Hello everyone,
I became an AmeriCorp member in 2007, the first class and at first had no idea what AmeriCorps was or what it even stood for. But as the year went on and I attended different trainings and started to get a better understanding of what it was all about I realized that an AmeriCorp member is someone that is helping others in the field of human service. It is giving a hand to someone in their time of need.
My name is Sabrina Gordon and I am a 25 year old woman. I have an AA in psychology and an AS in Human Service with a specialization in Social Service. I grew up in Gainesville/Ocala, FL. I have been working with the public in different aspects my whole life. I am currently working hard on my BA in psychology and hopefully my MA in Marriage & Family Therapy after that.
I am currently working at the Arnette House and have been there for 4 ½ years. I work in the shelter with the youth as a direct care worker. We can house up to 30 youth at a time. We serve youth 10-17 who are ungovernable, truant (court ordered by a judge), in Department of Children and Families custody, runaways, and homeless. My primary responsibilities are to provide a safe and loving environment for the youth while they are temporarily facing their life storms. While they are in the shelter; I along with my coworkers, make sure to provide them with all their needs as well as some their wants (like getting their hair and nails done.) I am only a small part of this wonderful team that I work with and as a team we work together to help the youth and their families find better ways to deal with their problems. Not only do we provide an education, but we also try to expose them to different opportunities that they might not experience in life. Over the summer we did many trips/activities with them. We went skating, to the movies, to Easy Street (fun game center.) We took them to different springs to go swimming, to Wild Waters, and to St. Augustine. We went to Ripley’s Believe it or Not and then to the beach, different tours to Signature Brands ( which make products for Betty Crocker and Golden Flake.) The biggest trip though was to Tennessee for the Trip of A Lifetime.
First we took the youth to Blue Ridge, GA stayed in nice cabins up in the mountains, We went out to dinner, We went White Water Rafting, then to Tennessee for the SEN Youth Empowerment Conference and then to Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede. We ended the trip by going back to GA for the Georgia Aquarium and an Atlanta Braves Game. They ended the summer by going to Delonga Spring when they got to cook their own breakfast and go swimming. We have tried to provide them with many opportunities to learn along the way in hope that they will remember and use these skills one day.
By working at the Arnette House, I have learned so much about the human service field and the legal aspect behind it. I enjoy working at the shelter with youth because they are so diverse not only on ethnic level but also their cultures, the environments they come from, and in their social and economic status. Working with them, I have learned so much about how the generations are so different now then they were even when I was growing up.
That hasn’t been that long ago for me, but the challenges that they face today are just amazing compared to the challenges that my generation faced. The youth are a lot stronger than us adults give them credit for. Sometime just listening to them talked about their problems and their situations can make you realize that we have a lot to be thankful for ourselves. I can’t imagine going through some of the problems that they face, so I thank God for putting me in the this field to hopefully be a light or set an example for one of them to follow. When you see a youth years later come back as an adult and say thank you; it makes all the headaches, the feelings of being unappreciated, not valued, (and sometimes worthless) go away.
It makes you feel good to know that you made a difference in a young person’s life. You just say to yourself “this is where I supposed to be right now.
I am putting my needs aside to help these young people find better ways to deal with their problems. If I can shed a little light on a dark cloud that is hanging over their heads then I have made a small accomplishment in their life. Hopefully they will remember it one day.
By being an AmeriCorp member I have met so many wonderful people in different parts of the world who have a passion about what they are doing. It has been a wonderful experience to be able to talk to others who are in the same field and understand the positives and the negatives of what I may be feeling at times. I have been to so many different incredible places like when we went to GA for TAPP Middle Management Retreat, Cocoa Beach for the Advancing Youth Development training, and now Kentucky for the SEN conference!
By being an AmeriCorp member, I feel that I have a voice that needs to be heard. It a voice that is coming from not just a youth care worker but an individual that is part of an organization that is everyday striving to finds ways to better serve youth. It is an individual that is just as important as the CEO of the company. I thank everyone for this opportunity and it is truly a blessing. Always remember that it takes a village to raise a child. There is no “I” in team and yes there may be a “me” but the “e” stands for everyone and it comes before the “m” which is me.
Sabrina
