Imaad: Portrait of a VISTA
Why I Joined AmeriCorps
Back when I was a fresh young 24 year old college graduate, about a year ago, the world was full of opportunities waiting for me to grab. I had a bachelor’s degree and a diploma to prove it; which meant I was finally qualified to apply for minimum wage jobs. Yes, I was qualified even prior to graduating, though college degrees seem at least preferred for any job application, which precisely leads to my next point, which is that my degree seemed to do almost nothing for me, a statement that many graduates seem to also reiterate. Wanting to stay in Missoula, which has a somewhat high cost of living relative to its minimum wage, as well as a limited job and housing market due to population and geographic location, I became a non-student temporary employee at the university cafeteria I worked for as a student, while searching for jobs with better pay, more hours, more job security, and that were more related to my degree and career path. I remembered seeing emails to my student account from an organization calling themselves Montana Campus Compact (MTCC) a few months before I graduated. I had heard of the AmeriCorps program before, or at least Peace Corps, and assumed they were connected, which they kind of are. But I was confused why “MTCC” was emailing me instead of “AmeriCorps.” I was also confused why some site listings said “VISTA” instead of “AmeriCorps.”
Though I still do not understand all of the intricacies of the AmeriCorps hierarchical structure, I have made some progress in distinguishing the different offices and their roles in the AmeriCorps conglomerate, as well as the different national service organizations and levels within them.
Regarding my position, basically, from my understanding, MTCC is a local AmeriCorps office, which is a sort of liaison between the federal government AmeriCorps office and people in the local community who want to serve. This makes the hiring process more efficient, as the AmeriCorps head office does not have to deal with everything themselves. It is a similar concept to federal and state government powers, etc.
Anyways, the reason I specifically joined AmeriCorps is because I needed a job, wanted one at least somewhat related to my degree and career path, wanted to be part of a well-known and respected organization to build my resume, and wanted to gain experience in this type of work. I was also already having difficulty finding odd jobs, and my university cafeteria job did not have enough hours in the summer.
My idea of an ideal job since college, and maybe even before, is one that involves helping people, especially by providing access to resources. I wrote papers throughout college related to these issues, and researched and studied them on my own time as well. Understanding the current political climate, as well as the environments in which the issues are most prevalent, as well as among which populations, is vital to solve these problems, which is why I pursued my degree in political science and geography to help better comprehend the issue from different perspectives.
Though neither my parents nor I ever experienced significant basic needs insecurities, the place my parents are from is historically and presently one of the most impacted areas in the world by these issues. My parents are from Bangladesh, which has and is suffering from many poor socioeconomic conditions. Though some improvements have been made in recent times, the country, as well as much of the region, still experiences high levels of basic needs insecurities, and many immigrants from there do as well. I want to solve all problems everywhere equally, but I believe starting in places that I have more connections to will be more practical. I have never been to Bangladesh, but hope to sometime, and want to use my privilege as a Bangladeshi-American to help the people there. I believe AmeriCorps is a great introduction to this type of work, especially for someone as inexperienced as me. Perhaps I will find a Peace Corps opportunity there at some point.
My Service Term
Basically the first half of my service term was at a different site, but I transferred and am working on projects directly with MTCC, the Associated Students of the University of Montana (ASUM) Off-Campus Renter Center, and the University of Montana (UM) Food Pantry. My supervisor is the director of the Renter Center, and is also the supervisor of the pantry student coordinator. He helped start the pantry, and continues his involvement in, as food and housing insecurity are linked to each other.
The purpose of the Renter Center is to assist students renting off-campus with landlord-tenant issues, renter rights, housing and roommate resources, etc. The Renter Center also runs the Neighborhood Ambassador program, which is made up of students who work to maintain positive relationships between students renting off-campus and other residents of the neighborhoods they live in, particularly the University District, by canvassing the community, organizing events, sending newsletters, etc.
The purpose of the pantry is to provide UM students, staff, and others in the community, free food and hygiene products. It opened on February 1st, 2019, and had its grand opening ceremony event on February 12th. In its first few months, it has served one hundred different clients, and distributed over a thousand pounds of food. Much of what it receives comes from donations, which are given in cash and in-kind, directly from individuals and indirectly through food drives, and from the Montana Food Bank Network, which the pantry is affiliated with, and received its refrigerator and freezer, as well as compliance inspection, from.
My VISTA Assignment Description (VAD) when I started my current projects was to work on improving performance measure reporting with MTCC, as well as to help improve services at the Renter Center, and grow and sustain the pantry.
One of the first projects I worked on was with the Renter Center, which is where I have spent most of my time. I helped organize the Point-In-Time (PIT) survey at UM. The PIT survey is an annual census of the homeless population, conducted nationwide on the night of January 31st. We participated specifically in the Service Site PIT survey, which is intended to count anyone who was not successfully counted by volunteers on the night of the count, and is only conducted February 1st — February 7th. We did ours on February 1st, for which we set up for the event in front of the pantry, with signage posted, as well as free coffee and bagels provided, with help from the Neighborhood Ambassadors. They volunteered during the PIT survey, helping facilitate it, and answer any questions people may have had.
Another small project I worked on as part of my outreach was making a mailing list form on MailChimp for stakeholders to subscribe to. It was linked to the pantry’s social media to gain more subscribers. It also gained more subscribers when I tabled at the pantry’s grand opening ceremony event, and when I directly reached out to certain stakeholders.
I organized and facilitated a basic needs committee meeting, for which I made and sent a Doodle Poll to stakeholders on campus, booked a room, sent emails, etc. We discussed a range of topics, but mostly about how to help the pantry.
I applied for and received a SNAP mini-grant, which was used to buy a fully-functioning computer for the pantry.
I also applied for the Montana Food Bank Network Award to recognize the pantry and its accomplishments.
Though the Kless Revolving Energy Loan Fund (KRELF) must be applied for by a student, I shared some ideas, researched, met with stakeholders on campus, etc., to help inform the pantry’s proposal, though the pantry’s student coordinator did most of the work and completed the application to try to provide reusable Eco-friendly shopping bags for pantry clients.
I applied for a snow shovel grant for the Renter Center to reduce barriers for students, who often have few resources, insufficient funds, time, etc., which was approved. The goal was to provide free snow shovels to students renting off-campus, as they are required to shovel snow from their sidewalks, and the city had recently began increasing fines for not-shoveled sidewalks. This would also make the neighborhood safer and easier to travel. We proposed providing free no-return snow shovels, as the university had recently stopped the placing of holds, etc., on student accounts for not returning books, etc., so we thought a similar concept should be applied to snow shovels. The shovels also tend to easily wear-out, so returning them may be impractical. We suggested students could pay them forward instead, and even made and sent surveys to past and current borrowers for their feedback. Though some of those heading the University District Neighborhood Leadership Council rejected the no-return policy, there was still a unanimous vote in support of the grant providing free snow shovels, as they had before.
I am currently working on a budget template for a Costco grant and a Walmart grant. Because the pantry opened in February this year, and things have changed, such as employee hours, new employees, etc., the fiscal year budget may have not included some things. Corporations typically do not give grants beyond a certain percentage of an organization’s fiscal year budget, which would not be much money based on the pantry’s current estimated budget.
I have been working on a literature review to better understand student food insecurity and how to solve it, as well as inform grant writing. UM participated in the 2018 Real College Survey, which is the largest national survey of its kind, addressing college student basic needs insecurities. We recently received the data for UM, as well as the national survey results, and the findings were shocking, not only for the nation, but also UM. The three main categories addressed were food insecurity, housing insecurity, and homelessness. UM was higher than the national average of the other four-year universities in all categories, and had a significantly higher percentage of homeless students, at twice the rate of the average.
In preparation for the new pantry VISTA, I made a VAD and submitted it to MTCC. As my service term was technically shorter and between multiple sites, though I am still doing a full-time year-long service term, I made a more comprehensive list of possible VISTA assignments, based on my experience and ideas for the pantry, as well as advice from my supervisor. The VISTA will work exclusively for the pantry, and will be the first-year VISTA as part of the three-year development plan. The new VISTA will have a similar assignment to mine, but will have much more time and preparation to accomplish more. There are also some potential large-scale projects I was unable to do due to time that the new VISTA can pursue.
I also made a practicum student work plan, or as I call it, a “Practicum Assignment Description,” also known as a “PAD.” The practicum student will work part-time for two semesters, exclusively for the Renter Center. There will be different tasks, but one of the main goals of the practicum student will be recruiting housing insecure youth for the Youth Action Board (YAB) and being a liaison to them. The YAB is a coalition of housing insecure youth supported by local schools and organizations, whose goal is to end youth housing insecurity by working to improve services to them. Through their direct involvement and input, services can be better informed, and awareness of the issue can be significantly increased.
Other parts of my service term included helping coordinate items to the pantry from food drives and thrift sales, helping organize and table at events, meeting with stakeholders, etc.
One of the events we received some items for the pantry from was Campus Thrift. For the last few years, the UM Sustainability department has organized an event at the end the spring semester to collect items from the dorms before students leave for the summer. I volunteered to collect and sort items, with hopes of gathering food for the pantry. I did not directly receive much, but the pantry did receive a decent amount of food and hygiene products.
One of the more fun parts of my term was the Neighborhood Ambassador’s “Party in the Park.” I helped set up the event, which has taken place the last few years under different names and at different locations. The goal of the event is to connect the neighborhood with UM and some of its students to maintain a positive relationship. This year’s was very successful, as the community seemed to enjoy it very much, and we received lots of positive feedback.
What I Learned as an AmeriCorps VISTA
At the beginning of my service term, I was basically clueless on how the AmeriCorps program actually worked. I did not even understand what some of my initial assignments were at the start of my service at my first site, as well as my current site, but thought I did, or was afraid to ask for clarification, as I thought it would make me seem more incompetent than I am. I was happy to find out at my first member orientation though, that a VISTA’s service term is expected to be this way, and there are different general stages and time-frames a VISTA goes through. The first three months of a VISTA’s term are meant to be an on-boarding process to train the VISTA in preparation to be a more independent worker, as well as a better team member. A VISTA typically goes through an initial phase of being an “enthusiastic beginner,” in which they may have extremely high aspirations of significantly changing the world within even a few months of service. While this is a great goal to have, it is very unlikely to happen, especially so soon. Upon realization that they are not necessarily as capable of accomplishing their initial goal as they had thought, a VISTA will likely become a “disillusioned learner” for a period of time. This may involve a VISTA accepting the limits of the program, host site, and themselves. This leads to the VISTA typically becoming a “reluctant contributor,” which often entails them somewhat blindly following along with whatever the host site suggests they do. But just when the VISTA figures their life out and enters the “peak performer” stage, their service term is almost ending. This is where the legacy document comes in to play.
As part of the host site’s three-year development plan, the current VISTA is expected to help the new VISTA transition into their service term, usually indirectly. I will be able to directly help the new pantry VISTA transition in as my service term will not yet be complete when the new VISTA starts. Part of this hand-off includes a “legacy document,” which is basically a collection of the current VISTA’s main accomplishments, as well as resources, contacts, guidance, etc. This will help ensure the new VISTA will not have to start from scratch, and can build on what the current VISTA established, rather than waste time finding the same resources over again, etc. The current VISTA should also inform any contacts they are currently communicating with of the transition, and briefly introduce the new VISTA to them.
Some of the lessons I learned during my service term are that figuring out exactly what a VISTA’s role is can be difficult. There are obviously some restrictions on what a VISTA can do, but the limits can be obscure, as sometimes there is a fine line between “indirect” and “direct” service, as sometimes “indirect” service may require some “direct” service, or “indirect” service can be better informed by “direct” service. VISTA policy allows for this, as long as it does not consistently take up a major part of a VISTA’s work.
Another part of VISTA work that may be difficult to deal with, as with many jobs, is lack of communication, which may sometimes be due to someone not understanding or acknowledging the role of a VISTA. You will not necessarily always, or ever, get responses from people. Knowing how to deal with rejection is an important part of a VISTA’s service term, as well as a valuable life skill. It is important to understand that some people are very busy, and receive many emails, and some of them may be overlooked. Persistence may seem annoying, but is important when considering the aforementioned scenario. However, finding a middle-ground between persistence and harassment is necessary to avoid being blocked or reported.
Another important aspect of VISTA life is communication with your supervisor. This was never really an issue in my experience, but for your own sake, at least early on, try to make sure you and your supervisor are on the same page. You should have weekly meetings scheduled with your supervisor to touch base, and should regularly discuss what you are working on. You should also communicate with MTCC regarding any issues you may be having regarding the program in general.
Perhaps the most important aspect of being a VISTA, and a human, is self-care, which should be what matters most in life. Though a VISTA’s goal is to serve others, one must remember that in order to help others, you must help yourself first to be able to help them.
Being a VISTA has its share of challenges, but if you know what you are getting yourself into, and have a general plan for the year, you should not have any problems. I made it through (barely, so far), so you can too!
Appendix: How the AmeriCorps VISTA Program Works
If you want to know more about the AmeriCorps VISTA program itself, please bear with me as I attempt to explain its complexities, at least in my interpretation and limited understanding.
The following is based on my experience as a full-time year-long AmeriCorps VISTA. For more information on AmeriCorps, please visit https://www.nationalservice.gov/programs/americorps.
AmeriCorps is a federal government national service program. How the AmeriCorps VISTA program works is by schools and non-profit organizations requesting a VISTA as part of a three-year development plan to “build capacity” to sustain a project, for which they must go through trainings to be selected for a chance to receive a VISTA, and they must have a designated supervisor for the VISTA. The plan must be related to alleviating poverty through education and other services. They must pay AmeriCorps a fee for the VISTA if they receive one, which is significantly less than the cost of a full-time employee for a year on minimum wage, especially if an organization is affiliated with a local AmeriCorps office. The VISTA, however, cannot do what a typical employee would as part of their job, and can only do indirect, or “behind-the-scenes,” work related to growing the project. There are some exceptions, as building capacity may require some direct work, but cannot be a consistent part of a VISTA’s role, taking up the majority of their work.
One of the reasons AmeriCorps is considered a “service contract” and not a “job” is the duties are not the same as for a normal employee.
You may be wondering why anyone in their right mind would accept a full-time year-long “job” for less than minimum wage, or as AmeriCorps says, it is technically a “service contract?” Some questions you may have are: Is AmeriCorps a loophole in the system for organizations to use cheap labor? Is there a difference between what an AmeriCorps member can do and what a normal employee can do? Is there a difference between AmeriCorps and AmeriCorps VISTA? How can being an AmeriCorps VISTA benefit me? Though the answers to some of these questions may seem to be semantics, there are some important distinctions to be made.
Why is AmeriCorps called a “service contract” instead of a “job?” Part of the answer to this question is that you can only be accepted for a term of service, though you can re-apply for more terms with the same or different host sites, as well as different positions, term lengths, and hours, though the pay and amount of education award you receive will differ, which will be discussed more later. By accepting an AmeriCorps position, you commit to intending to complete the service term you were hired for. If you break the contract, you will not receive your education award, unless mitigating circumstances can be proved, in which case, you will receive a prorated education award based on the amount of time you served.
One of the reasons AmeriCorps is considered a “service contract” and not a “job” is the duties are not the same as for a normal employee. How the AmeriCorps VISTA program process works is by schools and non-profit organizations seeking to build and sustain programs to educate people and alleviate poverty by asking AmeriCorps if they can host an AmeriCorps member to work on a proposed project meeting their criteria. Though a full-time AmeriCorps VISTA member contract with a host site typically lasts at most a year, the host site can hire an AmeriCorps VISTA for up to three years to build and sustain the host site’s project, for which the AmeriCorps VISTA can be re-hired.
Another reason AmeriCorps is considered a “service contract” and not a “job” is the hours are not those of a typical weekday 40 hour a week job. AmeriCorps members are technically on-call 24/7, meaning they may be required to participate in work related events after their usual work hours and on weekends. But in reality, a typical VISTA schedule is generally a “9 to 5” or an “8 to 4” weekday job. Being on-call 24/7 is meant to include the possibility of weekend or after normal work hour shifts, but you may work less on other days if you work more on some days. But there is a minimum number of average work hours per week throughout the year, though vacation and sick days, which have set numbers, may cause some exceptions to be made, as you should not have to make up hours due to vacation time, unless you went beyond your limit with your supervisor’s permission.
Your main question regarding the difference between an AmeriCorps “service contract” and a typical “job” is probably why AmeriCorps members are paid relatively low compared to even minimum wage work? Though you are paid bi-weekly as with many normal “jobs,” AmeriCorps refers to your paycheck / direct deposit as a “living stipend / allowance.” You may be asking yourself how this is legal, or how it is different than the concept of outsourcing jobs for cheaper labor. To better understand this, one must distinguish what an AmeriCorps VISTA member does compared to a typical employee, or even a “volunteer,” who may work for free, but does not have to fulfill the requirements of an AmeriCorps, or a VISTA, which ironically stands for “Volunteers in Service to America.”
The difference between a “VISTA” member and an “AmeriCorps” member is that a VISTA does “indirect service,” and an AmeriCorps member does “direct service.”
You may have also noticed how I seem to sometimes use the terms “AmeriCorps,” “VISTA,” and “AmeriCorps VISTA” interchangeably. Though the use of each term can differ based on context, the general difference between the terms is that the VISTA program is part of AmeriCorps, and a member can be referred to interchangeably as a “VISTA” and an “AmeriCorps VISTA.” However, a service member whose program is only referred to as “AmeriCorps,” is not a VISTA. The difference between a “VISTA” member and an “AmeriCorps” member is that a VISTA does “indirect service,” and an AmeriCorps member does “direct service.” This means a VISTA’s job duties are related to “capacity-building” and are more “behind-the-scenes” than those of an AmeriCorps member. The term “capacity-building” refers to growing and sustaining a project. Specific job duties may include reaching out to stakeholders, grant-writing, researching, etc.
Another question you may have regarding AmeriCorps/VISTA pay is why members are paid so little for the great work they do? Part of the answer to this is that members are supposed to “experience poverty,” as the goal of both programs is to ultimately alleviate poverty, therefore living in poverty can help members better relate to, and as a result, understand the problem and how to fix it.
The education award is given to members who complete a full service term, with certain exceptions, in which case, a prorated education award based on the time served will be given.
You may be asking yourself now, why is it worth joining AmeriCorps? While the answer to this may depend on an individual’s suitability, some of the potential benefits of service other than the impact of the great work to be done include job training and experience, the education award (But why not just get paid more and decide how to spend it?), and job security (It is difficult to be fired, as the host site has to go through AmeriCorps, etc.).
AmeriCorps also provides a healthcare plan, with different options to choose from, such as for those who are already covered by a primary insurance plan under their parents, in which case, the AmeriCorps plan could become a secondary one if there is not enough covered by the primary one.
Not everyone who graduates college necessarily has a high-paying job waiting for them. Nor is everyone planning to go to graduate school immediately after. And though college may have educated them, it may not have trained them for certain jobs, especially if they did not do an internship, which often pays little to nothing anyways. Many students do jobs available to those without degrees like them, which are often minimum wage odd jobs that have nothing to do with the degree they are pursuing. They often also work as student employees, as many odd jobs that may pay slightly more are not compatible with student schedules, which student jobs are often meant to be. AmeriCorps provides practical job training and experience, which can be applied in many fields, though more in those related to social issues. But the advantage of AmeriCorps is that it builds you up to those jobs, providing a safety net, unlike a normal job in that field, which someone may be basically thrown into expected to be ready for anything, for which they should be prepared for the risk of.
A helpful resource to take advantage of is the AmeriCorps moving stipend, which is given to members who are moving to a host site over a certain distance away from where they currently live.
The education award is given to members who complete a full service term, with certain exceptions, in which case, a prorated education award based on the time served will be given. The education award can only be used to pay back past, present, and future student loans. The alternative is a living stipend, which can be used for anything, but is of less value than the education award. Typically, someone can only change their decision between one or the other within a certain time period.
AmeriCorps also provides a healthcare plan, with different options to choose from, such as for those who are already covered by a primary insurance plan under their parents, in which case, the AmeriCorps plan could become a secondary one if there is not enough covered by the primary one. However, a higher amount of coverage will be provided by AmeriCorps to those who make the AmeriCorps health insurance plan their primary one.
Another helpful resource AmeriCorps suggests its members apply for because they do not pay them enough is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
A helpful resource to take advantage of is the AmeriCorps moving stipend, which is given to members who are moving to a host site over a certain distance away from where they currently live. Communicating with AmeriCorps before moving is important to ensure you receive the moving stipend and avoid any complications.
Another helpful resource AmeriCorps suggests its members apply for because they do not pay them enough is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). This is a public assistance program and is not part of AmeriCorps, so you would need to contact your local government office that deals with it. Your local AmeriCorps office should provide confirmation of what you are being paid. The tricky part is deciding whether or not to get another job on the side, and if the money you would make from that job would be worth the possible reduced SNAP benefits resulting from increased income. On only a VISTA wage, you will probably receive the maximum amount of benefits an individual can receive. A standard SNAP term is usually a certain number of months long with rollover each month before you need to re-verify your income, household size, etc., to renew your benefits, but you must keep them updated if you get another job to avoid paying possible fees, being cut from the program, etc.
One of the risks not commonly addressed by AmeriCorps is regarding those who are considering a life of crime. AmeriCorps requires you to be fingerprinted, which puts you in a database, and makes it much easier for you to be caught if you commit a crime. Some solutions if this becomes an issue in the future are to wear gloves when you commit a crime, wipe off any potential evidence you may have touched, dispose of contraband, etc. Lobbying to change certain laws and policies has also been shown to be effective, but there is less guarantee it will work, and is a longer process. However, the most effective solution has been found to be not committing a crime.
