by Rachel Lynne Wilkerson
1910 post card showing the artesian-fed pool at the Natatorium Hotel in Waco.
Spectators familiar with the BSR Cable Park’s rise to internet celebrity a few summers ago might be surprised to learn that Waco has been a destination for water activities for a century. Before lazy rivers and slides that launch swimmers into the air, the Waco Natatorium built by Confederate army veteran Robert B. Parrotton at 4th and Mary Ave. offered mineral waters and baths. The indoor pool enticed bathers from all over to travel to Waco for a dip long before Waco was a viral water slide sensation.
Pools are critical gathering places for children and families in the summer months when school is out of session. They provide employment opportunities for older children, recreational activities for the whole family. A recent UK study found that swimming provides a positive boost on well being comparable to going to the library or playing music. Swimming is good for our physical, emotional, and social well-being. Additionally, public pools and baths in Waco and beyond have always played a tremendous role in creating community space. The ancient roman baths are the modern day equivalent of community centers—a place for lively discussion and a healthy exchange of ideas.
With these benefits in mind, I’d like to pose a question: why doesn’t Waco have more public pools?
This was one of the first questions I asked moving back to Waco three years ago. While the options for high-flying (and high-priced) water parks abound, I couldn’t find very many public places to swim laps. The public options seemed limited to the local Ys with limited time tables. The Center at Columbus Avenue Baptist Church, built in an old Y, offered an indoor pool at the odd length of two thirds of the standard competition dimensions. No city pools were in sight.
City officials have given various explanations for the closing of the pools: outdoor swimming pools are out of vogue, city-operated swimming pool usage is too low, refurbishing the pools would require raising taxes, splash parks are the best substitute. And yet, the absence of public pools is increasingly noticeable and a real loss as high summer in Central Texas continues.
Waco’s strained relationship with public city pools, and its history of valuing big ticket amusement water parks echo underlying tensions across neighborhoods in the city. Residents informed me that Waco closed all of its public pools over the last two decades. The last pool closing is well known as the site for Hawaiian Falls. Whatever their cost constraints for traditional outdoor pools, The City of Waco contributed 2.5 million to the construction of Hawaiian Falls. For those unable to travel to the park or pay the entrance fee, Waco offers splash parks. I do not have the numbers to substantiate the City’s claims on the sustainability of outdoor pools, but I know that pools thrive in some other mid-sized and small cities, the Playdium Pool in West for example. As a lifelong swimmer and proud Texan, I can tell you that no one, for a moment, thinks a splash park is equivalent to submerging into a chilly summer pool on a hot Texas day.
The city of Waco and its residents have the chance to mend a longstanding rift. In 1964, the Waco Community Relations Committee, succeeded in desegregating all City park and recreation facilities except swimming pools. The current options for cooling off in the summer heat are geared towards a mobile segment of the Waco population—those who can pay the entrance fees and have access to transportation. Waco deserves better. To Dr. Roger Olson and other community advocates, city pools are “a local justice issue.” As Waco grapples with its history, community pools could be a step towards mending fissures in our community.
Pools aren’t cheap, but the merits of communal space, shared conversation, and a way to cool off in the summer outweigh the costs. The portrait of Waco as a water wonderland is not the whole story; our city has limited recreational options for children in the summer. Pools are a natural common space for parents and families to gather, for sun-soaked friends to exchange ideas, for each of us to meet people outside of our own ruts of social circles. Traditional city pools are vital to communities, and Waco residents, all Waco residents, deserve access to public pools.
Rachel Lynne Wilkerson studies statistical modeling with an eye towards applications in the food system. A staunch advocate for pie as a catalyst for gathering neighbors together, Rachel thrives on open water swimming and front porch conversations.
The Act Locally Waco blog publishes posts with a connection to these aspirations for Waco. If you are interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco Blog, please email [email protected] for more information.
By Brett Greenfield
As a social worker the most consistent aspect of my job is that I am constantly learning something new. Something I have learned through working with families is to measure time not in months, weeks, days, or even hours, but moments. Life is filled with infinite moments that together craft stories, memories, purpose, and meaning for every one of us. These moments, whether shared with others or experienced in solitude have the capacity to change the course of an entire life, or merely pass by without the slightest hint of significance. When life is measured in moments beauty is found in the mundane, space is created for joy, sorrow, and every emotion in between, and hope is revealed amongst the darkest of times.
Working with foster and adoptive parents there is this moment for me that is always incredible. It is a moment during a phone call, just after asking a foster parent if they are willing to accept a child into their home…and they pause. This pause, sometimes seconds and sometimes seconds that seem like minutes, is nothing short of sacred. In these ever brief moments of silence, usually followed by questions about specifics and logistics, something truly remarkable takes place. The unspoken emotions of those moments are gravitas. Fear, courage, heartbreak, bravery, and compassion burst at every seam of the seemingly empty space. Moments like these are one of many that foster and adoptive parents experience that are often incomprehensible to others. These moments are also the first of many experiences between a child and a family, both of whom start out completely unknown to one another. The countless experiences that follow can be equally as unknown, and are just as sacred.
This pause is so significant because it is so familiar. Every person finds themselves at one point or another facing this same sense of the unknown, and these moments of pause take place when vulnerability is being asked of us. The unknown is such a vulnerable space, and yet is intricately intertwined with every relationship. Every family I encounter, be it the grandparents raising their grandchildren, the first time mother beginning a new journey of parenting, the foster family courageously raising a multitude of children even when that time is limited, the large family with many children, the parents of children with special needs, the adoptive families weaving together their own family story; any family with any story finds themselves confronted with the vulnerability of the unknown at many points along the journey.
The willingness families to wade deep into the vulnerability of embracing children is something I will forever cherish and admire. My hope is that I offer more than just admiration, and also provide support for this vulnerability as well. Experts in child welfare have long studied the effects of secure attachment in children. Secure attachment is something often taken for granted, until it is somehow lost. Many families find themselves confronted with the challenge of loving and embracing a child deeply in need of the nurture and care characteristic of secure attachment. Through these journeys of loving children a common thread is woven. Families seek a place for their stories to be heard and hope to be found.
The task of sharing stories and searching for hope can be daunting and intimidating, but hope has a way of making itself known. MCH Family Outreach is offering a new program for families of all shapes and sizes called Circle of Security. This 8-week small group program is designed to give parents and caregivers the opportunity to understand their story in new ways that reveal the hope already present in their lives. If you or someone you know is interested in meeting with other parents for this type of opportunity, please contact MCH Family Outreach at 254-750-1263 or email Brooke Davilla at [email protected].
Classes can be offered at a variety of locations and for groups of 8-10 parents. Examples of groups can be:
- Foster and Adoptive Parents
- Parents of small children
- Parents of older children
- Single Parents
- Parents of blended families
- Parents of children with special needs
Brett Greenfield is social worker in Waco, TX. He is a graduate of the Diana R. Garland School of Social Work and currently serves as a Case Manager with MCH Family Outreach. He is passionate about working with families in the community and offering community education in trauma-informed care, attachment, and family relationships.
The Act Locally Waco blog publishes posts with a connection to these aspirations for Waco. If you are interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco Blog, please email [email protected] for more information.
By Craig Nash
This summer, the great people at Share our Strength provided the Waco Texas Hunger Initiative Regional Office with two Youth Ambassadors—students who helped us operate and evaluate the Summer Food Service Program. Below is a reflection on the summer from Sydney Brown, one of the students who served alongside Leah Reed. Both Sydney and Leah provided us with a wealth of energy and wisdom as we sought to improve the Summer Meal experience for Waco children.
Plans are already underway for summer 2017, and I am putting together a Child Hunger Team of volunteers from the community to begin mapping out strategies. If you are interested in serving, please email [email protected].
***
My name is Sydney Brown. I’m originally from Kansas City, Missouri and currently a Junior Public Health major at Baylor. For as long as I can remember I have been interested in how nutrition directly affects the well being of local communities. This summer I was fortunate to have the opportunity to work as a Youth Ambassador for The Texas Hunger Initiative’s Waco Regional Office, which has been a perfect mix of nutrition work and community interaction. I have had the privilege of being on the front lines of the USDA Summer Meals program and to see how hunger during the summer affects the lives of our young people. From serving meals at sites to playing with children at Summer Meals Celebration events, I have received a well-rounded look at what hunger in Waco looks like for children and what is being done to combat it.
Having worked as a Youth Ambassador last Spring in THI’s regional office, doing research on establishing meal sites, there were times when I could feel a little disconnected from the issue of hunger. But having the opportunity to actually be at the sites and to interact with the program and its participants has helped to give me a more full picture of the Summer Meals program. I have met so many incredible families that take advantage of the summer meals program, visiting with them and hearing their stories.
One of my favorite events to participate in this summer was our Summer Meals Celebration event at Brame Park in Bellmead. I have found that summer meal sites which have heavy traffic in the beginning of summer sometimes have trouble maintaining that through the duration of the program. One of our goals with the Summer Meals Celebration event was to get kids excited again about La Vega’s “Meals on the Bus” program. La Vega ISD has taken one of their school buses and converted it into a Lunch Meals Express, which transports food to areas where kids are highly concentrated and provides an air-conditioned environment for children to enjoy their lunch.
We collaborated with La Vega ISD and St. Paul Lutheran Church as well as with some of Baylor’s Campus Kitchen Americorps Vistas to provide fun games and activities for the kids. The kids were able to come out and play beanbag toss, mess around with water balloons, and try their best to win the three-legged race before eating lunch on the bus. I loved that through the games and activities this meal stop became more than just a place to get a free lunch, but now a place to come and play with friends. I got to talk to some of the families that were at the park and was told that many of them came to the park every day to enjoy lunch and had now become close friends with one another. I loved knowing that the summer meals program had brought people together as a community, not only in sharing a meal together but also in creating friendships with one another. The summer meals program has been such a joy to be a part of and I am so encouraged by it. This summer has allowed me to get plugged into the Waco community by being a part of an amazing program.
Craig Nash has lived in Waco since 2000. Since then he has worked at Baylor, been a seminary student, managed a hotel restaurant, been the “Barnes and Noble guy,” pastored a church and once again works for Baylor through the Texas Hunger Initiative. He lives with his dog Jane, religiously re-watches the same 4 series on Netflix over and over again, and considers himself an amateur country music historian.
The Act Locally Waco blog publishes posts with a connection to these aspirations for Waco. If you are interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco Blog, please email [email protected] for more information.
(Note: This post is part of a series called “Entrepreneurs of Waco.” The series is collaboration between the McLennan Small Business Development Center (SBDC), the Professional Writing program at Baylor University, and Act Locally Waco. The McLennan Small Business Development Center offers technical assistance, business mentoring, training, and resources for all stages of small business. For more information, visit their website: www.mccsbdc.com. To see all the posts in this series, click here: Entrepreneurs of Waco. – ABT)
By Casey Froehlich
Some people spend years trying to discern their vocation, but Tonja Carpenter found herself fulfilling hers before she even knew it had a name. For fifteen years she helped mothers in her neighborhood and church community deal with life after giving birth. Then, after years of doing the work… “I found out that it wasn’t just my idea, it was somebody else’s idea already. That there was such a thing as a ‘postpartum doula’… I had never heard of that before.” She quickly got certified with the largest doula training service she could find, DONA International. From DONA she received training in “postpartum, adjustment, newborn characteristics, care, feeding, and development, and the promotion of parent-infant bonding. ” Now Tonja has her own business serving families of newborns, “Postpartum Doula Services of Waco.”
After graduating from Baylor in 1991 with her with a BBA in Finance, Tonja went on to work in the insurance industry. After getting married she traded that career for one that was even more demanding: full-time mother. Tonja and her husband Vince went on to give birth to five wonderful children who now range in age from thirteen to twenty-one.
The births of her first three children were “peachy” according to Tonja; the fourth was a different matter. Her labor stalled, eventually going on for ten hours (especially long when compared to her third birth that lasted only an hour and a half). After she gave birth she hemorrhaged which caused issues with her lactation. “I ended up just falling into a deep depression for six months,” she said of her time after birth. Luckily she had the support of her community.
“The women of my community, they weren’t called ‘postpartum doulas’ then, but they surrounded me and my whole entire family. For weeks and months they would come in and clean my house and call every day, ‘ok how ya doing?’ — bringing meals, talking through, helping with kids…It was a terrible time for my family, but it was great in that my community surrounded me and lifted us up and carried us through.”
Though that time in her life was fraught with pain and fear she still says she wouldn’t trade her experience for the world because “having the postpartum depression with my fourth child has really helped me have a greater perspective on what moms would be dealing with that are suffering with postpartum depression, and I can help them to recognize the early signs of it because I experienced it myself… It adds a great dimension to by business because I cannot just sympathize with the moms and the families but I can truly empathize because I’ve been there.”
And, it isn’t only the mother who’s affected by the birth of the new baby. “Researchers are finding that dads can suffer from postpartum depression as well because they feel just overwhelmed with what’s happening. Because it’s not just the mom, yeah the mom is the one that’s actually pushing the baby out, but she didn’t get that baby on her own… And so her partner, or her husband, or whoever, they have emotions too,” and these emotions need processing too Tonja says.
“It’s very fluid with each family and each day because every family has different needs. So really there is no typical day, it just depends on what is the need at the moment that the family needs to be taken care of….” Daily tasks range from cooking and cleaning to grocery shopping and accompanying mothers to their newborns’ doctor’s appointments. “I guess it starts with ‘how are you doing this morning?’ and then we go from there” she says with a smile.
Tonja charges for her services on a sliding scale. Doula services are typically range from seven-hundred to nine-hundred dollars for six weeks of care consisting of two to three hour shifts depending on the families’ needs. She also does pro-bono work with CareNet for mothers who simply cannot afford her services.
Breastfeeding support is one of Tonja’s specialties. “Not all postpartum doulas are breastfeeding counselors. I just happen to be an accredited breastfeeding counselor with Breastfeeding USA. I think it enhances my ability as a doula to better serve my clients,” she says. Tonja also helps run the Breastfeeding USA, Waco chapter that meets on Friday mornings at My Little Playplace, 10:30-11:30 am. It’s a free support group/cafe for breastfeeding moms. The breastfeeding counselors of this chapter will also do home visits for moms in the Waco city limits for those who can’t make it to the Friday meeting. “Being a breastfeeding counselor is also a part of the steps I am taking as I work towards my IBCLC credentials,” Tonja explains. “It stands for International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. Prayerfully, I will take and pass my board exam in April 2017.”
One memory of a client stands out in her mind: a father unsure of how to hold his newborn infant. “He was a first time dad and he had never been around babies ever, and it was just so precious watching him figure out how to hold the baby.” She laughs as she demonstrates the father’s technique – more like holding a football than a baby. “So I taught him how to do skin to skin with his baby, and you know he just fell in love—he was already in love with his baby but even more so. He was like, ‘aw this is great’ and he just wanted to hold the baby all the time! … Just seeing him learn how to interact with his baby and make it comfortable, and not be scared to touch his baby and not be uncomfortable with his baby that was beautiful.”
What is truly beautiful is the passion and compassion that Tonja Carpenter has for the families and mothers that she serves. Her wealth of experience, kindness of heart, and willingness to serve makes her the perfect fit for any household seeking aid after childbirth. Tonja’s bubbly personality and readiness to laugh is just what the doula ordered for families struggling with the post-birthing experience.
The entrepreneur…Tonja Carpenter, PCD (DONA), BC is a graduate of Baylor University with a degree in Finance. After a brief stint in the insurance industry, she married, raised and homeschooled her five children for 15 years while serving, mentoring and supporting young mothers in her church and community. She’s been married for 22 years and is a Certified Breastfeeding Counselor with Breastfeeding USA and a Postpartum Certified Doula with DONA International.
The writer…Casey Froehlich is a senior English major at Baylor University with a minor in Creative Writing. She hopes to one day work in publishing as an editor.
The Act Locally Waco blog publishes posts with a connection to these aspirations for Waco. If you are interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco Blog, please email [email protected] for more information.
By Ana Chatham
People often ask me how I, being born and raised in Brazil, ended up here in Waco. I usually respond with the briefest summary of my immigration story I can produce. Being a private person who normally dislikes small talk, it is comfortable for me to omit the details and just stick to the easy, pleasant stuff – all the great things that have brought me and kept me in this country: opportunities to grow as a person and as a professional. For the sake of time and efficiency, I usually leave out what I consider to be some of the most important parts of my story: the parts that have to do with faith and loss.
Although I am a person of faith, I don’t usually tell people that it was a deep sense of calling and an unexplainable peace that led me to accept an opportunity about which I knew little, in a country where I only had a few acquaintances, when I was only 18 years old. I don’t normally talk about how my faith was truly what motivated me to come to the USA and strengthened me to stay.
I also hesitate to talk about loss. But, as we all know, you can’t go anywhere without leaving somewhere behind. Yes, my immigration journey has added so much to my life – relationships and life experiences, just to name a couple of things. But it has also caused me to mourn the loss of so much – relationships and life experiences, just to name a couple of things. The greatness of what I have here doesn’t diminish the greatness of what I left behind, even if the greatness of what is left behind is only perceived by my own eyes and heart.
This February, ten years after I first arrived in the USA, I pledged allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, along with another 500 or so immigrant persons. The whole process of becoming an American citizen made me think deeply about the many immigrants I have met, mostly through my work in various non-profits. Each story is unique, yet similar in the sense that they are often themed with faith, hope, resilience, and loss, much like my own immigration journey.
In a time where the prevailing message about immigrants seems to be around what we come here to gain, take, use, and abuse, it is easy to forget what we had to leave and lose. And it is easy to forget how those choices were motivated by faith – faith in a better future, faith in the American Dream, faith in a higher power, faith in the power of hard work and sacrifice – the same types of faith the motivates non-immigrants to do what has been set in their hearts for the betterment of themselves and their families.
May we be a community that seeks to understand and honor people, local and immigrant, in the wholeness of their stories. May we listen to each other instead of the loud, often hateful, noise from our electronic devices. May we celebrate each other’s journeys and realize that though our journeys may have involved different steps, the underlying themes are often the same.
Ana Chatham is a social worker at a local nonprofit. She is also a member of the Waco Immigration Alliance and of the Latino Mental Health Coalition. When not at work, Ana enjoys spending time with her husband, her friends, and her two dogs, Crosby and Cody. She can be contacted at [email protected].
The Act Locally Waco blog publishes posts with a connection to these aspirations for Waco. If you are interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco Blog, please email [email protected] for more information.
(During these last few weeks of December we will be reprising the Top 10 Most Opened Blog Posts for 2018 from the Act Locally Waco blog. I couldn’t possibly pick my favorites – so I used the simple (cop out?) approach of pulling up the 10 blog posts that got the most “opens” according to our Google Analytics. It is an intriguing collection that gives at least a little insight into the interests and concerns of Act Locally Waco readers. I hope this “Top 10” idea inspires you to go back and re-read your personal favorites. There have been so many terrific ones… If you would like to see the Top 10 according to Google Analytics, here’s the link: Top 10 Most Opened Blog Posts of 2018. Merry Christmas! — ABT)
By Matthew Hoffman
Faith In Action Initiatives (FIAI) is the medical missions and humanitarian aid arm of Baylor Scott & White Health. FIAI is a source of medical supplies, equipment and furniture donations to nonprofit charitable organizations. My name is Matthew Hoffman. I am the FIAI strategy coordinator in Waco who established the center following the merger of Baylor Health Care System and Scott & White Healthcare in 2013.
FIAI offers many programs, but one of its primary initiatives is its Second Life Resource Center at 3000 Herring Avenue in Waco. FIAI receives items from nonprofits, for-profit businesses, and members of the community. Items include wheelchairs, walkers, canes, and basic medical goods. Each week, shipments of medical supplies, equipment and furniture are processed, sorted and shelved by staff and volunteers for donation to local and international non-profit charitable organizations. Donation recipients include medical clinics, medical missions, churches, transitional living facilities, educational institutions, and humanitarian aid organizations. Our Second Life Resource Center serves the Waco, College Station, Temple, Austin and Hill Country regions.
Why does Faith In Action do this? We do this, first and foremost, because we care about people and we want to see people cared for. It is our hope to help elevate access to health care by coming alongside these nonprofit organizations and supplying their resource needs as we are able. When there are so many good nonprofit, charitable organizations within our communities who are bringing loving, compassionate care to others, we want to help resource their needs. By doing this, these nonprofits are better able to reallocate their funds to other projects and expand their own work when they aren’t having to pay for items that we are able to freely give to them. The end result of this is that we hope to help create healthier communities.
My hope is that Faith In Action – Central Texas will become increasingly recognized as a “one-stop shop” for resourcing nonprofit needs in the area. In its first year, FIAI’s Central Texas division was able to give away more than $250,000 worth of goods to local and international humanitarian aid efforts, and is on target to exceed $1 million in total donations.
The initiatives also help reduce waste. If we can give to a homeless shelter or a transitional living facility a perfectly good bed, or a pregnancy help center baby formula and diapers, or a charitable clinic basic goods that serve low income areas, instead of throwing these items away and filling up our landfills, we will give it away to good people every time.
Beyond serving local communities, FIAI also is heavily involved internationally. FIAI sends, on average, a 40-foot shipping container each month full of supplies to medical missions, hospitals or humanitarian aid efforts located worldwide.
If you would like to be part of FIAI by either donating goods or volunteering your time at our Second Life Resource Center, or if you are a nonprofit in need of resources, please contact me by phone at (254) 227-2640, or by email at [email protected].
Matthew Hoffman has over 25 years of experience in nonprofit leadership and development with community, health care, and faith-based organizations. He currently serves as the Strategy Coordinator for Baylor Scott & White Health’s Faith In Action Initiatives – Central Division, which he sees as a dream come true to be able to link larger organizations with the needs of the poor both here locally and abroad. He holds a bachelor’s degree in social sciences (emphasis on sociology and international relations) from the University of Houston and a master’s degree in theology (emphasis on community development and ministries to the poor) from Fuller Theological Seminary. He has two children and has been married to an incredible human being and best friend, Anna, for 25 years.
The Act Locally Waco blog publishes posts with a connection to these aspirations for Waco. If you are interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco Blog, please email [email protected] for more information.
By Jenuine Poetess
we wrote about freedom
him and i
next to each other on
cold metal chairs
attached to tables
affixed to the floor
[if it doesn’t move, it can’t be a weapon]
we wrote about freedom
him on the inside
me on the free
he wrote about life
beyond his four walls
beyond a judge and jury
beyond a CO and a watchful eye
always watching
always waiting
for him to mess up
i wrote about life
beyond cognitive confinement
a liberation of consciousness
the incarceration of ignorance
sentences served by the masses
for life
without the possibility of parole
we listened to each other
talk about freedom
him with one eye out the window
following a bird’s flight
high above the curling razor wire
me with two eyes on him
a boy becoming a man
finding the keys
to set himself
free
I wrote this poem one evening after returning from the Therapeutic Creative Writing circle I lead at a Texas Juvenile Justice Department correctional facility. I started facilitating the InsideOUTLOUD circle in April 2016, but the conception and dream began long before—over a decade ago—and before that, the first inklings of such a program began to formulate in my mind over twenty-five years ago when I was an adolescent.
My initial rudimentary ideas started to take shape during my season of life in Los Angeles. I was working as a mental health clinician providing therapy to teens throughout LA county in schools, community centers, and probation offices. I often incorporated creative process into therapy sessions and saw the value of integrating various expressions into the healing process.
During this time, I was also cultivating my own craft of poetry and spoken-word arts as I engaged in the thriving poetry open mic community in East LA, Downtown LA, and Sylmar, CA. As I became a part of different community art spaces, I saw the correlation between expressive arts and healing process unfold. The two are undeniably and inextricably entwined. I met one of my mentors, Luis J. Rodriguez—who is now a life-long dear friend and creative collaborator—and we talked about his experiences as a former gang member and how poetry and visual arts saved his life—literally—and lit the way for him to make a life outside the barrio. He writes of his experiences in his two memoirs, Always Running and It Calls You Back, but beyond those books over coffee with him and Trini at their kitchen table, or over pupusas at a local cocina, we talked about the need for safe spaces of expression for youth who are inside the justice system.
I also read True Notebooks: A Writer’s Year at Juvenile Hall by Mark Salzman in which he documents his experiences of working with the InsideOut Writers program in the LA County Juvenile Justice System. Reading his reflections and excerpts of the kids’ writings was an affirming validation of everything I had been dream-scheming over the years. My love for the written and spoken-word arts coupled with my clinical background became the nexus for my Therapeutic Creative Writing program.
I currently facilitate this program at the Klaras Center for Families and at a Central Texas TJJD facility on a weekly basis. We engage in creative writing—any genre, any style—off a prompt picked out of a list or bag by each of the youth. Sometimes we do specific creative writing activities such as metaphor poems, or writing challenges such as determining a set of words that everyone has to incorporate into their story, poem, lyrics, or reflection. There are very few rules save one most important rule: we never dis our own or others’ work. After we write, each person is encouraged to share/read aloud their piece—myself included! There is never a requirement to share, always an open invitation. Part of the process is learning how to listen to each other, how to give constructive feedback—both in content and form, and how to receive the affirmations of others.
he spoke about death
dark shadows shrouding his face
red
red
red everywhere
blood dripping from the noose he drew around his own neck
the word “mistake” tattooed across his self-portrait
over and over and over again
questions written
deafening
around his face
haunting him
“do i matter?”
“does my momma love me”
“who would miss me”
i choke back my tears
i am not there to cry
he doesn’t need my sorrow
i thank him for entrusting me with his truth
i tell him what his words mean to me
i tell him how glad i am he joins us every week
i thank him for what he teaches me
a smile breaks out across his face
radiant
i feel it in my marrow
“I taught you something, Ms.?” he asks
“Always.” i affirm
we take turns drawing layers of a mandala
a collaboration
a connection
The therapeutic element is indirectly woven into every aspect of the circle—the relationships, the process, the content. Directly, I created over 70 intentionally directed prompts which address various aspects of life, development, feelings, and experiences to prompt reflection. I engage conversation with these Brave Young Voices about the content that comes up in their writing, we talk about what it is like to struggle through anger, grief, injustice, family and community violence, the choices they’ve made, and the choices that lay before them. I talk about how the practice of writing and creative expression in and of itself is a healthy coping skill. As they write, youth learn how to find language to articulate what it is that is swirling inside them so eventually, instead of fists or f-bombs, they can use poetry, stories, and journal entries to express themselves. We also talk about how the page can be a mirror that helps us to know ourselves more deeply and truly, and how when we know ourselves authentically, we can be more firmly grounded in the path we choose for ourselves, unmoved by peer pressure and outside influences.
At the end of a recent circle at TJJD, one of the boys said to me, “Ms.! It’s the strangest thing I don’t really get it, I feel so much better after writing. I was all mad before you came. But now, it’s like all calm in here.” He pointed to his chest and gave me a nod of approval, “You alright, Ms., you alright.”
I choked back my gratitude tears as I smiled and told him that is exactly why I come do writing circle with them.
They might make more mistakes. They might return to the lives they lead that got them caught up in the streets. They might struggle through the justice system into adulthood. Poetry might not change the world. But for a moment, every Thursday afternoon, they are free on the page. They have hope. They see a shining reflection of who they are and who they could be. For a moment, there is someone who shows up in loving kindness and holds safe space for their healing through creative expression. And to me, that is everything worth anything.
(Poems, InsideOUTLOUD, and Brave Young Voices, are original content of Jenuine Poetess © 2016).
Jenuine Poetess is an artist, visionary, and community organizer. In 2010, she founded In the Words of Womyn (ITWOW), an international, grass-roots, written and spoken-word arts project with chapters throughout Los Angeles, CA; Waco, TX; and Lebanon. Jenuine is the founder of Waco Poets Society and co-founder of the Central Texas Artist Collective. She writes, organizes, and creates rooted in the fierce conviction that holding intentional space, access, and opportunity for all people to foster their creative health is a matter of justice and is a vital asset to the sustainable thriving of communities. She currently lives and poems in Central Texas where she enjoys finding new ways to disrupt the homeostasis of her city. You can contact her at: j[email protected].
The Act Locally Waco blog publishes posts with a connection to these aspirations for Waco. If you are interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco Blog, please email [email protected] for more information.
By Ashley Bean Thornton
When I got home on July 12 a phone message was waiting for me – Did you see the paper? City of Waco is thinking of outsourcing janitorial services; 22 people might lose their jobs! Since I have been facilitating the Prosper Waco committee that is working hard to help people find exactly these kinds of jobs, I was certainly concerned. I zipped off a note to my city council rep, the mayor, and the city manager (among others). I’m pleased to say that all three responded quickly and thoughtfully. Their responses all shared the same basic message – we’re trying to make wise choices about how to best use limited resources.
We, the general public, tend to want everything. We want to pay people decent wages, and we also want more and more other stuff: Police and fire protection, street repairs, good water and utilities, parks, arts and culture, sidewalks, etc. etc. We like the comfort of the status quo, and we want the benefits that come with change. Also, we don’t really want to pay any more in taxes. It’s tough to choose among all these priorities.
In general, we the people of Waco, are not too keen on wrestling with the trade-offs and the exact details of how much of one thing we are willing to sacrifice in order to get some more of something else we want. We leave these “details” to the city staff. That’s A-OK with me. I have all kinds of confidence in our city staff. I believe they know a whole lot more about running a city than I do. And, I believe they are working as hard as they know how to help us grow the city we want. It is precisely because we trust our city officials to handle the details of these trade-offs, that it is important to communicate clearly to them what is most important to us.
I want our city leaders and staff to know that good jobs for all Wacoans is at the very top of our list of priorities. I want them to know that, if need be, we will support decisions to go slower on some of our other city goals in order to stay true to that value.
What does outsourcing a few janitorial jobs have to do with the lofty goal of good jobs for all Wacoans? Maybe not too much, but maybe quite a bit. I had never thought about outsourcing much before facilitating this Prosper Waco employment committee, but as I have learned more about how it works, I worry that it can lead to a general trend of trading good jobs for bad jobs.
By “good jobs” I mean full-time work with decent pay (at least $10 an hour) and benefits such as health care and retirement. By “bad jobs” I mean low pay, or offering only part-time work that never leads to any benefits. “Good” jobs build up our community and help create stable families. Bad jobs contribute to destabilizing families, and destabilized families contribute to a host of deep and long range challenges for our community.
I understand that the jobs I am calling “Bad” are not bad for all people in all situations. Too many bad jobs and not enough good jobs is the problem. That’s why I am concerned about the possibility of trading some of our good ones for bad ones.
When I heard that the city could save $294,000 by privatizing, I wondered how a contractor would be able to do the same work for so much less. One worrisome possible answer is that they will pay less, not offer equivalent benefits, or only let people work part time so that they never qualify for benefits. But, that doesn’t necessarily have to be the case. It could be that by focusing on the one core business of janitorial services contractors are able to gain efficiencies that allow them to offer lower rates to their customers while still offering their employees good jobs. The latter would be a win-win. The former would not be a win for Waco even if it represented considerable savings to the City HR budget.
I don’t know if outsourcing these janitorial jobs is a good idea or not. That depends on the exact details of the arrangement, and those are exactly the kind of details I depend on the city staff to scout out and our elected officials to discern. I just want them to know as they are weighing these decisions that we in the community believe that a commitment to good jobs should carry a lot of weight.
The 22 janitorial jobs that started this conversation are important. I am convinced after visiting with my Councilman, Dillon Meek, that if we do decide to outsource, the city will work hard to help those 22 people make the transition into jobs that are equivalent in terms of pay, hours and benefits.
Those 22 jobs, though, are not the whole story in regard to this notion of trading good jobs for bad. I’ll paraphrase a quote often attributed to Ghandi, “Be the change you wish to see in Waco.” I would like to see us follow that advice in regard to how we think about city jobs.
Making sure that people who work for the city get fair pay and benefits – whether they are on the city payroll or on a contractor’s payroll — is one way we as a city show that we expect other employers in Waco to do the same. When we are negotiating with businesses who are considering moving or expanding here, one thing we want from them is good jobs — jobs that contribute to the overall long term health of our community. I would be proud for the city to lead the way in that regard, even if it means we have to make some tough choices about other priorities.
This Act Locally Waco blog post is by Ashley Bean Thornton, she works at Baylor, helps out with Act locally Waco, and facilitates the Waco Foundational Employment Network which is a part of Prosper Waco. She likes to walk and doesn’t mind at all if you honk and wave when you see her.
The Act Locally Waco blog publishes posts with a connection to these aspirations for Waco. If you are interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco Blog, please email [email protected] for more information.
(Note: This post is part of a series called “Entrepreneurs of Waco.” The series is collaboration between the McLennan Small Business Development Center (SBDC), the Professional Writing program at Baylor University, and Act Locally Waco. The McLennan Small Business Development Center offers technical assistance, business mentoring, training, and resources for all stages of small business. For more information, visit their website: www.mccsbdc.com. To see all the posts in this series, click here: Entrepreneurs of Waco. – ABT)
By Sarah Lesikar
If a music box, a scooter and a rocking horse all had a baby, it might look something like the BearBack hippotherapy device. Sitting on four wheels, it is a black metal box with a rounded cushion, like a half barrel, on top and handle bars in the in front. A window on the side of the black box allows you to see what’s inside: gears and pulleys and cams. The handlebars will offer extra support for a potential rider, something that will be much appreciated when those gears, pullies, and cams are set in motion…because riding the “Bearback” is going to feel just like riding a horse.
Dr. Brian Garner, a humble, soft-spoken engineer, is the founder of Chariot Innovations, the company that is working to produce the “Bearback.” He can be found at the Baylor Research and Innovation Collaborative (BRIC), usually surrounded by BearBack parts and models.
The adventure began with Garner’s research which compared the motion pattern produced by the gait of a horse to that of a person. Using the same technology that captures human motion for movies or video games, markers placed strategically on horses and riders provided Garner with full 360-degree motion patterns of both walking horses and walking people. It turns out that these patterns are remarkably similar.
Garner gathered this data at REACH Therapeutic Riding Center in McGregor, TX, an organization that uses hippotherapy to assist children with special needs. Hippotherapy, which uses the movement of horses, is used by occupational therapists, physical therapists, and speech-language pathologists. It can promote core strength, facilitate focus, help with balance, and build motor skills. Some swear that it also decreases seizure activity. For patients who cannot walk or who struggle to walk properly, horseback riding allows them to experience what a correct motion pattern should feel like, while building the core strength necessary to walk on their own. After realizing how helpful this motion pattern could be, Garner began creating a device that mimics the gait of a horse in order to make hippotherapy accessible to as many patients as possible.
The project began in his garage. Since then he has produced three prototypes and eventually arrived at today’s model. Despite Garner’s enthusiasm, the idea that a mechanical device like BearBack could have the same benefits as actual horseback riding might seem like a tough sell. With its spinning gears and churning pulleys, the machine looks outlandish to say the least. But according to the parents and therapists of patients like Ethan, it is already making a difference.
Ethan’s father pushes him into the barn/clinic, past the many horse stalls and tack, into a small room at the back of the stable. The cool morning air smells of hay. Amid the horse-related paraphernalia, a poster on the wall reads, “The best thing for the inside of a person is the outside of a horse.” Ethan has arrived in a high-backed wheel chair with supports on either side of his torso. In recent years his Cerebral Palsy has worsened, causing his motor function to weaken and his verbal activity to regress. His brain sometimes struggles to tell his hands what to do, and he lacks some of the strength necessary to hold his head upright. But thanks to dedicated therapists, loving parents, and Garner’s technology, things for Ethan are starting to look up.
It takes three people to get Ethan out of his chair and securely situate him onto BearBack. But soon, the therapist, Kristin, turns a knob. The machine hums to life, and Ethan gets to spend a few minutes as a cowboy. Country music from a nearby IPod fills the room, and he leans back in the saddle, like a smug star from an old western film. Kristin scolds him for his “cowboy slouch,” guiding him to correct his posture by engaging his core and oblique muscles. Kristin stands behind Ethan, keeping him securely on the saddle by holding firmly to a band that wraps around his torso, but she encourages him to make any corrections to his posture using his own grit and strength. His mom peers in from the window, making faces and waving to catch his attention, while his dad taps his fingers on Ethan’s helmet, encouraging Ethan to lift his head.
Ethan’s “noble steed” may be a tad less traditional, but his parents and therapists attest that his time on BearBack is helping him to hold up his head and to hold a standing position for longer periods of time. With Ethan’s limited independent mobility, it would be nearly impossible to transfer him onto an actual horse or to give him the necessary support while still allowing him to engage his muscles. BearBack, on the other hand, is stable, low to the ground, and accessible from every angle.
Even though it wasn’t part of the initial plan, REACH decided to keep Garner’s invention. Hippotherapy is beneficial, and it can also be fun for patients who can be overwhelmed with various therapy treatments. That’s one reason why it’s so important to make BearBack accessible to as many patients as possible. As one REACH staff member put it, they just can’t stop “using the tar outta that thing.”
In the future Garner hopes to develop an entire library of motion patterns to meet different patients’ needs. For instance, a horse’s walk is different from a horse’s trot. An engineer at heart, figuring out the mechanics of BearBack is where Garner really hits his stride. The business portion, on the other hand—navigating bills, paperwork, and patents—he admits, “Is not my strength.” One day he hopes to bring in some people to help take over those roles.
Ultimately, for Garner, BearBack is more than an engineering challenge or business venture. It’s an opportunity to fulfill a calling. “I feel like this technology has been a gift from the Lord,” explains Garner, “and I feel entrusted with that gift; using it to help others is what really matters.”
The entrepreneur…Brian Garner grew up in Austin, Texas, obtaining degrees in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Texas in Austin. In 2002 he joined the engineering faculty at Baylor University. He enjoys working with students at Baylor and teaching courses including Statics, Machine Design, Biomechanics, and the capstone Engineering Design course. He is blessed with a wonderful wife, Margie, and four wonderful children, Abigail, Anna, Noah, and Daniel.
The writer…Sarah Lesikar is an Oklahoma native studying English Literature at Baylor University, where she will be working on a thesis over Tolkien’s Trees in the fall. An avid traveler, Sarah has visited 19 countries, but she also enjoys chocolate chip cookies, all things ballet, dog-eared books, and spontaneous taco runs with friends.
The Act Locally Waco blog publishes posts with a connection to these aspirations for Waco. If you are interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco Blog, please email [email protected] for more information.
By Rebecca Larsen
Eight years ago I became the first person in my family to graduate from college. I vividly remember my parents’ tears and the smiles of the two professors who helped encourage, support, and guide me to graduation and opportunities beyond. Today I work for an incredible regional campus in Waco through Texas Tech University. Texas Tech at Waco supports and connects students with opportunities in the same inspiring, specialized way that I was privileged enough to receive.
Like most of our students, I started at a community college. My courses at community college opened my eyes to the possibility of college and made me realize that I was intelligent and could excel academically given the right training. Thanks to McLennan Community College (MCC), our students begin with MCC and then transfer to Texas Tech and can finish their 4-year degree without having to leave Waco.
In addition to Texas Tech’s comparatively inexpensive tuition, we have multiple scholarships including one students are automatically entitled to if they’re able to keep up their GPA. A four-year Texas Tech degree averages $25,000 and many of our students have their full tuition covered between scholarships and financial aid.
We seek to support people who are living, loving, working, and raising families in Waco that want to benefit from higher education without going into significant debt. We offer flexible course schedules, including online and hybrid courses for those with hectic lives. The average age of our students is 29 and many are first generation college students. Whether you are looking to get a bachelor’s or even a master’s, Texas Tech has multiple degree plans that you can complete in Waco.
Even though I’m a new hire with Texas Tech, I can already see that students get the four-year university excitement at our Waco campus. Just last week, the President of Texas Tech University, Dr. Lawrence Schovanec, came to Waco to show his commitment to our campus. He spent hours speaking individually to our students at our Red Raider Rally.
Texas Tech does for Waco what the University of Texas at El Paso does for El Paso and did for me, and I’m honored to be a part of it. We are generously housed at McLennan Community College in the University Center and love when students stop by to learn more. So, come say hi!
Rebecca Larsen is the Regional Site Manager of Political Science at Texas Tech University at Waco. She loves hearing from prospective Political Science and Public Administration students. Her email is [email protected]. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TexasTechWaco Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/texastechwaco/