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Meet Our Current and
Recent Volunteers
The Westmoreland Volunteer Corps is an outreach program of the Westmoreland
Congregational United Church of Christ. Each year the church brings five young adults
to the Washington, DC, area to live in our Volunteer House and serve in agencies that
work in advocacy for and service to those in need. the emphasis is on service and simple
living in community. The agencies where the Volunteers work furnish them with a monthly
stipend (for food, housing and modest personal expenses), health insurance and a commuting
allowance. The Volunteer may be able to defer payments for college loans,
and may be able to participate in the AmeriCorps Education Awards Program which
provides awards that may be used to repay student loans or help pay the cost of graduate school.
2009-2010 Volunteers
Left to right: Hannah Campell Gustafson, Sarah Adamson, Eva Foegeding, Kara Johnson, and Laura Shatzer
2008-2009 Volunteers
Left to right: Charlotte Emigh, Noah Bein, Jennifer Cacace, Deanna Drake, and Rachel Birkhahn-Rommelfanger
Former Volunteers
It is always rewarding to hear what our former
volunteers are doing. We heard from so many this year that it
is
impossible to include all their information for this
newsletter.
Please go to www. Westmorelanducc.org. and click on the Volunteer Corps
to find information about all the former volunteers who have written to
us. Many of them have expressed their appreciation
of the
experiences they had in the WVC and how it influenced their career
choices. As Dena Springer Novick (1999-2000) said: “I’m
still singing praises about my year volunteering through WVC.”
Here is an excerpt from a letter from Rachel
Cloud
(2006-07) who is a member of Christian Peacemaker Teams in
Colombia:
“I am here to witness the contrasts, to
learn and
breathe that the cocaine and weapons in the headlines don't cover half
the story. I am here to cry with these people, and shine with hope at
the amazing marathon for peace they run…. Thank you, Westmoreland, for
making this journey with me. Your prayers, thoughts, discussions,
questions, e-mails help me to stay sane on this bridge between
contrasts. I send love, gratitude and prayers! (Her
entire,
very moving letter was a part of Rev. Rich Smith's sermon on
Nov. 25.)
2007-2008 Volunteers
Samantha Brewer, from
Auburn, Washington, a graduate of Wellesley College,
served at N Street Village. Alanna Copenhaver,
whose home is in Wellesley, Mass., is a graduate of Haverford College, and she
worked at Samaritan Ministry in Arlington, VA. John
Forrest Douglas, from Edgemont, Arkansas, graduated from Millsaps
College in Jackson, MS. He worked at Bethesda Cares. Alexis
Herman, from Evansville, WI, a graduate of St. Olaf College in Northfield,
MN, served at DC Rape Crisis Center. Cadie
Keefe, a graduate of Fordham University, is from Schenectady,
NY. She worked at Bread for the City.
Our volunteers briefly described their work and
experiences.
My placement is at Bethesda Cares, an outreach agency
for people who are homeless in Montgomery County. I work with the
outreach social worker to meet the needs of clients who drop in seeking
assistance. Since Bethesda Cares is a drop-in center and a relatively
small organization, my duties change as different situations present
themselves. I spend much of my time meeting one on one with clients and
trying to assist them with their needs. Some of the major needs that we
encounter with our clients include: attaining identification, paying
for prescriptions, applying for state and federal benefits, searching
and applying for jobs, and securing housing. Many of these needs may
seem minute, but for some clients just getting an ID is a major
victory. I have had the opportunity to participate in many meetings and
trainings in Montgomery County that deal with the issues relating to
homelessness.
Through my placement, my eyes have been
more fully
opened to many of the socio-economic injustices in our society and to
those places where the current systems fail those who are the most
vulnerable. Next year I plan to enter seminary to pursue ordination in
the United Methodist
Church.
* * * * *
As the Community Educator for Children at
the DC Rape
Crisis Center (DCRCC), my primary responsibility is to meet with groups
of children and talk about good touches and bad touches, and how to
tell the difference between the two types. Three days a week,
I
go to the public schools in DC and present to children from
pre-kindergarten to sixth grade, using a puppet show or video to help
convey my message.
In addition to these presentations, I
also present to
adults on issues surrounding Child Sexual Assault, and I plan events
relating to child safety for the Center. I also spend a few
hours
each week answering our anonymous hotline, talking to survivors and
their friends and families. At the DCRCC, we are often surrounded by
negative events—the stories I hear from children, the calls we receive
on the hotline, and headlines in the news show us just how pervasive
sexual assault is. However, my coworkers have taught me to
see
the hope in these stories instead of the pain. The
DCRCC
is a place of recovery, trust, and kindness,
not only
for our clients, but for ourselves as well. I love my job—the
opportunity to spread empowerment and understanding in children is so
rewarding, and incredibly fun!
My fellow volunteers this year have
proved equally
supportive. The goal of living simply in an intentional
community
has been embraced and supported by everyone, and we have changed our
house into a home. With the help of the Board, we have
created a
great space to share, learn, and laugh.
* * * * *
Samaritan Ministry of Greater Washington
is an
organization that provides services to homeless people and others in
need in the Washing area. Our Next Step program helps
participants to improve their lives and to become
self-sufficient. This program provides individuals a
comprehensive framework for addressing many of the complex challenges
posed by homelessness and poverty.
As a caseworker, I am responsible for
assisting
participants to set goals and to break down these goals into
measurable, manageable steps. When I meet with participants,
I
help them work towards achieving their goals in areas of employment,
housing, mental health and sobriety. Every morning, I work at
Samaritan Ministry’s office in Arlington where I try to provide
participants with the necessary resources and support to help them make
positive changes in their lives. As many of the people I work with
struggle with mental illness and/or drug and alcohol addiction, there
is no one solution. Our program is tailored to suit the circumstance of
each individual participant.
Samaritan Ministry’s success is
not merely
calculated by the number of steps that participants complete, but by
our participants’ self-empowerment as they realize they can accomplish
self-declared goals. What particularly resonates with me about
Samaritan Ministry is how the organization stresses the importance of
recognizing the dignity of each person who enters through its
doors. Beginning with the offering of a cup of coffee, my
co-workers and I try to create an environment where our participants
feel welcome and respected. A place where they are
encouraged to proactively transform their lives and are not judged
based on their past experience.
* * * * * *
I work at Bread for the City NW as a
Social Service
Case Manager. Bread for the City provides medical care, social
services, legal aid, clothing, and food pantry services. My
basic
duties involve long-term case management with up to 25 clients and
working with walk-in clients at least three days a week.
My clients face a number of social issues
and
obstacles. I assist my clients with housing, budgeting, applying for
public benefits, employment, education, basic time management, and
mental health.
My clients' resilience and patience
inspire me on a
daily basis. Everyday at my job brings new lessons about the
strength of the human spirit.
I look forward to the future of
the
relationships that I've developed with my clients and my co-workers.
The environment at Bread for the City has been one of the most
supportive of my life. I feel as though I am at the ideal location to
grow and develop into a conscientious member of the community.
* * * * *
I work at N Street Village, in Bethany
Women's
Center. N Street provides a variety of services to homeless
and
low income women, including transitional group housing, a night
shelter, and the day center where I work.
On a typical day, I get to
Bethany at 7am,
start the coffee, fold the clean towels from the day before, and set up
for breakfast. At 7:30, I open the doors and greet the
familiar
faces of our regular ladies and introduce myself to the new
women. Volunteers arrive to help us serve breakfast, and
afterwards we have our daily staff meeting where we keep each other up
to date on the status of the ladies in our community.
Our women are required to participate in
at least
five "activities" each week, and I teach classes to help them fulfill
this requirement – my favorites are Women in History and Current
Events, and the women's commentary and insight never fails to amaze
me. At noon we serve lunch, at 3:30 a snack, and at four we
close.
In all the time between the tasks I
listed, I am
directing women to services they need, getting soaps and shampoos for
them, marking off their chores, checking out towels for showers, and
sitting with our women and just talking to them.
It is a difficult job, and I often find
myself
challenged by women with mental illness, substance abuse problems, lack
of education, and health problems. Finding the right services
for
them can be frustrating and feel futile. However, I am given
hope
and energy to continue by our success stories, and the perseverance of
my colleagues.
2006-2007 Volunteers
Julia Clark, from Salem, VA,
served at
Samaritan Ministry; Joni Podschun, from Winfield,
KS, at
SOME; Johanna Heilman, from St. Paul, MN,
at Jeremiah
House; Rachel Cloud, from Lawrence, Kansas, at D.C.
Rape Crisis
Center; and Claire Kelleher-Smith, from Taylor, AZ,
at Bread
for the City. The following are short descriptions, in their
own
words, of what the volunteers di in their agencies.
Samaritan
Ministry
Julia
Clark (College of William and Mary graduate) writes about her
experiences at Samaritan Ministry:
As a caseworker at Samaritan Ministry, I have had
the
privilege of combining my interests in social justice with my Christian
faith. Samaritan
Ministry reaches out to needy men and women in Washington , DC and
Northern Virginia , providing resources and support to help them make
positive changes in their lives.
Our organization is based on the “Next Step Program,” where caseworkers
such as myself help participants set goals for themselves and lay out
practical “next steps” to achieve those goals. I work with a
mostly homeless population, many of whom struggle with mental illness
and/or drug and alcohol addiction. Daily I assist my clients
in
taking positive strides in areas of employment, housing, mental health,
and substance abuse recovery. At my office in Arlington, VA,
my
coworkers and I try to create an environment where our clients feel
welcome and respected, a place where they are encouraged to proactively
transform their lives, but not be judged based on their pasts.
Not only do my clients benefit from our interactions, but I too have
gained valuable experience and insight as a result of my work with
Samaritan Ministry and the Westmoreland Volunteer Corps.
Julia Clark at Samaritan Ministry
So
Others Might Eat (SOME)
Joni
Podschun (Hendrix College graduate) serves at SOME. She says
of
her work there:
SOME is a most impressive organization. The
breadth and
depth of services offered amaze me. The number of lives
touched—volunteers and clients—is astounding, and the support of many
congregations and individuals is heartening.
Essentially, I have two jobs. I work as an intern with the Advocacy and
Social Justice Department (ASJ) and as a Teacher’s Assistant for SOME
Place for Kids (SPFK). The advocacy and social justice department works
to educate the community and policy makers on homelessness issues
through: social justice reflections for SOME volunteers, donors, and
other interested groups; testimony for local government; research on
local and national homelessness; and cooperation with coalitions to
influence the District of Columbia budget, improve health care for DC
residents, and develop affordable housing. I lead a social justice
reflection one day a week, usually for students from Good Council High
School. My other tasks include research for the Fair Budget
Coalition, contributing to coalitions of DC service providers and
advocates, and assisting other members of the ASJ department in their
research.
At SPFK I have had the opportunity to work with 20 elementary students
whose families are residents at Independence Place, SOME’s
permanent housing program for families. I help with homework,
plan supplemental activities to improve math and reading scores, and
supervisechildren in fun activities. It is wonderful to
engage in
direct service even as I am working to change the situation
of
families and homeless individuals at the systemic level. I
recently testified at a Committee on Human Services hearing on the need
for more emergency shelter for families, made even more meaningful
given my daily interaction with children, who are so strongly affected
by unstable living situations.
The supportive community enveloping my WVC experience is instrumental
in my success at SOME. It is wonderful to have people to talk
to
about the daily stresses and joys of work, and to know we
have
the solidarity of the congregation and WVC board—to both tackle any
concern and to help celebrate our accomplishments.
Joni Podschun at SOME Place for Kids (SPFK)
Jeremiah
House (SOME)
Johannah
Heilmann, (a graduate of Beloit College) is now serving at the Jeremiah
House. She tells us:
Born and raised in Minnesota and as an
undergraduate at
Beloit College in Wisconsin, I saw the Westmoreland Volunteer Corps as
a great opportunity to live in a different part of the
country.
What spoke to me about the program was the emphasis on intentional
community, simple living and the social service agencies available to
work for through the volunteer corps. This community—the members of
Westmoreland UCC and housemates—has meant more to me than I ever could
have imagined.
For the last three months I worked at Pregnancy Aid Center
(PAC).
However, after struggling with how to approach a miscommunication in my
role at PAC, I decided the best outcome to get what I wanted out of
this experience was to change agencies. I recently started to work as
an activities coordinator at the Jeremiah House, a
single-room-occupancy (SRO) residence through SOME (So Others Might
Eat). Jeremiah House is one of the four SROs run by SOME and
provides housing for 52 formerly homeless men and women.
Single
room occupancies are a relatively new approach in the effort to end
homelessness, as the structure provides a balance between independent
living and support. Residents must follow strict house rules,
stay clean and sober, and pay their rent on time.
The scope of my interests falls under the realm of public
health.
One of the components I look forward to in my work at Jeremiah House is
the opportunity to incorporate health education on topics that address
the chronic health needs within this community, such as managing
diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol, arthritis and
HIV/AIDS. In addition to planning activities, trips to events
and
educational sessions on housing, health, and relationships, I look
forward to interacting and developing relationships with the residents
of Jeremiah House.
Johanna Heilmann
D.C.
Rape Crisis Center
Rachel
Cloud (graduate of University of Kansas) tells us about her work:
At the DC Rape Crisis Center I am the community
educator
for children. What this means is that I go to places where kids hang
out, mostly elementary schools, and, using puppets, give presentations
on good touches and bad touches. We discuss the difference between good
touches and bad touches, and talk about kids' rights to tell, be safe,
feel comfortable, and say no when someone tries to use inappropriate
touches.
In addition I give presentations to parents, educators and caretakers
about child sexual abuse. My other primary task involves planning
events for Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April, with parents,
children and educators as the target audience.
I love my job. It is wonderful to empower others with information and
tools. I believe in what I am doing. My coworkers and I have created a
great support network. It is a great joy to work at DCRCC and
to
be in the WVC. My housemates and friends have taught
me so
much already and shared amazing insight. It is also unique and
wonderful to have connections with the church and the board. The
various life experiences and perspectives I am learning about and
hearing this year are invaluable.
Rachel Cloud at DC Rape Crisis Center
BREAD
FOR THE CITY
Claire
Kelleher-Smith (graduate of the University of Arizona) writes about her
experience with clients at Bread for the City:
I am working as a social services case manager at
Bread
for the City. Bread for the City provides food, clothing,
legal
assistance, medical care and social services to low-income D.C.
residents. I have a caseload of clients that I work with
regularly over a long period of time, and I also provide walk-in
assistance to people who come in just once, or infrequently.
My
clients deal with hunger, homelessness, substance abuse, mental illness
and various other difficult issues.
I enjoy my position as case manager because I am able to work with
people on a very intimate level, which is both challenging and
satisfying. One of the most striking things that I noticed
living
and working in D.C. is the stark contrast between the wealthy and the
poor. Every day I walk a mile to the metro through very
affluent
neighborhoods, and emerge from the metro into neighborhoods where many
people sleep on the sidewalks and the streets are lined with
trash. That aspect of my job has been very frustrating
because it
seems like the poverty that my clients
experience is so unnecessary.
One of my favorite things about the Westmoreland Volunteer Corps is
coming home every night to a supportive and energizing
community.
I love hearing the perspectives of the other volunteers, sharing
insights, stories, and most importantly, a lot of laughs.
Claire Kelleher-Smith at Bread for the City
Last updated Thursday, November 19, 2009.
1 Westmoreland Circle
Bethesda, MD 20816
301-229-7766
Email the church office: churchinfo@westmorelanducc.org
www.westmorelanducc.org
An Open and Affirming Congregation
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