ENVIRONMENT YOUTH FAMILY FAMILY HEALTHCARE
AND ARTS
, WELLNESS SUSTAINABILITY
EDUCATION
AND WELLNESS COMMUNITY HEALTH
BALTIMORE FRANCISCAN CHESAPEAKE DEWMORE BALTIMORE CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS -
CODE COURT BY ART PEACEFUL WITH IN APPOINTED THE BALTIMORE
A YOUTH SCHOOLS HEART CENTER SHAKESPEARE SQUASHWISE ARTS SPECIAL
MEANS CO ADVOCATES ESPERANZA CENTER
.
Intern Peer SPECIAL EDUCATION Intern
: Jocelyn : : Liesel Jeremy
Shan
Peer Mentor : Ethan Christian Fatima Jonathan : Wang Caroline Arauz Elzamzami
Cionne Gu Paulisich LeeVallecillo
Gates Colvin
Supervisor Intern Peer : Mentor Emma : Leisha
: : Nadia : Sarah
Koye Winley West Oputa
Supervisor : : Troy Ernest Monique
Nawal Reah Judy
Bocanegra
Jennings Dobson Vasilakopoulos
Maynard Rajeh Howell Cox Supervisor : : Yaneldis Annabelle Boullon Bacordio
What What is is is Baltimore
Chesapeake Code DewMore is Art Baltimore with in the
Youth a ? Heart Schools SquashWise Shakespeare Arts ? is ? ? Co .? is the By
CASA Franciscan Peaceful
? Center ? What is the Esperanza Means Center ? ?
What is the BCPS Office of Special Education ? Baltimore Art SquashWise with Youth a Heart partners Arts works is to a with creative enhance Baltimore the entrepreneurship ’ lives s youth of people and families and need to job through advance training visual equity program in squash that , provides education artistic
Chesapeake We
DewMore empower seeks
Shakespeare Baltimore
to foster civic
Company City engagement youth is the to leading thrive with in historically classical the 21st theatre century
marginalized
The CASA mission of Baltimore of the ' Franciscan s mission to Center provide is to court provide appointed emergency special company assistance economy in Maryland by expanding , offering vibrant access , andto and art For . residents Art with a Baltimore Heart , City brings Schools visual provides classes a range of to services vulnerable to ensure youth that all and students adults ' performances
peoples By personal Peaceful professional through development that Means innovative blow opportunities has the opportunities dust
art-focused mission off to of young Shakespeare to . interrupt We programming people a and physical dedicated , ages delight and 14-22 and community and quality The advocates Esperanza supportive agent , with of change a focus in providing on those a involved place where in the needs are computer to speak Center outreach met , whether science for is the a to comprehensive in regular education
education best persons interests who classes , and of resource are resource
building abused economically center and rooms or self-contained
pathways neglected whose its disadvantaged patrons structural classes
from mission children . at
school One of tothe jobs six largest and higher theatre justice companies organizing violence schools public students system schools
, by shelters in via
, reach the separate empowering . purposeful Our state , their group special
mission , CSC academic homes partnerships education serves youth is to , community centers diverse , assist through athletic with or
young audiences nonpublic , peace centers and community people life special , education with hospitals goals funny organizations in gaining , and moving , where schools advocacy senior the
., rousing , schools creative squash , and mainstage , in
, community personal seasons , becomes and education welcome involved effort in immigrants . Baltimore to By assist focusing ’ them by s juvenile offering youth realizing court hope traditionally system , their compassionate to self-worth encourage under-represented services and reunification dignity , and as the , help technology power fields , we , a work vigorous more to educational and employment facilities Students accessible governmental receive program . skills . and appropriate that agencies welcoming serves will supports enable that over , for interventions foster 16,000 all them . , empowerment students and to rigorous become annually instruction leaders , capacity in , with both the in theatre goals their for change of communities high and the , classroom . , and a growing people eliminate to them improve find of God achievement structural a their permanent . lives . and postsecondary barriers family , success and
. We also inequities reach their offer special in full education potential . programs and and industry services . community and community engagement development effort . . for young children with Individualized Education Programs ( IEP ).
As I write this final reflection on my internship at the Franciscan Center , I find it difficult to summarize my experience in a couple of paragraphs . I started my first day at the Center shadowing my supervisor , Ms . Judy , as she worked with clients to obtain key identifiers such as birth certificates , social security cards , and Maryland state IDs . I watched as she effortlessly explained to clients what documents they needed while also engaging in meaningful conversations with them . After working with about ten clients , she joked about how unfortunate it was that my first day was one of the Center ’ s “ slow ” days .
The next week , I began working with clients on my own . Every day it was the same drill : birth certificate and social security card applications , setting up MVA appointments , and an occasional dental or vision referral . Although I spent most of my days filling out the same forms , I never grew bored of my job . Every new application meant meeting someone new and having the opportunity to listen to their story . It ' s because of this that I find my experience so difficult to summarize ; whether it be conversations about where our spirits go after we die or someone ’ s favorite book , I learned something new from nearly everyone that I spoke to . I am incredibly grateful that people felt comfortable enough to share with me where they are , and where they plan on going .
Through my conversations , I also gained a deeper understanding of the underlying systemic barriers contributing to poverty in Baltimore City . By nature of the work that I did , the one that I witnessed the most was clients being unable to obtain their IDs since they didn ’ t have health insurance cards or medical records , which are needed to obtain a social security card . I saw how the shortcomings of our system affect primary BIPOC , LGBTQ +, the elderly , and people with mental illness . The Franciscan Center helps bridge some of the gaps in our system by providing clients with the tools and resources to succeed .
My experience at the Franciscan Center has been transformative , to say the least , and I am incredibly grateful for all of the amazing staff that quickly adopted me into their family . I send a special thank you to Sabrina and Ms . Judy , who have shown me the power of listening and compassion .
Worked with the Franciscan Center Responsive Services team to help clients obtain key identifiers , such as birth certificates , social security cards , Maryland state IDs , and other emergency resources .
Visited homeless encampments , shelters , and detox facilities across Baltimore and worked with clients to provide emergency resources and complete applications for key identifiers .
Assisted with other services provided by the Center , such as serving lunch , registering clients to receive boxes of fresh produce , and packing lunches .
26