Service Learning: Kim Alexander

Hello Everyone,

I worked at the Bridge House today and interviewed some of their clients for the Outcome Analysis surveys.  I really enjoyed speaking with them and, I learned a lot about them with regards to how they finally ended up getting the help they need and deserve.  Because of the confidentiality factor involved in their treatment, I am unable to elaborate.  I am getting a lot of satisfaction from the service job I have selected.

While at the Bridge House, I met with Anne Springer who is in charge of Fundraising.  I will be working with her two days a week to send out mailers to possible donors inviting them to tour the Bridge House.  I feel very fortunate,  I will be able to learn more about how they fundraise which will help me with the non profit I am trying to start.  I hope that I will be able to network with the Bridge House in some way once I complete school.  It looks very promising.  I will keep you posted.

TED

Have you all checked out TED: Ideas Worth Spreading? It's amazing!

I saw some inspiring interactive street art in the Marigny during Mardi Gras and I found out that it was done by Candy Chang, a TED fellow.

Here are some photos I took of Chang's work:

I am now obsessed with watching TED talks and reading their blog. TED's mission is to spread ideas because they "believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives, and ultimately, the world." TEDTalks cover science, arts, politics, global issues, architecture, music, history, and more.

Please check it out and let me know what you think. There are so many that have to do with issues we are discussing in SJNO!

Here are two great talks by Sir Ken Robinson: one on how our education system kills creativity and a more recent one on the need for a learning revolution.

Deb Roy's The Birth of a Word absolutely blew my mind! It's a fascinating new look at network theory - sociologists Simmel and Granovetter would be so proud!

There are also a bunch on heath care and on urban planning for our upcoming discussions.

Every week, TED provides fascinating new videos and reading selections, so be sure to check it out!

Tsunamis and Hurricanes

Hello all,

Hope everyone had a fantastic Mardi Gras and enjoyed their break. I am having trouble getting back into "school mode" after finally being able to relax during Mardi Gras, but I figured the blog would be a good way to start.

I was going to talk to you about my Burma paper and the amazing lecture I went to on March 2nd, but I was just watching CNN and it's hard to think about anything other than the devastating quakes & tsunamis in the Pacific. The images that are coming out of Japan remind me so much of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, except much much worse. We all know first hand how difficult it was for New Orleans to recover. I can't even fathom how long it will take Japan or how they will even start.

If you are on facebook, check out Dear World, Write Our Future. It's a photography project started by Robert Fogarty, the guy behind Dear New Orleans and evacuteer.org . They are accepting "Notes to Japan," mostly from people in New Orleans, who identify with what is happening in Japan. It's heartbreaking and inspiring work.

I wish I had thought of this earlier in the semester, but Robert Fogarty would be an amazing speaker for SJNO. I think he was named one of the "40 under 40" by New Orleans Magazine. I've worked with him when I trained to be an evacuteer last fall. He is just a great example of how one person with a passion for social justice can make a difference.

Evacuteer.org works with the city of New Orleans to educate the public about evacuation plans and trains volunteers to assist people without transportation (predominantly those who are poor and elderly) if we ever have to evacuate for a hurricane. Their mission is to be able to efficiently and safely evacuate everyone from the city, so that we never again have to endure the loss of life that occurred during Katrina. Evacuteers also work to make the experience a positive one - they are the friendly faces standing in front of the armed National Guards. It's a great program that works towards social justice by ensuring everyone - no matter their race, age, gender, or class - evacuates.

We talk about natural disasters as "acts of God" and act as if they affect everyone indiscriminately, but as we saw during Katrina and as I'm sure we will see over the next few months in Japan, this is not the case. It is usually the poor and elderly who are the most at risk and a major part of social justice in New Orleans and around the world is mitigating this risk.

Anyways, I sort of rambled on there for a minute.

In my next blog, I will tell you more about my paper and about the lecture I went to on March 2nd by Dr. Jayne Docherty. It was a fascinating discussion on how we need to shift away from the "Good Guy vs. Bad Guy" narrative that dominates Western attitudes towards Burma. Loyola actually had to remove information about the lecture from its website because people were so enraged at Dr. Docherty's opinion that we need to look beyond famed democratic leader (and personal hero), Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, if we ever want to achieve peace in that country.

For now my thoughts and prayers are with Japan and everyone in the Pacific. See you all on Thursday.

Megan

Bridge House-Kim Alexander

Hello Everyone,

I just completed my first official day working at the Bridge House.  I was given a tour of the Grace House, The Warehouse and the Car Lot.  I met with the staff members that will coordinate the appointments with the residents.  I also met with three of the residents and conducted prelimary interviews for the Outcome Surveys.  In additon to this, I was trained on how to input the data once the interviews are completed.

I really enjoyed meeting with the residents.  I found them to be very grateful and very open about their experiences.  I gave them words of encouragement and a hug.  I learned a lot from talking with these ladies.  First of all, they are glad to be sober and secondly, they are figthing to get their life in order.  My prayer for them is that they will be given a second chance from society once they complete their intial program.

I think it is imperative that society wakes up, embrace and welcome back individuals that have made a bad choice but are not trying to live a productive life.