Pre-Service Orientation: September 6-10

What is bringing individuals from all across the country to Chicago for a year of service? Welcome to the Chicago Health Corps. An AmeriCorps program implemented to reduce health disparities and improve health outcomes for under-served communities in the Chicago area.

Morning of September 6, 2011, 9 am. Roughly 18 young adults convene in an unfamiliar office building on Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL.

A seemingly relaxed group of individuals, just taking it all in. Some are locals to the Chicago area, bringing special concern for and knowledge of their hometown. Others traveled from all corners of the United States, including New Mexico, Connecticut, and Missouri to be here, in downtown Chicago this morning. This is Pre-Service Orientation (PSO) for the Chicago Health Corps, 2011-2012 members. 

What exactly is a "Pre-Service Orientation," you ask?

Karen Berg, program director of the Chicago Health Corps arrives with bagels, granola bars, and juice and coffee. 

Next, introductions, a little thing called "team-building,"and a variety of trainings ensue over the following hours and days.

Team-building, as best we can tell, is the grown-up version of "get-to-know you games." By now, "get-to-know-you games" live in infamy in the hearts of most adults, hence, the name change. To be fair, team-building is not merely a name change, but sometimes a truly more age-appropriate brand of game. These activities tend to dig a little deeper, provoke more discussion, inspire deeper thinking, self-awareness, reflection. So we roll with the punches.

Trainings, this first week included learning about cultural competency, the public health systems in Illinois, Health Care Reform, Illinois public benefits, safety net providers, such as Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), health literacy, and effective communication. We were also trained on specifics of being an AmeriCorps member and a Chicago Health Corps (CHC) member. 

Scavenger Hunt through Downtown Chicago. Part of Pre-Service Orientation.

The first three days of orientation were held at the office building of the Public Health Institute of Metropolitan Chicago. On Friday we met at The Erie Family Health Center in West Town, a service site for two of the CHC members. This gave us a chance to tour a FQHC and become familiar with their methods, and policies for providing care. For instance we learned that service is provided regardless of ability to pay and without regard to a patient's resident status.

Service and Self-Defense: The last day of Pre-Service Orientation we provided service at the local Lakeview Pantry, a food bank that serves the food needs of its neighbors. We were especially impressed by their home-delivery program which carefully caters to the special dietary needs of clients with diabetes or heart health concerns. We then traveled to a nearby self-defense/martial arts studio for an afternoon of practical and actually pretty fun (yet serious) self-defense training.

Host-site orientations began the following week, September 12, at each member's respective site. More updates to come. And PICTURES! Keep an eye-out.