Program Overview
We are a partnership that supports youth. Notre Dame AmeriCorps Seattle is a program of Notre Dame Mission Volunteers, headed by the Sisters of Notre Dame in Baltimore. Sound Youth VISTA is a program of The Church Council of Greater Seattle.
We recruit, train, and support AmeriCorps Direct and VISTA members at various sites throughout the greater Seattle area. In agreement for service, members receive a living stipend, health care, training, job skills, and an education award to help pay qualified student loans or tuition. All of our AmeriCorps and VISTA members serve grassroots programs in schools or community organizations; they are truly depended on to bring creativity, commitment, and dedication to youth programs.
Program Goals
2. To approach our service—including team trainings, activities, and discussions—througha social justice lens
3. To empower Seattle’s young people by:
- Providing platforms for youth expression
- Supporting academic achievement
- Building a strong community of adult allies
What makes us special:
FOCUS ON YOUTH: All of our members are supporting school-aged children and youth, whether they’re working one-on-one, in groups, or behind the scenes.
HOLISTIC APPROACH: Combining VISTA and Direct-Service programs means that we have a network of capacity builders (VISTA) who know what it takes to raise funds, recruit volunteers, and grow programs, AND we have a team of service providers (AmeriCorps*Direct) who know what it means to work directly with children and youth every day.
SOCIAL JUSTICE LENS: We approach all that we do through a lens of social justice. This means that instead of only providing services for people most impacted by poverty, we also take a look at the root causes of poverty. In our team meetings, service projects, and community-building activities we keep an eye on what we are doing to affect positive social change in society. Over the course of the year we will discuss issues such as racism, homophobia, immigrant/refugees, and community organizing principles as we build relationships with each other and our communities!
TEAM-BASED: We believe that if our members have access to a community of support, they will be more successful at accomplishing their goals. Each member works Monday-Thursday at his/her project site, leaving Fridays open for team activities. Our team is a support network, a learning community, and at times a committee for special projects. Fridays are also a chance for members to develop professional and personal skills they will carry with them after the year of service is complete. We love team Fridays!
Quick Facts:
Number of Notre Dame AmeriCorps -Seattle Members: 17
Number of Sound Youth Members: 9
Number of Service Hours Completed by Our Members Per Year: 41,000+
Stories of Service
Q: How are NDA and SY helping kids in the juvenile system or kids whose parents are incarcerated? Erin, at Spruce St SCRC with the Bridges Program tells us about it. (Subject’s name has been changed)
At 16 years old, Hermione first came through Spruce Street after being involved in a prostitution investigation. She had been sexually traumatized for approximately two-three weeks prior to her arrival at Spruce Street. Hermione confided in me and others at Spruce Street that she had been forced into prostitution and feared for her safety and that of her grandparents. Both of Hermione’s parents are incarcerated and she had been living with her grandparents. Prior to her discharge, I spoke with her grandparents who both told me that they no longer could support Hermione in the house and that she was unwelcome to return.
Over the course of her stay at Spruce Street, I spent hours talking with Hermione about her life and the circumstances surrounding her arrival at Spruce Street. I participated in a meeting with a counselor from Harborview Sexual Assault and Trauma and New Horizons Ministries at Spruce Street. As it turned out, Hermione’s father was just placed on work release from prison at a fellowship house owned and operated by Pioneer Human Services, out umbrella organization. Hermione is now staying with a friend of her father’s until he successfully completes work release and is stable enough to support her. She had never lived with her father, as he had been in prison for 10 years on drug related charges.
The services set up for Hermione in Bridges now include family counseling with both Hermione and her father weekly with Alyson, Bridges Mental Health Counselor. Additionally, Hermione has weekly appointments with the sexual assault and trauma counselor we introduced her to from Harborview. She is now enrolled in a new high school and regularly attending. We have a home visit scheduled for this week. I have spoken with her a few times since her discharge and she is very excited about being reunited with her father and the progress made in family counseling. The Bridges Program was also able to connect her temporary guardian with holiday gifts and clothing for Hermione and the other children in the house.
The Seattle PI ran a series of articles related to this topic. To find out more check out this link for several news stories around this issue.
Q: How do NDA-Seattle members work to motivate high school students? (Subject’s name has been changed)
Harry was not very happy to be in 9th Grade Language Arts this year. He took it last year and got a D, so he says he should be in the next level. So what if he only squeaked by and we all know he can do better? He passed. But, that was not good enough, he is a really bright kid and his teacher from last year wanted to see if we can get the work out of him that we know he is capable of doing.
The first assignment: memoir. Harry groaned and put his head on the desk. I sat with him and he complained in Spanish to me that he did a memoir last year. He didn’t want to do it again. When I asked if he completed last year’s memoir he paused for a second then grinned and admitted that he had not handed it in. Actually, he hadn’t completed last year’s memoir because he didn’t understand it. Okay, I was going to help him. We started brainstorming as a class and then everyone had to write short pieces to help us come up with ideas. Harry sat at his table and put his head down again until I sat beside him. At first he was refusing to even raise his head. Then he didn’t want to write anything because he ‘didn’t understand’. I explained the assignment again and asked if he needed help but he told me no. He understood all that. I sat with him and we talked about what was hard about the assignment. Harry knew what he had to do, but didn’t want to do it and was going to put up a fight. After about five minutes of discussion he admitted that his problem was that he didn’t want to write anything embarrassing. He didn’t want to write about something important in his life and then have the class read it and laugh at it. We sat and talked about the fact that nobody would read his memoir except me and the teacher. He didn’t have to share it with the class if he didn’t want to. This seemed to take care of his fears and he told me he was ready to work on his paper so I left him to write.
I returned to Harry’s table later to see him in front of a blank piece of paper. No ideas were down. I sat with him again and we began brainstorming together. He mentioned his grandparents and I had him list that as an idea. Then he drew a blank on other ideas. We struggled with thinking of ideas until the bell rang.
“Okay,” I said, “Tomorrow I want to see you in here with two more ideas. If you have any trouble, come find me and we can work together.”
Harry gave me a deadpan look, “Okay, but I am going to give you a hard time.”
“Sounds great, I love a challenge.”
The next day Harry cut class and I was sad that he was missing an opportunity to work on his memoir. I ran into him on campus and asked him about his memoir and he told me that he hadn’t brainstormed like we had talked about. I reminded him of the importance of the memoir and repeated that I was willing to work with him on it in any way. He promised that he would brainstorm ideas and come in with three good ideas that we could start drafting.
The weekend came and went and then it was time for Language Arts on Monday. Harry sat down and opened his notebook then called me over telling me he had a question and needed help. He pointed to his book to show me he had three pages of a draft written! He had trouble brainstorming so he got started writing about his grandparents and couldn’t stop. Harry shrugged when I told him how excited I was. “Yeah, but I don’t think it’s any good,” he said.
Looking over what he had written, I was amazed. He was incredibly honest about moments with his grandparents when it came to their deaths, his feelings, and the life lessons they had passed on to him. It was, by far, the best draft any student had yet put forward. Since that day Harry has had a complete turn around in his effort in class. He still has a little problem with skipping but, more often than not, he sits at his table and puts out some of the most honest and extraordinary work.
The NDA-Seattle site at Tyee where this story comes from is based on a small school model. Check out this Seattle Times article to see what you think about this new school system.