHi Kiri! The simulation was meant for high school students to gain greater insight into the difficulties of the homeless as they try to find housing with very low or no income. Basically, its supposed to show the problems with the housing system to increase awareness, with the end goal of reform or further support for Habitat for Humanity. At the end of the simulation the leader explains how Habitat for Humanity tries to address the housing problems that the students encountered during the simulation by building and renovating houses to provide everyone with affordable housing. My job was to make this simulation appropriate for elementary school students and remake it with a more modern, aesthetic format in Microsoft Word.
DeleteHi Sarah! I'm glad you're having a great time at your site at Habitat for Humanity! And I'm also preparing myself for the worst parallel parking of my life once I get my license (LOL).
ReplyDeleteI wanted to know more about how Habitat for Humanity is run. You don't have to give me the full details, but what do they do in the building? For me, I really only understand the things we did for the club in BASIS, but what are the other things you saw being done there.
I hope this isn't a dumb question. I can't wait to see more from your project in the future. Bye!
Hello! The Peoria office is the main office location for the Central Arizona branch of Habitat for Humanity, so it houses the President and CEO for Central Arizona. It is connected to the Peoria Restore and it serves several purposes, with departments for family services, accounting, emergency home repair, administration for the construction department, and grant acquisition and compliance. Basically, the office organizes most of Habitat's events and deals with the financial and legal side of everything.
DeleteThis project sounds like a great way to interact with very kind and interesting people. I was wondering if you could possibly give a few more details on what exactly the simulation is. This first week sounds like a great start and I can't wait to see how this develops as time goes on.
ReplyDeleteThe simulation is basically an opportunity for kids to better understand how difficult it can be for homeless people to obtain housing, even though they might have jobs. In the activity each kid acts as a homeless person and they have a Character Sheet which tells them their income and background. Based on this information they have to go around to the different apartments, shelters, and housing, whose administrators are played by the adults in the simulation, and see if they can find a place to stay. Each of the apartments have prices and requirements that the adults tell the kids about, and if they do meet the requirements (ie: having a certain income, no criminal history, etc.), the adult signs off on the kids Character Sheet to show that they successfully found housing. At the end of the simulation the leader explains how Habitat for Humanity tries to address the problems the participants encountered during the simulation.
DeleteHi Sarah! I am so glad your first week went well. I was wondering what the goal of the simulation is as a whole. Also, could you please explain why the adults pose as characters instead of themselves? What did you specifically do when you were working? I can't wait to see how the weeks go on.
ReplyDeleteHi! The main goal of the simulation is to show younger kids how difficult it actually is to find housing as a homeless person, raising awareness about issues with the housing system in order to gain support for Habitat for Humanity, whose ultimate goal is affordable housing for all. The adults are posing as the apartment managers and the kids are supposed to go visit each of the adults to see if they qualify for each type of housing (ie: public housing, private apartments, shelters, section 8 assistance). So far I've just been remaking the simulation in Microsoft Word on the computer.
DeleteHi Sarah! The simulation is very interesting, and I bet it will open up a whole new perspective on people who have to live such lives. Thanks for clearing up the misconceptions about Habitat for Humanity. I am very excited to see how your project goes over the course of this school year.
ReplyDeleteVara Vungutur
Thanks! I'm excited for the rest of the project as well and I hope the simulation is successful.
DeleteHi Sarah! I am glad there were no casualties during the first day. I am excited to see how the rest of this experience ends up. I did a project regarding homelessness this year and understand that it is a large problem even in Arizona, so I am glad there is someone interested enough in helping the situations. Good luck on your project!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I was pretty surprised as well going into this project how big of an issue the lack of affordable housing is. I mean, I knew it was a problem, but it was kind of abstract to me before this. Hopefully my project will help spread awareness.
DeleteHi Sarah! I hope that you were able to get out of the parking situation without any damage! It sounds like your internship has been a very enlightening experience about the lives of the less fortunate and I can't wait to see what else you will learn in the weeks to come.
ReplyDeleteI did escape the parking situation unscathed, fortunately. I'm excited to see how the project progresses as well. Thanks!
DeleteGood luck with parking! I can sympathize with that problem; my parents didn't trust my parallel parking skills (and neither do I) so I am parking a ways away from my site and riding the light rail.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I was wondering when would the simulation be used, to educate volunteers, to recruit volunteers, etc.? Also I think it's good that you are making different versions of the simulation for different aged volunteers. I am looking forward to seeing how the simulations come out when you are done!
Hi Serena! The main purpose of the simulation is to raise awareness about homelessness and housing among younger children and high school students. It would be used when Habitat for Humanity is invited to give a presentation or conduct an activity at local church groups or schools.
DeleteHi Sarah! Congratulations of what sounds like successfully parallel parking and driving down one-way streets. Your first day at any job or internship can always be a little nerve-racking, especially in an unfamiliar environment.
ReplyDeleteCould you speak a bit more about the activity for high school students? Is this an activity that you will be running, or are you currently editing the activity to make it more age appropriate? Where would this type of programming be used?
Can't wait to see next week's post!
Thanks Ms. Conner! I don't know if I will ever run the activity; right now I'm just editing it to make it more modern and age appropriate. The simulation would most likely be used when Habitat is invited to come in to schools or churches, or when groups of kids come to Habitat for an activity.
DeleteI am glad you are working with people who are directly impacting the community they live in and help. Looking forward to the next few weeks as you discover ways of getting younger kids involved with Habitat and its mission.
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