Week 3

Hey Dielle! 

Decided to try out something a little new this time. Initially, I thought I was gonna vlog, and I got some videos, but seeing as I just don't have good video editing software (or unfortunately that much good content), I decided to try legit blogging a try. Lemme know what you think and if you want me to switch back.

I actually can't believe week three is over; it really doesn't feel like we've been here that long, but we've basically finished 1/3 of CSOS. Sounds crazy when I say it like that... So far I've loved CSOS a lot, which isn't really surprising, but it is worth note I think considering we all did come in with such high expectations. From the people, to the fun things we do together, to my placement which I actually love, and even to having my cooking made fun of (thanks for looking out for me with those cooking videos by the way),

everything has been going phenomenally!

I'll start with my placement! This week was my first full week at CEF, and it was also the week I was assigned project work. I've been getting to know the people at the office better, and after going to a pick-up soccer game earlier this week, a co-worker and I are going to play some more pick-up tomorrow! 

Besides the social life at work, meetings have still been going well. You said you wanted to learn more about them, and I'm happy to share! Meetings are essentially 1 hour long sessions in which members come to us with whatever problems or needs they might have and we do everything we can to support them reach their goals. I really love CEF's mindset of reserving the power of agency to the member, with us only being there and accessible for them to make use of. I also love CEF's mentality of us not needing to know everything, embracing "I don't know," and figuring things out with the member. 

Connect (CEF's software database) makes all the basics fairly straightforward, but we still have to figure a lot out on our owns. My meetings range in topic vastly, from helping members fix their credit scores, to helping them find housing, to even setting up their brand new phones with them. It really just comes down to what the member wants to work on. I've had some meetings that have been extremely heavy and difficult for me to grapple and deal with, like when a member told me their wife had left with their child or when another member told me she was getting evicted by the end of the month and needed to pay off her debts, but I've also had fairly straightforward meetings, like helping people budget their expenses or set up a savings account with us.

As I mentioned earlier, I also started project work this week! I've got several continuous projects as well as several deliverable ones. As far as the continuous ones, I am CEF's liaison with nonprofits Kramden Institue and Durham Furniture Project, and I am a housing specialist. With Kramden, I essentially forward laptop requests from CEF as Kramden offers refurbished and rebuilt laptops for $100 to low-income Durhamites who also pass some computer literacy tests. Durham Furniture Project (AKA "FPOD") essentially does the same thing except with furniture and for free, however, I've found that they tend to be a lot slower and have a system where we can only send them furniture requests when they ask for them. I'm sure they have their reasons, especially dealing with capacity, but it does make it annoying for us when members are moving into new homes in a short time period and we can't get the furniture from FPOD. As a housing specialist, I essentially will take on lots of housing meetings with members (i.e. meetings in which members want to work on finding new housing), and I will also learn everything CEF can teach me about Durham housing. Next week on Thursday, Ben Succop, Olivia Simpson, and I (the housing specialist team which is also all BNs!) are going on a field trip to visit several Durham neighborhoods to get more hands-on experience with housing in Durham. 

All my deliverable projects unsurprisingly also lie in the areas of housing, laptops, and furniture. In housing, I will be in charge of updating a spreadsheet on low-income tax credit housing, which I know nothing about yet and will learn about more next week. I also need to redesign the examination members take in order to prove their computer literacy to be eligible for Kramden's laptops so that it can be more representative of the modules they learn in. I currently don't have any deliverable goals for FPOD.

Beyond work, the week has also been going great! Like I said, I played soccer which was fun, and I also had a little bit of time to play some piano which was refreshing. I'm also nearly done with The Martian which has been a good read. I made some taco dip for everyone this week and while it wasn't perfect, Ella, Faith, and Sarah seemed to enjoy it so we're getting somewhere. We also went to Anderson .Paak's concert which was so much fun! I had to Lyft straight from work and I really thought I wasn't gonna make it, but I made it just in time for him to come on stage. We also went to McDonald's afterward (even after my incessant whining for Cookout) but it was still a good time.

Can't wait for Week 4!