Local AmeriCorps programs provide important services
By Jennifer Colton - Argus Observer
Sunday, June 10, 2007 12:46 AM PDT
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| Sarah Hackney looks over maps of Malheur County at the county courthouse in Vale Friday. Since October, Hackney, a volunteer with AmeriCorps, has coordinated the development of city and county pre-disaster mitigation plans. |
Vale - Although she hails from Florida, Sarah Hackney, 23, knows a lot about Malheur County.
Since October, Hackney has coordinated the Malheur County Hazardous Mitigation Project from an office in the county courthouse as part of a volunteer program with AmeriCorps VISTA.
Nationwide, AmeriCorps is a network of local, state and national service programs connecting more than 70,000 people and 2,000 nonprofit, public and community agencies and organizations, according to its Web site. Three programs make up the AmeriCorps service: State and National, VISTA and NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps).
AmeriCorps VISTA — Volunteers in Service to America — focuses on programs to bring individuals and communities out of poverty. To get involved with the program, a nonprofit organization — public or private — or a local, state or federal agency applies to sponsor a program. Hackney also works with an AmeriCorps partner — Resource Assistance for Rural Environments (RARE) — on her project: putting together Malheur County’s mitigation plan, laying out what the county will do after a natural disaster.
“At the end of the day, I’m the one who puts the information together,” she said. “It’s things like retrofitting a building so if there is an earthquake, it doesn’t fall down. Out here, I’ve really had to educate myself about the different hazards here and how people deal with them. I’m from Florida, so I’ve had to learn a lot about fires and the different kinds of flooding.”
Hackney’s term is up in August, and she said she is considering volunteering for another year in a RARE/AmeriCorps program.
“It seems like a really short time now, but when I first started, 11 months seemed like an endless amount of time,” she said. “It’s just a really fantastic program. It’s challenging, but it’s fun because I get to travel for various trainings.”
To work with AmeriCorps VISTA, applicants must be U.S. citizens, 18 and older. They must submit resumes for the positions, similar to a job interview, and after completing a year service, the individual then receives either an AmeriCorps Education Award of almost $5,000 or a stipend of $1,200. During the service, members receive a living allowance, health care, childcare, training, relocation expenses and liability insurance.
VISTA projects take place all through the country, and this year, the VISTA program authorized two Ontario organizations — Four Rivers Health Care and Lifeways — with AmeriCorps programs. The Lifeways volunteer will work toward putting together a drug-free community coalition to apply for a drug-free community grant while FRHC is looking for a clinic program developer.
“They’re going to be able to do things that regular staff members don’t have the time or the money or whatever to do, but these VISTA volunteers can do that,” Kelly Poe, a former AmeriCorps volunteer, said Thursday.
“The purpose of the AmeriCorps is similar to the Peace Corps program. They come into areas of poverty and try to create systems and infrastructure. The two positions that we applied for and were granted will make a significant difference in this community.”
If the positions are not filled, the AmeriCorps funding will evaporate.
“When you’re not going into a professional tract, I think there’s a lot to be said for trying different things out, especially if you have interests and things you’re into but aren’t ready to set your whole career in one direction,” Hackney said. “I didn’t want to box myself into one field yet. There’s a lot to learn. You get to investigate what you like, and even if you end up not liking it, it’s only a year.”
For more information on the Lifeways position, contact Andrea Lockner at (541) 823-9055, or alockner@lifeways.org, and for the clinic position, contact Juli Recla and (503) 889-7852, or jrecla@cableone.net.
No Dhimmi wrote on Aug 14, 2009 9:38 PM:
And this isn't "racist," because Islam is not a race, anymore than Communism or Nazism are races, both of which killed far fewer people than Islam.
Disgusting. "