The day of the event was really exciting. Both Clients and Volunteers were ecstatic. It was nerve wracking for me, since I was one of the newbies, but there were moments that made all the nerves worth it. The individual I wrote about in my past post, was able to come to the event! I wasn't the one who got to present him with his Birth Certificate, but I was the one who found it, after a small fluke with the system. He ended up being the story of the day. I never got to meet the man, but Shelly, the lawyer who presented it to him, told me that he was extremely grateful that he finally existed again.
Most of the event I helped clients fill out there applications or helped with various technological issues throughout the day. Between myself and the AmeriCorps Vista, Liam, we were able to keep the technology running smoothly. As I said earlier there was a technical glitch with the online system.
After the event, I got to sit and talk with my site supervisor, Lisa Hamilton. She told me that the event is the easy part, and that the hard part is advocating for the clients when we send in applications. Sometimes the applications are sent back to us, forcing us to track down the client and reapply. That is the real hard part, she said, finding the person, and telling them that the process has to start again.
Lisa and I discussed my future role in IDignity events, and decided I would not only work at the events, but help the team who researches state information, contacts clients, and conducts the after-event application process for documents. We will be having the first work-group session on August 12th. Looking forward to it!
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