Right Choices for Youth

Greetings! Michigan AmeriCorps members! My name is Charisse Welborn and I am currently serving as an AmeriCorps VISTA for the Michigan Workforce Development Agency. I am the Youth Development & Volunteer Coordinator for the MI GEAR UP program at Ferris State University. 

GEAR UP stands for Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs. GEAR UP increases the number of low-income, minority, and first-generation students who are prepared to enter and succeed in post-secondary education. The program includes interventions such as tutoring, mentoring, rigorous academic preparation, financial education and college scholarships to improve access to higher education for students and their families.

GEAR UP works with K-12 students. Students must start the program by the 7th grade, and can continue the program in high school and college. GEAR UP is an effective solu­tion for creating systemic change and influencing academic achievement, as well as improving high school graduation and college enrollment rates among low-income students.

Overall the program serves more than 580,000 low- income, minority and disadvantaged students in 42 states, the District of Columbia, and three U.S. territories. GEAR UP has been instrumental in preparing students for high school graduation and success in post-secondary education.

In our state, the Michigan GEAR UP (MI GEAR UP) Program is a collaboration between the Michigan Workforce Development Agency and the U.S. Department of Education. Together they partnerswith15 public post-secondary institutions, the Michigan Department of Treasury and Partnership for Learning. Their purpose is to provide services to 38 public secondary school districts and 77 school buildings throughout Michigan as they strive to achieve their goal of improving entry into post-secondary education of students from the targeted areas.

As I reflect on my terms of serving as an AmeriCorps VISTA, I have been blessed with many opportunities. I was able to serve as a Michigan AmeriCorps LeaderCorps member for 2012-2013.  LeaderCorps gave me the opportunity to gain valuable professional experience. I participated on the Outreach and Communications Team with six other AmeriCorps members. On this team I was able to have a hand in creating the Michigan AmeriCorps newsletter and creating the video showcasing the 2012-2013 LeaderCorps members and their respective programs. 

As an AmeriCorps member I'm sure you know how overwhelming it can be at times, but knowing I was a part of a significant and impactful team where I was able to build other networks and relationships with other Michigan AmeriCorps members assured me the service I was doing wasn't going unnoticed and that I was a part of helping make the world a better place.

Through this opportunity I inherited a powerful network. The individuals I served alongside were doing valuable things in their communities - changing lives every single day in so many ways. LeaderCorps definitely taught me that even small changes can make big differences.

AmeriCorps VISTA and LeaderCorps have been life changing for me. I would never forget this experience and everything that it has taught me. Through the opportunities I have been afforded, I have truly learned what it means to serve.

Helping Homeowners Find Foreclosure Alternatives

Hello Michigan’s AmeriCorps blog readers! I’m Kim Chipps. I am in my second year serving with the Michigan Foreclosure Prevention Corps (MFPC) as a Foreclosure Prevention Project Manager at Elder Law of Michigan (ELM). I am also part of Michigan’s AmeriCorps LeaderCorps.  

The MFPC has been in service since 2009 and is a statewide program with member placed at foreclosure counseling agencies across Michigan. These members increase the capacity of housing counseling agencies to serve homeowners facing foreclosure to taking on critical supporting functions so they can focus on the clients most in need. For the 2012-2013 AmeriCorps years, we have 20 full-time AmeriCorps*State member serving. During the 2011-2012 AmeriCorps year, MFCP members were able to provide triage and referral services to 5,570 new clients who sought out housing assistance services. An additional 14,995 individuals were reached through community outreach, mailings, and presentations. MFPC members also reach 246 individuals through financial literacy outreach. Of those individuals surveyed in financial literacy presentations, 88 percent indicated an increase in financial knowledge. 

For the past two years at ELM, I was given the opportunity to help develop and define ELM’s new Housing Counseling Services program from scratch.  Participating in developing this housing counseling program and watching what it has grown into has been a truly rewarding experience. I can proudly say that ELM’s Housing Counseling Services now works with clients to try and find alternatives to foreclosure on a daily basis. 

For those of you not familiar with foreclosure it is the disruption of someone’s life. Foreclosure can happen to anyone. It happens to people from all kinds of different backgrounds from hourly wage earners to doctors to retirees. Foreclosure does not just affect one individual home on a block; it affects families, whole neighborhoods, and local communities alike. With foreclosure it is important to not to wait to get help, the earlier one starts learning about all their options to prevent foreclosure the better their chances of finding an affordable solution to their foreclosure situation. 

I believe that one of the most important aspects of my service over the past two years has been providing clients with a financial education and educating them on how to utilize foreclosure options. Armed with a financial education, individuals can not only try to resolve their foreclosure situation but move forward in their lives with a solid foundation for making financial decisions.  On a daily basis I am amazed by the strength and perseverance our clients show as they move forward during one of the most challenging times of their life.

As and AmeriCorps member, I took an oath to “get things done for America.” After serving with AmeriCorps I have seen how sometimes doing the smallest things like listening to someone’s story for an extra five minutes or helping an older adult apply to a program online can make all the difference in “getting things done.” I have enjoyed my service and hope to continue to “get things done” for my community where ever my future takes me. 

As I end my second year of service with AmeriCorps, I am very proud of the efforts and impact that my fellow MFPC members and I have had on the lives of homeowners trying to fight foreclosure in Michigan.

You can find more information about preventing foreclosure in your local Michigan community by visiting the Community Foreclosure Response Toolkit at www.miforeclosureresponse.org.