We received a call today in the Resource Center from a grandmother whose six-year-old granddaughter was raped and contracted chlamydia. She was seeking counseling and resources.
What the hell is wrong with this world?
My First Encounter with the Cops
Soooo today was a big day for me.
I had my first encounter with the cops while working! (Yay!) We were stopped on john r and were talking to a woman named Melissa. She was interested in our safety workshops and was talking about resources that might be able to help her get clean. I saw the cops were sitting on one of the side streets nearby. After about 5 minutes of talking to the woman, the cop car started shining those bright search light thingies at us. The other outreach worker (Michelle), tried to shake her hands at them to tell them to stop doing that (it hurt our eyes). One of the cops got out of the car and Melissa said she would go talk to them. I was driving the van and realized that I did not have my drivers license on me, so I definitely was not feelin’ a fight. Melissa went and talked them down and they left.
very exciting day indeeeeeed.
next week i will be in new orleans. when i get back, i want to take a polaroid of that welcome to woodbridge sign with the giraffe. i drive by that sign every day on my way to work and it makes me happy.
today i applied to jobs at the dia, the dhm, dpl, dsc, and the museum of african american history. it was raining pretty heavily when i got out and i saw this woman dancing and twirling and singing in the rain. she was so euphoric and granted, she might have been crazy. but i loved her. i loved that she had the nerve to let go of herself and spin into the abyss that is a wonderfully dreary rainy detroit day.
Filed under Uncategorized
Nighttime in the D
I think there is really something about driving the streets in the city at night. There are moments as you sail by when you are completely enveloped in steam as you pass the buildings, both whole and broken. In those moments, as the steam gushes out of the garbage-choked sewers, you are transported somewhere just for a moment and it’s overwhelming. I think driving over vents is my experience in Detroit. While the reality is that I’m driving over a sewer vent, I can’t help but be swept up in it.
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Vocabulary Lesson
Every day I am at AFG I learn something new, being in such a radically unique environment. One of the most important things I am learning is an entirely new vocabulary. As I learn new terms (and trust me, there are a lot of them), I will update to educate the masses of people that read this blog.
Here’s a snippet of what I learned today:
Cheeking a condom- to place a condom between your teeth and your cheek and to put the condom on the phallus without that phallus’ owner knowing. It is done with incredible skill and accuracy; quite impressive.
A couple of weeks ago, we made a list of other names for commercial sex workers. This includes:
prostitute, whore, slut, curb cunt, strawberry (apparently this has some sort of meth reference), hooker (which originates from Joseph Hooker, who was a civil war general who liked his ladies), and many more that shall be documented when i find the list.
Filed under Vocabulary
Welcome to Detroit.
As I munch on my leftovers from Slow’s, I have to internally smile (I don’t want to actually smile, because the food might fall out of my mouth and that’s kinda gross) as I reflect on my first month living in Detroit.
Living here has been a completely different experience than the bizarre love affair accompanied by the occasional visit I previously had with the city. I am so much more immersed in what is going on; now I am actually part of it. There is an undercurrent of creativity and community, which is really wonderful and there are so many interesting things happening.
Semester in Detroit is pretty brilliant. I mean, partnering us up with community organizations was a really crucial element of the program. First of all, it forces us to be less romantic about the city and to actually acknowledge the challenges it faces. Secondly, it creates a network among the fourteen of us and our organizations. It gives our organizations access to the resources available through one another. It also allows us to see what efforts are being made to approach the challenges this city faces. I love hearing what other people are doing and sharing what I am doing as well.
Working with AFG is going to be an incredible experience. The women in the New Choices program are absolutely inspiring. I’ve seen them for only a short time, but I am amazed by the life changes they are choosing to make. I start Safe Choices on Wednesday and I can’t wait. I attended an all-day training on Saturday that gave me a great deal of information about AFG and how they operate. More later on the Harm Reduction Model, which I am in love with.
Basically, I am happy here. I was starting to get claustrophobic in Ann Arbor. I adore Ann Arbor and my friends and life there are wonderful. But I needed to be somewhere else. And Detroit has been great for me so far. This is an optimistic time for me. Less than a week after the inauguration of our first African American president, the winds of change are a-blowin. I can dig it.
Filed under The City
