Our House e-newsletter October & November 2013 | Page 5

by Amanda Woods,
Communications Specialist (VISTA)
Imagine you‟re a VISTA.
You serve Our House full-time.
You‟re available 24/7/365; 40 hours,
60 hours, 80 hours a week, however
much you‟re needed. You don‟t get
paid for this. However, to make
sure you stay alive long enough to
do what Our House needs you to do,
AmeriCorps provides a living
allowance, just barely enough for
rent, electricity, and water. If you‟re
careful you‟ll have enough left for
food, because there‟s no guarantee
of food stamps. Still, the living
allowance is what it promises to be:
it‟s just enough to keep you alive.
With that living allowance to depend
on, you can handle living at poverty
level for 1 to 5 years if it means you
have the chance to help end poverty
in the U.S. for good.
You love what you do as a VISTA.
You can‟t think of anything that
could make you give it up.
No matter what.