Relationships are Key

An important part of my role as an AmeriCorps VISTA is to enhance the capacity of my organization to run smoothly after I am gone.  For this reason, I am writing a manual for the next person who comes in to fill my position, since I will most likely not be here to help them transition.  


Here is an expert from the "Lessons Learned" section of my manual:


Make friends with all of the member of the council.  If they like you, they will be more likely to call you back, more likely to open your e-mails and more likely to come to the meetings.  They will be more likely to volunteer to be on subcommittees.  It just works.  Don’t be shy; don’t be rude.  Persistence is key. Put aside your own personality preferences and find something in common with everyone.  Make an appointment with them to sit down and get to know them.  Write down some questions that you’d like answered about who they are, what they do and why they do it.  The conversation will usually get off topic, but that is where some of the real relationship building starts.  


As the saying goes, "It's not what you know, but who you know."  Certainly, you need to know some stuff to get very far.  One of the things you need to know (or learn) is how to know people.  If you don't know them, find a way to know them.


The idea of a Juvenile Justice Council is to foster relationships between all relevant stakeholders working in prevention, diversion and intervention for youth.  By working together, we can achieve so much more than when we try to do all of the work ourselves.  Of course, this doesn't just hold true for our council, but for any project, vision or goal that you may have, be it personal or professional.  

Restore Me

Tonight, I have returned from my final day at Restorative Circle Facilitation Learning Event with Dominic Barter. 

Unfortunately, I still have not found a succinct way to explain Restorative Justice in my own words.  I think the reason for this is that the definition keeps changing the more I learn about it.  Is it a philosophy?  Is it a movement?  Is it a set of principles?  Is it just a set of guidelines?

I suppose I can start with the thing I know about Restorative Justice for sure.  Restorative Justice is a form of conflict resolution which does not seek to punish the "actor" or the "wrongdoer,"  but instead to repair the harm caused by the action and restore the relationship that has been damaged as a result of the action.

In Macon County, I work with the Teen Court- a diversion program for youth, which uses a peer jury model that employs restorative principals to hold youth offenders accountable for their actions and repair the harm done to the community.   The panel of high school-age youth hear cases of juveniles (usually 17 and under) who have committed a crime which is punishable by law.  Our court hears many cases which involve underage possession of alcohol and possession of cannabis and/or drug paraphernalia, as well as retail theft, battery, aggravated battery, domestic battery, mob action, etc.  The jurors listen to the youth's story in an attempt to understand the cause of the actions and to prevent further actions in the future.  The jury decides on a set of "sanctions," such as community service, an apology letter to someone harmed by the action, an essay, etc. 

I am also part of Community Restorative Boards for the Adult Redeploy Program in Macon County.  Adult Redeploy is an intense probation program for non-violent offenders who would otherwise be sent to the Department of Corrections.  This programs seeks to address destructive behaviors through the use of an evidence-based program (Moral Reconation Therapy) and case management.  Community Restorative Boards (CRBs) are another part of Redeploy which a select group of clients are chosen to participate in.  CRBs are small (usually 3-4 people) groups of community members who have been trained in Restorative Justice who support the offender in repairing the harm done to the community and to relationships in their own lives.  Similar to Teen Court, there is an action plan for the offender to complete in order to successfully complete the CRB program.

Soooo... That is how I know about Restorative Justice.  Through these programs, I am connected to Illinois Balanced and Restorative Justice (IBARJ), the state-wide project to enhance the capacity of local organizations to create, sustain and improve restorative justice programs.  Through the IBARJ listserv, I was invited to participate a free "learning experience" with Dominic Barter.

I didn't know what the heck it was, but for some reason in sparked my interest.  I didn't know what to expect, but MAN was it an "experience!"  I walked in late after missing the first day of the event due to work conflicts.  The atmosphere was SO laid back.  In fact, at times, it was so laid back that I was uncomfortable with the comfort level of others.  This community is one which is very open and many people were familiar with each other from other events together.  Every once in a while someone would spontaneously break in to a yoga pose in the back of the room.  Massages were taking place all across the room.  People were crying.  I was squirming.

But I relaxed....eventually.

After accepting this level of comfort (but not necessarily sharing it), I started to admire the level of emotional openness this group of people have.  All day, people were sharing intimate thoughts and details of their personal lives in front of small and large groups of people.  Many had a wonderful emotional intelligence that I truly admire.  Dominic, and many others who spoke and shared their thoughts, ideas and experiences, put emotions in to words in a way that I could barely comprehend.  I have rarely allowed myself to really explore my emotions in this way before. 

The most significant idea I brought back with me is the importance of mutual understanding.  In the circles we practiced this weekend, the main purpose was to truly hear the other person.  Dominic said something along the lines of "Expression is not communication."  You may express yourself, but to communicate, someone must not only listen, but understand what you are expressing.

More to come.  I am still processing what I have learned. 

No pictures.  I wanted to have something to share, but I didn't feel right taking pictures of such an intimate gathering.

DON'T Let Them Eat Cake

In my office, it is ALWAYS someone's birthday. Or someone is retiring.  Or someone got another degree, or got married, or had a baby.  There is ALWAYS a reason to party and ALWAYS a reason to eat cake and ice cream.  All of the newer people complain that they have gained weight since working here.  Macon County's obesity rate is almost 30% and this is reflected almost everywhere you go, be that to the office, the library, or the grocery store.  A very small number participated in the fitness challenge a few months ago, but no one turns down cake.  Elevators take our cake-eating butts up and down the measly four flights of stairs and the parking spots closest to the building are coveted by all.  Why can't we celebrate birthdays with watermelon and popcorn (NOT the movie theater butter kind)?  I can't lie, I always eat the cake, but at least I turned down the ice cream.

Side note: Government offices are behind the times in everything from fashion to computer software.  The PAPER!  Paper files filling entire offices and storerooms, paper print outs of every meetings' agendas and minutes, etc.  My vision of the future includes a tablet for every attorney and a smooth, updated programs for clerks and support staff to keep updated.  Yes, the system might crash, but it is not difficult to find a reliable place to back-up the system.  What if the building burns down with all the files?  It will be harder to back up all of those paper files!

UPDATE:  I decided that obesity rates would be an interesting addition to the community profile data.  I have found a wonderful site on the CDC website where you can see interactive maps of obesity by state and county for every state in the United States.  Macon County is a bright spot in the middle of Illinois. The only county in the state with an obesity rate of 29.7+.  Go Macon County! We're Number One!!!

GirlTalkin' and Dubsteppin'

I used to be nearly morally opposed to club music.  In college, I tried my best to avoid dance-y clubs full of drunken students grinding on each other.  But, I'VE LEARNED to LOVE party music.

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.  What a bunch of hippies! <3

This past 4th of July weekend, my favorite Pat Schacherer took me to 80/35 Music Festival.  Some of my favorite bands of the day were Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros and The Generationals.

This was only zoomed in LITTLE!

 The big headliner was Girl Talk.  SO FUN.  SOOOO FUN.  We started off pretty far back in the crowd because PAT made us late.  I had tons of fun just diving through the crowd every time a little path would open up.  Pat followed me as I wove through the drunken, dancing mob to get us closer and closer to the action.  By the end we were close enough for me to get some pretty sweet pics.  I could only afford the time to look through a few so far.... There are many.

Confetti!

Hot Sun + Girl Talk + Dubstep = Happy + Exhausted

AFTER the Girl Talk show, we stuck around for the DJ at one of the free stages.  My neck was sore for two days after the hour long Dubstep show.  I had no idea I was so in to dubstep.  This may start a new phase of my life if I can find someone to take me to some shows...... Just sayin.

Pat-a-tat slurpin' down some Fresh Squeezed Lemonade at 80/35.

The rest of the weekend was filled with more shenanigans and many scabble games.  I spent more money than I make in a week and more than half of my monthly allowance after rent.  Having fun isn't always great for my wallet.  I understand why I have to live like this, but as a young 20-something, I want to be able to blow my money on bar tabs and dinners out.  On ice creams and coffees and slices of pie.  I want to buy cute new clothes and homemade crafts at the farmer's market.  I did do a bit of this, but I'm having a bit of buyer's remorse for the extra lattes.  However, I'm not sorry for the $40 for the festival or the equal number of dollars spent bar hopping in downtown Des Moines.  I followed the advice of the VISTA trainers in Los Angeles this past April: Pay for experiences, not things.  Even those lattes were part of the experience.

But now it is back to my real life.  Back to analyzing data for the Macon County Juvenile Justice Council.  Back to reading books with 12-year-olds and teaching the girls how to crochet rugs.  Back to being poor and riding my bike to work to save 70 cents on parking and the more on gas.  Back to sleeping in my twin bed with my only my kitty to talk to me.  Back to Decatur for some more "Only in Decatur" moments.

Grant Me the Patience to Get Through the Grant Process

Today's task: The budget for the Second Chance Re-Entry Grant application Macon County is submitting.

I'VE LEARNED that the grant process is time-consuming, insecure and generally frustrating.  Living and working in Illinois is wonderful experience. Every program in Illinois must learn how to do with less (or none) or learn how to work the system to get more.  Grants are being cut right and left.  Successful programs are being chopped for short-sighted budget cuts.

I've been analyzing data all day long.  Macon County can't stand to lose any more funding.  Macon County needs more help, not less.  Macon County is home to a whole host of social issues from obesity to teen pregnancy, truancy to juvenile delinquency, not to mention unemployment and poverty, gangs and youth violence.  You can't fix the problems with money alone, but we at least need to keep what little money we have.