It's Cedar 4's last week at Block by Block, so it's a shame that this is only the second post we've provided. I would've liked to chronicle our progress more thoroughly. Our team has gotten to dabble in all sorts of different tasks and stages that are involved in rebuilding a house. Several weeks ago we helped move a man from the FEMA trailer where he'd been living to his home again. There's a possibility that this week we'll muck a house that hasn't had any work done to it yet - that means we'll be removing the furniture and belongings that were ruined and have been sitting there since the flood in '08.
The trade that our team has become most practiced in is probably siding. We started with a shed and moved on to a garage. Our mentor was Don Baker who as far as I can tell is capable of anything and everything related to construction. The process of siding was repetitive and we had to be meticulous about keeping pieces level and making sure they weren't nailed in too tightly. The effort we put into it paid off; the guy who delivered the siding dropped by and was talking to the homeowner a day or two after we finished. He stated that it was one of the best siding jobs he'd seen. I heard that after the first garage the plan was that we would side a bigger garage, then a small house, then a larger house. Unfortunately things got changed around as they're apt to do when you're rebuilding a whole neighborhood and have teams coming and going every week.
For a week, our team was working with Matthew 25 on an Urban Farm in the Time Check neighborhood. We made around 25 beds or so and planted everything we could plant before the last frost. Matthew 25 is going to use the vegetables to make lunches for children, as I understand it. When we started the project we had a number of ambitious plans including birdfeeders, benches and blocks of marble. By the end of the week we hadn't gotten to any of these projects, but we took some time last week to make the birdfeeders and finish the sign. Some of the vegetables are sprouting now; the peas appear to be doing especially well. In one instance we've experimented in creating a hybrid where spinach was planted over broccoli (or vice versa, I don't remember the order).
When gutting, one of the key points that Melisa keeps reminding us of is to clean as you go, so we usually give ourselves enough time before lunch or before the day ends so we can clean up the majority of the mess we've made. At first it sounds like it's just a little tip that'll save you time when it's time to wrap things up, but it's more important that that. I'm not exaggerating when I say that if you didn't clean up at all while gutting an entire house, you'd be waist-deep in wood, drywall and nails. Even a few hours of continuous demolition makes it difficult to move around, and finding level ground to place a ladder becomes tricky if not impossible.
I used to think that if at the end of the day my work wasn't thorough enough or neat enough, whoever it was that came through next would take care of the odds and ends. In my defense it wasn't out of laziness but a lack of confidence that I was capable of doing something right the first time. However, while doing projects like this I learned that often enough the person who picks up where I left off is me. Now I've got a goal that I keep in mind: The work I do today should make work in the future easier. It's annoying to clean while there are nails sticking out of the wall and catching your clothes, so I remove the nails while I'm taking drywall down. It's not just gutting or siding or construction jobs that this applies to, this is a lesson that I'm taking away from my time here with Block by Block.
On that note, I speak for my whole team when I say that we have thoroughly enjoyed working with the people and volunteers that are a part of this organization. Our supervisors have been open to feedback, supplied any material or support we need, and (best of all) they're fun to be around and work with. We got to spend time with people who enjoy what they do and do it well. Our hearts and appreciation go out to our sponsors for making these six or seven weeks an engaging project.
Many thanks,
Sarah Debrick & all of Cedar 4
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
An Introduction to Cedar 4
Picking up where our friends Oak 5 left off is Cedar 4, another team from the Vinton, Iowa NCCC campus. Block by Block is our third round and the second disaster-relief project we've done. For our first project we were lucky enough to go down to New Orleans and work with lowernine.org, rebuilding houses in the lower ninth ward. Our second project was in Akron, Ohio where we did taxes for low-income families and individuals. Although the job was rewarding, sitting at a desk for so many hours a day got us missing the time spent painting, breaking walls, clearing yards and generally moving our bodies. We're looking forward to getting our hands dirty again.
Cedar 4 is a team of nine members, and the states we call home span from Washington to Florida. The Team Leader is Niko Valaris, who was a corps member at the Iowa campus last year. The rest of us - in alphabetical order by first name because it's just easy that way - are Alyssa D'amico, Amber (Amb) St. Vincent, Amber (Ber) Kuth, Charles Jack, David (Davey) Parziale, Jasmine Hickey, Lindsay Shamrock and myself: Sarah Debrick.
It hasn't yet been a week since we started working with Block by Block; our first day of orientation/work was Wednesday the 3rd, while other teams were travelling to their "spikes" (projects) scattered across the 12 states our campus serves. We were given a tour of Cedar Rapids, complete with history and notable trivia, from a man who called himself Sam and wore a nametag that said Jim. We met our new sponsors and they worked on sorting out what they wanted us to start with. After visiting some of the worksites, we were thrown headlong into exactly what I know my team members were most eager to do: some board-breaking, crowbar-swinging, drywall-shattering gutting. Protected from head to toe in hard-hats, goggles, masks, coveralls, gloves and steel-toe boots, we were prepared to take on whatever hazards that (literally) came our way. I must say that the source of our greatest trouble was the fluffy, innocuous-looking insulation stuffed into the walls. The fiberglass found its way through folds of fabric, between the gaps of our gloves and sleeves - and if you're not careful it gets on your clothes or blankets back home.
On Friday, we were given the chance to watch a house being torn down. We were intially excited to have the chance to witness, from start to finish, a process you don't see every day - one of force and destruction - but I started to think while it occured about how truly intimate an event it was. From the outside it was a cute, two-story house matching with its neighbors, but as walls came down we had glimpses of the belongings inside. Among the wood, metal and glass we saw: a bookshelf, a suitcase, a blanket and a tiny, red, plastic chair. Had those books been read? Had the suitcase traveled? How old is the child that used to sit in that chair? There were others with us, some from Block by Block and some who had probably wandered out of their houses in curiosity. I wondered if the homeowner was among us, watching as everyone else did but with more of a connection than I could have gathered by looking at them.
Jobs like this are very curious things, because by nature their goal is to no longer have a purpose. There are different stages in the effort put in to assist people after a disaster, from the immediate relief (such as supplying food and water) to recovery (which means more than putting a house back together, it means getting a family, business or community back to where they once were). Every home finished is a step closer to a Cedar Rapids where the flood is a thing of the past. When a recovery is successful - and this takes years as evidenced both in New Orleans and here in Cedar Rapids - you're no longer needed. It's unlike almost anything else you can do. Teachers never finish teaching, and retailers never finish selling, but a recovery eventually draws to a close. The impact of the flood is deep, and citizens will remember it every time they think of an object they once owned or pass a lot where a house used to be, but in time Cedar Rapids won't be a city in recovery. It'll be a city that has closed a trying chapter in its history.
Newly yours,
Sarah Debrick, Cedar 4
Cedar 4 is a team of nine members, and the states we call home span from Washington to Florida. The Team Leader is Niko Valaris, who was a corps member at the Iowa campus last year. The rest of us - in alphabetical order by first name because it's just easy that way - are Alyssa D'amico, Amber (Amb) St. Vincent, Amber (Ber) Kuth, Charles Jack, David (Davey) Parziale, Jasmine Hickey, Lindsay Shamrock and myself: Sarah Debrick.
It hasn't yet been a week since we started working with Block by Block; our first day of orientation/work was Wednesday the 3rd, while other teams were travelling to their "spikes" (projects) scattered across the 12 states our campus serves. We were given a tour of Cedar Rapids, complete with history and notable trivia, from a man who called himself Sam and wore a nametag that said Jim. We met our new sponsors and they worked on sorting out what they wanted us to start with. After visiting some of the worksites, we were thrown headlong into exactly what I know my team members were most eager to do: some board-breaking, crowbar-swinging, drywall-shattering gutting. Protected from head to toe in hard-hats, goggles, masks, coveralls, gloves and steel-toe boots, we were prepared to take on whatever hazards that (literally) came our way. I must say that the source of our greatest trouble was the fluffy, innocuous-looking insulation stuffed into the walls. The fiberglass found its way through folds of fabric, between the gaps of our gloves and sleeves - and if you're not careful it gets on your clothes or blankets back home.
On Friday, we were given the chance to watch a house being torn down. We were intially excited to have the chance to witness, from start to finish, a process you don't see every day - one of force and destruction - but I started to think while it occured about how truly intimate an event it was. From the outside it was a cute, two-story house matching with its neighbors, but as walls came down we had glimpses of the belongings inside. Among the wood, metal and glass we saw: a bookshelf, a suitcase, a blanket and a tiny, red, plastic chair. Had those books been read? Had the suitcase traveled? How old is the child that used to sit in that chair? There were others with us, some from Block by Block and some who had probably wandered out of their houses in curiosity. I wondered if the homeowner was among us, watching as everyone else did but with more of a connection than I could have gathered by looking at them.
Jobs like this are very curious things, because by nature their goal is to no longer have a purpose. There are different stages in the effort put in to assist people after a disaster, from the immediate relief (such as supplying food and water) to recovery (which means more than putting a house back together, it means getting a family, business or community back to where they once were). Every home finished is a step closer to a Cedar Rapids where the flood is a thing of the past. When a recovery is successful - and this takes years as evidenced both in New Orleans and here in Cedar Rapids - you're no longer needed. It's unlike almost anything else you can do. Teachers never finish teaching, and retailers never finish selling, but a recovery eventually draws to a close. The impact of the flood is deep, and citizens will remember it every time they think of an object they once owned or pass a lot where a house used to be, but in time Cedar Rapids won't be a city in recovery. It'll be a city that has closed a trying chapter in its history.
Newly yours,
Sarah Debrick, Cedar 4
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Working in the Moment
It seems to me that so much of our troubles come from living outside the moment. When we are working on houses it becomes doubly hard to do so. The entirety of our work is so that in the future a family will have a home. Often this idea becomes so daunting that it is difficult to really look around and see what we accomplish. There is always something to do after we finish a project that it is difficult for us to take a moment and relax. So often this means that we are so caught up in what needs to happen next that we forget to look around us and really see what we have accomplished.
For an example, the first day we were here started out with us gutting a house. Yesterday some of our group spent the afternoon moving furniture into that same house. It’s kind of like the calm before the storm or the eye of a tornado, a few moments of clarity and then we’re thrown back into the struggle.
For an example, the first day we were here started out with us gutting a house. Yesterday some of our group spent the afternoon moving furniture into that same house. It’s kind of like the calm before the storm or the eye of a tornado, a few moments of clarity and then we’re thrown back into the struggle.
There are few things I’ve learned in this project; 1-there are no such things as an excess of buckets. 2-Sometimes less is more; cleaning up blown in insulation is not one of them. 3-a 24oz cup of coffee from the gas station is ALMOST enough to get a person through the day. 4- If you’re nice to the ladies giving out lunch they will give you more dessert. 5-Just about everything can be accomplished with a stout crow bar.
Yours in Service,
Harry Aungst, oak 5
Thought for the day- Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So... get on your way. - Dr. Seuss
Reflections on Job Site Apathy
Sometimes, it seems that we forget what the truly important things are in life. Everybody knows this, but unfortunately, sometimes we are all too apathetic to revise our priorities. For me, this apathy commonly comes from all of the minuscule details that sometimes get blown way out of proportion an into something much bigger than it was intended to be. I get lazy when, let’s say, I have spent the last three days in a basement painting the ceilings and the walls. When I get done with one of those days it becomes much more difficult to motivate myself for the rest of the evening. But that’s ok. Sometimes it’s good to lock yourself in your room and sleep through dinner.
I think the reason that we are so tired by Friday is that we keep reminding ourselves why we are here. When I look around me while walking down the street sometimes all the abandoned houses seem to close in on me and make me feel guilty for taking a 5 minute break and walking to the gas station. When being tasked with helping the flood recovery it sometimes becomes hard to recall what the larger picture is. When all we see around us are the remnants of broken homes and lives of people who have become disenfranchised it becomes easier to become more complacent with our roles.
Still throughout this, there is an ever present gleam of hope in every ones eyes. It becomes easier to keep up our energy through out the week when we realize what is truly being accomplished here.
Yours in service,
Harry Aungst
Oak 5
Closing thought- A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in. - Greek Proverb
I think the reason that we are so tired by Friday is that we keep reminding ourselves why we are here. When I look around me while walking down the street sometimes all the abandoned houses seem to close in on me and make me feel guilty for taking a 5 minute break and walking to the gas station. When being tasked with helping the flood recovery it sometimes becomes hard to recall what the larger picture is. When all we see around us are the remnants of broken homes and lives of people who have become disenfranchised it becomes easier to become more complacent with our roles.
Still throughout this, there is an ever present gleam of hope in every ones eyes. It becomes easier to keep up our energy through out the week when we realize what is truly being accomplished here.
Yours in service,
Harry Aungst
Oak 5
Closing thought- A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in. - Greek Proverb
Whether the Weather is hot or cold decides on whether Oak 5 will weather the weather.
We started off the week with a snow day. That is, typically, every child’s dream, right? Not when the alternative is staying on campus and working for the day instead of making snow forts and having snowball fights. Gone, apparently, are the days of care free youth, when I would hide and wait for the neighbor to walk out and get his morning paper and plaster the poor bath robed man into submission with snow balls. I found myself envious of tarring down ceilings and pulling up floor boards. Instead of dreaming of white sand beaches of Mexico, I was dreaming of the van ride into work.
Later that evening I counted up the number of things I had done. It amounted to James and I moving approximately 35 wardrobes that weighed upwards of two hundred pounds. Looking back I count myself lucky; we had a dolly, an elevator, no permanent back injuries and lots of coffee.
Despite our snow day, two early leave days and one delayed start day it has still been a productive week. Much of my time has been spent dry walling. I can’t speak for the whole team, but I at least, enjoy it. The work is meticulous enough to be engaging yet calm enough to keep you from going into overload mode.
It seems that things have not been running quite as smoothly for the flood recovery office. Even since we started working with block by block the decline of volunteers is noticeable. Apparently there were eight teams lost due to the weather this week alone. On the brighter side however, Melisa, our sponsor from Block by Block has just yelled across the room to me that by next Monday they will have will have reached over 10,000 volunteers that have worked with Block by Block. June 10th of 2008 is when the count started. That works out to roughly 500 volunteers a month.
Closing thought for the day-
“The vocation of every man and woman is to serve other people.”-Leo Tolstoy
Later that evening I counted up the number of things I had done. It amounted to James and I moving approximately 35 wardrobes that weighed upwards of two hundred pounds. Looking back I count myself lucky; we had a dolly, an elevator, no permanent back injuries and lots of coffee.
Despite our snow day, two early leave days and one delayed start day it has still been a productive week. Much of my time has been spent dry walling. I can’t speak for the whole team, but I at least, enjoy it. The work is meticulous enough to be engaging yet calm enough to keep you from going into overload mode.
It seems that things have not been running quite as smoothly for the flood recovery office. Even since we started working with block by block the decline of volunteers is noticeable. Apparently there were eight teams lost due to the weather this week alone. On the brighter side however, Melisa, our sponsor from Block by Block has just yelled across the room to me that by next Monday they will have will have reached over 10,000 volunteers that have worked with Block by Block. June 10th of 2008 is when the count started. That works out to roughly 500 volunteers a month.
Closing thought for the day-
“The vocation of every man and woman is to serve other people.”-Leo Tolstoy
Thursday, January 28, 2010
House Blessings
On Sunday we had house blessings for four houses on one of our blocks. We began working on these four homes in late fall and pushed hard to get them completed by Christmas. We called for final inspections on them right around Christmas time. We had a couple small things to fix after the inspections on two of them and we passed the final inspection on the first time on the other two homes! Two of the homeowners have moved in are getting settled back in their neighborhood. The other two ladies haven't moved in yet because of the last snow storm we had and now the ice storm. I think one of them is going to be moving in as soon as the weather cooperates long enough. It is really exciting to drive through the block and see lights on and personal touches to the houses. On Sunday, our flood recovery team, Gayle, and a few others gathered in each of the four homes to welcome the homeowners back and say a blessing for the home. Gayle is the Pastor at Lovely Lane UMC and she lead the house blessings for us. Each home owner was presented with a prayer shawl made by local church members. They were all very thankful and grateful for all of the volunteers that put so much work into their houses to make them homes.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Working with Winter Weather
I wrote this during the icy weather the other day and couldn't post it because the internet went down :( so here it is now!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Oak 5 Joins The Team
Hello everybody, my name is Harry and my team and I recently joined Block by Block in their efforts to continue the flood recovery in Cedar Rapids. We are an Americorps NCCC team based out of Vinton and are very excited to be involved in the recovery. We started last Monday and have been extremely humbled by the opportunity to serve our country in such a manner.
Let’s start out with a little background of the team. This is the second of five projects that we will take part in this year. The first was at a YMCA camp in Agusta, Michigan working primarily with 5th and 6th graders as cabin councilors. Before that we participated in a month long training schedule with the rest of the teams from Vinton. All of us come from different backgrounds and all but two of us come from different states. It’s been quite an adventure so far, learning how to live in such close proximity with ten other people who start out as strangers but are already very close as friends.
Our first week with Block by Block was also quite an adventure. The first half hour or so of most days was taken up with specific trainings that have to do with what we’ll be doing for the rest of the seven weeks we will be here. The rest of the morning and all of the after noon was spent doing hands on work. Most of our time has been spent gutting houses, although some of the time was spent painting and doing finishing work as well.
Three times a week we start our mornings at 6am with 45 minuets to an hour of P.T. (Physical Training). The other two days we don’t need to be in the van ready to leave until 7:30am. We live at the Iowa Brail and Sight Saving School in Vinton. The 40 minute van ride into Cedar Rapids each morning is just about the perfect amount of time to wake up.
Once again, we are very grateful to be able to join in the flood recovery. Thank you so much for everyone’s time and hospitality. If you see some one wearing a grey shirt with a big A on it feel free to stop and say a few words, we love to talk with community members and hear their stories.
Closing thought for the day-“The time is always right to do what is right.” ~Martin Luther King, Jr.
Yours in service,
Harry
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