As I sit down to write this blog post, one realization crosses my mind. It is the realization that time keeps marching forward, and that is especially true when it comes to summer and my placement. As of the first week of July, I have officially hit the halfway mark of my duties serving Opportunity Enterprises and Camp Lakeside. The phrases “Time flies when you’re having fun” and “You never truly appreciate what you have until it’s gone” perfectly define and encompass what this experience has been. As I look back at what I have accomplished, a lot of it hasn’t felt as actual work. This is not only true for myself, but also for the campers and staff that I interact with on a daily basis. While much of my job is done behind the scenes, I also have many opportunities throughout the week to interact with campers in a way that I still fulfill my duties as a researcher for the camp and OE as a whole. 

While my main focus is of course gathering the necessary data through my observations, this can be done in a variety of ways. As the weeks of camp have passed I have learned that, for much of what I do, I don’t always have to be a separate entity. As I collect data, I have many ways that I am able to collect, which can vary day to day. I have found that what makes my job the easiest is putting my plain, frankly boring, white binder full of assessments, and enjoying the freedoms of childhood with the campers. Most days, there are set activities that each group of campers have the opportunity to participate in (such as archery, water play, art, music, etc.). These activities, as well as a few others, allow me to interact with campers in ways where I am able to observe and collect the necessary data, while also getting the chance to have a sort of “neutral ground”. Because of the position that I am in, as a sort of 3rd party, as compared to other staff such as counselors, I am able to participate in the various games and activities as someone who isn’t directly linked to the campers or the group. This might mean going on a nature walk around the edges of the lake where the lily pads grow, or playing a game of kickball. Much, if not all, of what I am observing in the clients/campers is the potential growth in various skills that are important in social wellbeing, independence, and friendship building. And as my supervisor has said from the beginning of us working together, “One of the greatest tools for learning is play”. 

As I look back and reflect on this journey so far, there have been many things to appreciate. One of the most impactful to me is having the opportunity to interact (in so many different ways) and talk with the campers and OE clients on a regular basis. My job is to learn about these individuals and assess how they are improving or changing based on certain criteria and assessments, but I have found that I have learned almost as much about myself as I have about them. Working in this type of environment has a way of shining a light on who we are as a society, and who we are as individuals, and I am truly grateful for all that has come my way up until this point. 

Your fellow at Opportunity Enterprises and Camp Lakeside, 

Rasheed Jibriel

We often hear the phrase “don’t make excuses, make improvements”. For many, this may be a difficult thing to be told – this kind of statement misses and overlooks the individual nuances and circumstances of the situation we find ourselves in. But despite these challenges, we now find ourselves forced to continue on with no acknowledgement of them.

Although I was not aware that I could have a new perspective on this idea, my time so far working in refugee and immigrant resettlement at Heartland Alliance has brought me one. But before I analyze that piece further, I want to take you through my time so far as an intern on the employment team.

As I onboarded remotely during my first week, rather than being assigned training to do on the side, I was immediately put on meaningful tasks: calling refugees and immigrants involved with Heartland’s programs (referred to as “participants” from hereon). I spoke with them about their work history, goals, and made resumes for them. Of course, not only was it my first week on the job, but I also had never spoken at length with a newly arrived refugee. I also had never made a resume for someone other than myself. I was briefed about what to expect, but my learning of this process was to come through the performing of the tasks, and through the mistakes I would make with real-life participants. 

I had no choice but to find “improvements”, or what would be in this case, solutions.

When I arrived in Chicago, IL to begin my in-person work, I encountered many of the same experiences. In addition to making more calls, I was assigned to take groups of participants to group job interviews at employers around the city on public transportation. Not only was I navigating new parts of Chicago for the first time, but I was also navigating the challenges of making sure every participant was prepared both logistically, physically, and even emotionally for the interviews. I was extremely nervous to carry out these trips. But I had no choice. The participants were expecting to go to their interviews, and the employers were expecting me to arrive. I had to find solutions.

But possibly the most profound moment came on my first day in the office. Upon my arrival, I sat down to shadow and observe a meeting between my supervisor and a participant to resolve a miscommunication. The conversation was being facilitated by an interpreter (although the participant had a basic level of English). The participant was expressing some frustrations and challenges (ones outside of Heartland’s jurisdiction) that he was facing in his first few months in the US, understandably asking for sympathy and for Heartland to fix them. 

My supervisor told the participant firmly, but with care, that she herself was an immigrant to the United States several years ago too, telling him that “When you are an immigrant, excuses do not help you, because no one else cares. Immigrants cannot make excuses. We can only find solutions”. Although it may seem insensitive to some, at that moment my supervisor had only one goal – to ensure that the participant in front of her obtained a job and kept a roof over his and his family’s head at all costs. She expressed to him that he had no time to think about which parties were to blame for each problem in the past. He only had time to think about the solutions.

Not only do the folks who work at Heartland have to come up with solutions on a day-to-day basis in our work, but the participants must do the same thing. Only for them the consequences do not simply pertain to their job, but rather their entire lives. Throughout my first month working here, I have realized that it is a privilege to have the time and bandwidth to distribute blame and air grievances in other areas of work and life. Some people do not get such a luxury.

When I take a step back now and consider Heartland’s broader role in its community, it falls in some sense along the lines of this exact idea, providing solutions in all kinds of forms in housing, employment assistance, vocational English language training and even trauma assistance. The team here can only think in these terms (solutions, that is); when people’s livelihoods depend on you, you have no choice.

So the next time you come across a challenge in your workplace or life and look to blame someone else, be mindful of your relative position of privilege: there are others in the world who cannot afford to do that. Sometimes it may be beneficial and correct to assess blame for such a challenge. But other times, it might just be better to find a solution. 

• by Aidan Obermueller, Heartland Alliance