Today marks the end of my fifth week working with the Around the Table initiative through Empower Porter County, and as I say my goodbyes and get ready to close up the office for the weekend I’m reminded again of how lucky I am to be working with such amazing people. This organization does a remarkable job of building community both in and outside of the office, and though it’s been a little over a month since I started, I’m still constantly surprised by my supervisors’ attention and interest.
Empower Porter County is an anti-substance abuse campaign that focuses on preventative best practices through building community, increasing awareness and providing programming through other organizations. It’s a nonprofit organization that was founded a few years ago, and in that short time the organization has grown in both size and influence. Through the inspiration and dedication of Heather Harrigan Hitz and Kay Frattacia, Empower is expanding quickly to effect meaningful change in the region.
It’s interesting for me to be working with an organization focused on substance abuse prevention, as that particular issue has never played much of a role in my life. I’m being introduced to completely new issues, practices and studies that I’ve never been aware of in anything but the most abstract of terms. And at first, the concept of substance abuse prevention itself seemed somewhat futile to me. In my mind, substance abuse was merely a symptom of a much larger societal illness- a means of escaping much larger problems, like poverty or education or unemployment. To spend so much time attempting to prevent the use of substances that are already illegal and also already widely known and distributed seemed somewhat ineffective.
But during my short time with Empower, I’ve met so many people who have been powerfully affected by substance abuse. And just like with any other kind of illness, be it mental or physical, the effort to reduce the influence of drugs or alcohol is one championed primarily by survivors. It’s simply impossible not to be moved by these people’s stories. For many, addiction is a terrifying reality, a part of themselves over which they have no control. It exists in their worlds the same way that disease exists in ours- a constant danger lurking in the unavoidable space between hiding and living. To fight against substance abuse is to assert one’s own power in a world where so much is out of our own control. It’s a fight of courage and of honor, the triumph of individual will over physical weakness. It’s impressive to hear about, and even more impressive to watch.
Around the Table is an initiative that focuses on preventing substance abuse by coming at the problem through a more personal channel; the family. Instead of dealing directly with substances, Around the Table seeks to strengthen family relationships and improve communication skills in order to prevent substance abuse in advance of the problem. It’s an idea that I fully and proudly support- one that acknowledges the deeper roots of the issues surrounding substance abuse in the Porter County area.
Around the Table is a new program, less than a year old, and as such much of my role so far with Empower has been to shape its mission and vision. In fact, writing the new mission and vision statements for Around the Table was one of my first responsibilities at Empower, though my work has greatly expanded since then. I am currently working on much of the media and design work for the organization. I am responsible for Empower’s social media presence, for the design and content of our distribution materials, for the layout and content of our website, and for the content of our upcoming bi-weekly newspaper column. It’s been an incredible experience so far, to be thrown right into the formative stages of an operation and given so much influence in how it develops.
My favorite park of my work so far, though, has to be all the opportunities I have to meet and engage with different people. I’m discovering an entirely new dimension of the Valparaiso community, one that I had no knowledge of living on campus. This town is heavily influenced by the hard work and dedication of a large group of volunteers and community members. These people have known each other for a long time, and they take pride in strengthening their community and improving its opportunities. In the meetings I attend through Empower, both in and out of our own office, I am being exposed to all sorts of people- police officers, teachers, administrators, lawyers, social workers, etc. I work with people from all the district schools, from the local YMCAs and Boys and Girls clubs, from various counseling centers, and beyond. Each person brings their own unique experiences and opinions to the group, creating a rich communal environment that I’m surprised and pleased to see thriving in a relatively small town.
One of my favorite moments to date was our participation in the Youth and Family Services of Valparaiso’s “Chalk the Walk” fundraiser last weekend. This fundraiser allowed organizations to “purchase” sidewalk squares around the Valparaiso court house, which they then got to design and color with chalk pastels. All sorts of businesses and organizations came out last Saturday morning to participate in this great event, which lasted from 8:00am until well into the afternoon. I was lucky enough to recruit my younger sister, Becky, to come down and help out with our sidewalk square design- a major asset for all of us, since none of us in the office can truly call ourselves artists. I had an amazing time with my sister, who I then got to introduce to my supervisor, Heather, and who created an amazingly beautiful sidewalk design for Around the Table.
I’ve been incredibly lucky to be a part of both Empower Porter County and the CAPS fellows program this summer, and I can’t wait to see what the rest of the summer holds!
Love,
Abby