Our Strategic Expasion VISTA focused on the Opioid Epidemic, Hari, explains as I walked down 19th St. NW on my first day of work at the NLADA office, I passed by the mural “Women Who Will” and immediately loved it. The absolutely huge and bright and unapologetic burst of color, the pop art style, seemingly random location, and its juxtaposition against the surrounding grey concrete are just so fun to me.
Wonder how NLADA VISTA members actually expand holistic defense? Interested in becoming a host site or a VISTA member yourself? Read on to learn more about the day to day of our program and host sites.
Latest from VISTA
Monday, August 12, 2019
Right now, what is motivating Yamilex, serving in Lubbock Texas, are the images and footage that came out after lawmakers visited the detention centers in Texas a few weeks ago. The fact that human beings are in a facility without adequate attention and care is inhumane. Whether or not someone agrees in restrictive or nonrestrictive immigration policies, it should still disturb someone to see those images and footage from the detention centers. yamilex has been feeling stuck in this feeling of guilt and shame to be living in Texas during her service and not being able to take action.
Monday, July 29, 2019
Harri, NLADA's Strategic Advancement VISTA, recounts her experience at a seminar over media and the Criminal Justice System. It was really extraordinary to hear firsthand from LynNell Hancock and Norris West, two journalists who were reporting during the Central Park Jogger case, and Yousef Salaam, one of the Exonerated 5, about how media image is created and experienced.
Tuesday, July 23, 2019
Wan Qi, our VISTA working with New Orleans Public Defenders writes, as an Asian-American woman from New York City serving at a public defenders’ office in New Orleans — where ninety-eight percent of our clients are black, I am usually very conscious of the fact that I do not truly understand this city, its people, or its history.
Monday, July 15, 2019
“When you try to repress a human soul that’s trying to struggle upward, you’re handling dynamite. There is in this world no such force as the force of a person determined to rise. The human soul cannot be permanently chained.” -W.E.B DuBois
Tuesday, June 25, 2019
Grace, serving in New York City, explains how her adventure began as a VISTA. Beginning my VISTA year has been a surreal experience. As I am not relocating to take on this role, much of my preparation has just involved overcoming my own inevitable nervousness. My work site (Office of the Appellate Defender) is located in a bustling part of downtown Manhattan right near City Hall. Being an NYC native, the location and commute are the least intimidating parts of my journey.
Monday, June 17, 2019
These NLADA VISTAS explain why they have a passion to serve and what drives them to fight for access to justice to all people. What do you think of when you think of serving your country what comes to mind? AmeriCorps is a unique opportunity to explore new parts of the country while working to provide much needed services to individual communities.
Monday, June 10, 2019
One time that I have stepped out of my comfort zone and acted with empathy was actually during my last AmeriCorps assignment where I was serving at an under resourced, inner-city middle school. I had students with special consideration and that were on individualized learning plans. I had to consider how to approach my students based on their needs and meeting them where they were at. One student in particular had behavioral issues that made learning challenging. After months of trying to use the schools discipline system without any results I decided to try a system of my own.
Monday, June 3, 2019
Andrea's Implicit Bias Videos Reflection
I think that someone’s implicit bias comes from their experiences. People grow up learning word
associations that eventually become automatic by the time a person has grown and lived through
