July 17, 2002

Getting oriented to work we’ve been doing for two years is strange, but worth it for the institutional support it brings.

Today we were sent out to what were titled "community visits", a parallel to the interfaith visits we did earlier during orientation. We went to different community and church organizations to see their ministries, particularly in the inner-city. Marthame's group visited several programs of Chase House, one of the old settlement houses originally founded in the wake of Jane Addams' Hull House ideals. Chase House has programs throughout the city, and the employee who took the group around was a Gulf War veteran. He and Marthame reflected on very different "visits" to Iraq. The group saw one of their HeadStart centers, where kids - most of them being bilingual or primarily Spanish-speaking - learn by playing. We spent much of the time getting to play with the kids.

The second stop was a Respite Center, where children affected by HIV (either having it themselves or in their families) are cared for. We ran into a group of pre-schoolers headed to the park, and went along to play with them. After a lunch of Chicago-style pizza (where the parking attendant was a Syrian Christian), we went to a job training center. Clinton's welfare reform of five-year limits is kicking in right now, so people with limited education are having to find jobs that will support them. The center offers job-training for Certified Nursing Assistants, but found that much of their clientele could not pass the seventh grade reading test. At that point, they began offering basic education classes. It's a busy time for folks in the social work field.

We met up with friends for dinner at Hyde Park's famous (and surly) Medici. We are feeling wiped out - orientation has involved long days, and arranging all of the logistics for the remainder of our time in the States takes a lot of time and energy. A good night's rest is needed.