Social Justice

"There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single issue lives"-Audre Lorde

Health Care: Aids Interfaith Network

Link: https://aindallas.org/

Aids Interfaith Network (AIN) is a healthcare resource for vulnerable, at-risk, and diagnosed North Texans. Founded over 30 years ago, AIN provides health education, referrals, and support services to 17,000 low-income men, women, teens and children. AIN provides a number of services that include transportation, case management, health education, outreach, linguistic services, nutrition services, and a day program. Their primary goal is to prevent the spread of HIV, as well as to serve persons living with HIV/AIDS. Unfortunately, HIV/AIDS is widely prevalent in the Dallas area. In 2016, an estimated 17,333 people were living with HIV in Dallas County, one of Dallas's largest counties. This represents an increase of 57% from 2006. Along with a drastic increase, there is a striking disparity that is omnipresent when focusing on the issue. African Americans have disproportionately higher case rates compared to any other race. This is similar to other trends being observed in larger urban areas across the U.S.* Much more needs to be done to eradicate this disparity, as well as this horrible disease.

*Link: http://www.dallascounty.org/department/hhs/documents/HIV2016DiseaseProfile.pdf

What Did We Do?

Throughout the day, our team saw firsthand the work AIN has done for those diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. We first split into two teams, one of which worked with the nutrition coordinator, while the others stayed in front and had conversations with the clients. Many of us sat and listened to their stories, the challenges, and obstacles they have had to endure in their life. Listening to their stories gave us a new perspective on the issue, and had us reflect about their current situation, as well as the importance of research, education, and support that such an issue needs.

Even though our time there was short, those hours spent interacting with the clients left a huge impact in numerous ways. Providing assistance to both the clients, and the staff of AIN, was a great experience that allowed us to see all of the activities that AIN carries out to help those affected by HIV/AIDS.

The Aids Interfaith Network has done incredible work for those diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. From the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), the Volunteer Coordinator, to its nutrition coordinator, this is a organization that wants to have a huge impact on the communities they are serving. As the fight against this disease continues, we feel assured that the Aids Interfaith Network will continue to affect people's lives, cause positive change, and be a valuable resource for the Dallas community.

Interesting Sources: Facts & Statistics https://aidsvu.org/state/texas/dallas/

Food Insecurity: North Texas Food Bank

Link: https://www.ntfb.org/

Founded in 1982, the North Texas Food Bank (NTFB) provides access to more than 190,000 meals each day for hungry children, seniors, and families across a 13 county service area. In 2017 alone, NTFB provided access to nearly 70 million meals. Their programs include disaster relief, nutrition services, child and senior programs, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program(SNAP). Their mission is to close the hunger gap in the communities they serve to ensure a hunger free, healthy North Texas.

Unfortunately, food insecurity is an issue that is far too common in North Texas. More than 800,000 people across NTFB's 13 county service area are food insecure. This comes out to about 1 and 6 people across the North Texas area. Of these 800,000, almost 300,000 are children. There is a strong correlation between hunger and health. Food insecurity provokes multiple issues that could damage an individual's personal health both physically and mentally. The negative effects associated with food insecurity are challenging for all age groups, but they are incredibly debilitating in children.* Often, children who are food insecure will not reach the developmental milestones that are needed for a child to flourish. Everyone deserves the right to have access to healthy affordable foods, and the North Texas Food bank is doing everything in their power to make sure the North Texas area is well fed.

For more about food insecurity, check out this link below.

*Link: http://servingfoodsolutions.com/the-consequences/

What Did We Do?

On our last day of our service trip, we had the opportunity to work with the North Texas Food Bank (NTFB). Upon arrival, we listened to a speech by the Volunteer Coordinater, Jay. He passionately talked about the importance of NTFB within North Texas, and how it has made a huge impact on the lives of countless people. After his speech, we divided into different groups with specific roles. Our group separated and organized food, broke boxes, and assisted in daily operations within the organization. We had the opportunity to listen to different stories from the different employees, and the different reasons they work for the NTFB. It was a great opportunity to gain some different perspectives on why they work for the NTFB, as well as to hear how much they gain from knowing they are helping thousands of people every day.

Interesting Sources:Growing resilient kids with deep roots

Daily Well-being: Crossroads Community Services

Link: http://www.ccsdallas.org/

Crossroads Community Services was founded in 2001 with the mission to nourish their community's low income families by providing nutritious food and supportive education. Crossroads Community Service provides numerous services such as their in-house pantry, and their clothing closet. Crossroads prides themselves on distributing the RIGHT AMOUNTS of the RIGHT FOODS to the RIGHT PEOPLE through their pantry. They estimate that on average a family of four receives 100 pounds of groceries when they visit Crossroads or one of their partners. Last year alone, they estimated that they distributed 2.3 million pounds of food to 11,000 individuals. This translates to roughly 1.9 million meals. Along with their pantry, their clothing closet also makes a huge impact on the north Texas area. The clothing closet, where Crossroads offers a wide variety of clothes for men, women and children, is open to anyone utilizing the in-house pantry. Crossroads and their volunteers carefully go through each piece of clothing to ensure it is in good enough shape to be put out into the clothing closet. At this point in the year, Crossroads has served over 8,000 clients, and they will continue to serve the North Texas area with great drive and passion.

What Did We Do?

The passion of the volunteer coordinators was evident as soon as we stepped inside the facilities of The Crossroads Community Services. Like many of our service events, we once again split into different groups. The focus changed through each different department. Some group members focused on the in-house pantry, while others worked to organize the clothing closet. Those working in the in-house pantry worked to open boxes of food, prepared specific boxes to send out, and organized the pantry. Program Coordinator, Abel Sanchez, went into great detail about the effects the shipments of food have on the community they are serving. For many, this program provides a great relief from the struggles of food insecurity. Those who were working in the clothing closet spent time sorting clothes, checking for item quality, and organizing the overall closet. Though this was tedious at times, the hard work really portrayed how important this service was. Many are left without the basic necessity of clothing, and giving families the opportunity to browse through a wide variety of clothes while they are grabbing food is an unbelievable service. We are incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to help fight for this social justice through volunteering at Crossroads Community Services. It was incredible to see the amount of time and effort Crossroads puts into serving their community through both their pantry and their clothing closet.

Homelessness/Food Insecurity: Divine Kinship

Link: http://www.divinekinship.org/

Divine Kinship is a nonprofit working out of the North Texas area that focuses on fighting for social justice. Their mission is to fight for social justice and the elimination of poverty through community projects and campaigns. They also promote sustainability to help improve the health and well being of their community. One of their standout programs is a permaculture garden. They run their garden from a 17 acre plot of land that was graciously donated to them from a local community member. This garden was made with the goal of improving access to healthy and affordable fruits and vegetables in their community. Through this garden they offer a few different programs aimed at both helping others start their own gardens, and providing fresh produce to those in need. The nonprofit also has programs that help provide housing and training to homeless or troubled youth, and building homes for low income clients. Divine Kinship sets out every day to do the absolute best for those living in their community, and they strive to change the North Texas area for the better.

What Did We Do?

Upon arrival at the plot of land owned by Divine Kinship, we quickly realized how big 17 acres truly is! We soon split into 3 different groups with different tasks and goals. The first being a cleanup of the front garden. The garden was over run with weeds and various branches. A few members of the group spent time cleaning up the area to allow Divine Kinship to plant fruits and veggies in that space. The next group was assigned with lining a pathway with branches to distinguish where the path was in relation to the rest of the land. This was taxing work, but this group did a great job at covering the majority of the path. The third and final group was tasked with spreading piles of mulch across a large portion of their land. It is incredible to see the progress that was made by this group across the five hours we were there.