And now work...

Our crazy orientation weekend has come to a close and the world of work official began. After going over financial stuff and budget (and it's a very tight budget - I even have a "poor letter" to prove it) on Tuesday, Ket and I got to work on organizing daily life in the Rochester Unit.

On Tuesday's the Babcock's host "prayer and potluck", and so after doing a grocery run, I experimented with our first cooking project in the new kitchen. My go to potluck dish, quartered-roasted potatoes, didn't turn out like it usually does, but we still brought it to dinner and enjoyed everyone else's food. I don't know if we'll have the time to go every week, but it was lots of fun to hang out with people, eat together, and pray together - the back bone of community building.

And then home to bed, for bright and early Wednesday morning we began work. I experimented with the bus ride across town and found it much smoother than expected. Work, however, was anything but smooth. On my first day I jumped right into answering phones, dealing with clients, and trying to figure out what in the world was going on without any form of orientation. My supervisors, Sue Porter and Kamilah (I don't know the last name) are both crazy busy and overworked and the receptionist was out of the office due to a family emergency, so I just started helping out where ever I could and learning as I went. It seems like it's going to be that kind of a place.

My very own office! 

The Judicial Process Commission services people who are currently or have been at some point in the past been incarcerated. We help our clients prepare for job interviews, access services, find housing, find legal assistance, get identification, apply for certificates that prove rehabilitation to increase their employablitly, ect. Before this month there were 2 americorps volunteers serving as service coordinators (basically case managers for all the general clients) in the office - both having been there for more than 2 years - and the sr. service coordinator, Kamilah. Now, there is Kamilah, and eventually myself - though I have yet to be trained in anything. (Sue works with a different client base - mostly young mothers - and I'll also be helping her with that group.)

The waiting room - it can get completely full of people. 

Thanks to one of the americorps volunteers, I was able to access extensive manuals on most of my job responsibilities and have been going over them - when I'm not doing something for Sue or Kamilah or answering the phone or running around with my head chopped off. So far I have taught myself to use the two separate client databases, figured out what needs to be done for the workshop on Monday night and confirmed a presenter, tried to help a client apply for a birth certificate from Michigan State, taken about a million messages, and told at least 20 people to come into the office during our walk in hours on Monday and Tuesday to make an appointment (I'm a little terrified of Monday and Tuesday). My co-workers seem great, if a little overwhelmed and overworked, and I am really excited about how busy I've been. It seems like they will really be able to use me in the office and I'm looking forward to learning more about my job as the time goes on.

This evening Ket and I have book study with the J-team - we should probably walk over there in a few minutes - and then it will be Friday. Almost one complete week in Rochester and it already feels a little like home.