Armeen Sayani

March 24, 2016

Social Justice Internship
Asset-Based Community Development Reflection
Misericordia works with the community in many ways and takes
advantage of various community assets. Primarily, Misericordia forms
partnerships with different businesses and companies in the
community in order to find employment opportunities for the residents.
Businesses are forms of institutions, and institutions are one of the
biggest ingredients of asset-based community development (ABC 101
Video). Some businesses that the residents work at include Marianos,
McDonalds, Olive Garden, Panera, Lowes, Trader Joes, Abt Electronics,
and the local theatre. Misericordia takes advantage of all of these
community assets and the individual strengths that residents have (i.e.
cleaning, organizing, cooking) in order to help residents find jobs, earn
income, and become active and productive members of the
community. Turning residents into producers, rather than consumers, is
a big part of asset-based community development (ABCD 101 Video).
Many businesses even reach out to Misericordia to communicate job
openings for residents. While these businesses can readily find
employees by contacting Misericordia, the residents also benefit from
the job opportunities these businesses provide. Therefore, the
partnerships that exist between Misericordia and businesses in the
community are mutually beneficial.
Additionally, Misericordia takes advantage of the biggest asset in
any community: people (ABCD 101 Video). Misericordias doors are
always open to volunteer groups. People are always coming to
Misericordia to volunteer in some way. A popular area for volunteers is
the Misericordia bakery. Other groups come to Misericordia as well,
sometimes for recreation and leisure. For example, last week, an Irish

dancing group from the community came to Misericordia to perform for

the residents. Groups of students from neighborhood high schools (i.e.
Sacred Heart) and colleges in Illinois and other states (i.e. Ohio State,
Michigan University) visit Misericordia all the time in order to learn
about its mission, programs, and services, and to meet the residents.
In fact, as a member of Loyola Best Buddies, I have developed a
friendship with a resident at Misericordia over the last two years. There
is also a program called Citizen Buddies at Misericordia, which is
similar to Best Buddies, but the Misericordia residents are buddies with
older adults instead of college students. Inviting people to Misericordia
benefits the residents in many ways, such as the chance to meet new
people and make new connections.
In addition to assets, Misericordia also values deficits in the
community. One of the biggest deficits is the lack of understanding in
the general public about individuals with disabilities. Many people do
not recognize that people with disabilities are a marginalized
population in the community, they deserve to be treated equally, and
they should be given access to the same opportunities as anyone else.
Many people in the community are uneducated about people with
disabilities, the challenges they face, and how to best support them.
For instance, some businesses are nervous and hesitant to hire
residents. Misericordia uses this deficit to increase its efforts to
educate people in the community. Misericordia holds events open to
the community and welcomes volunteers and other groups of people to
visit so that people can be integrated within the Misericordia
community, spend time with the residents, and learn more about
individuals with disabilities. Misericordia also goes out into the
community, holds conferences, and provides trainings to the general
public so more people can understand this population.
Within Misericordia, PEP specifically uses community assets in its
own way. Residents go to Target and Jewel to buy materials for

production activities or food items for recipes. Residents travel to

Loyola University and clean up around campus. A couple of volunteers
come to PEP three days a week, and PEP makes an effort to capitalize
on the volunteers skills, such as cooking and gardening, so those are
the areas in which volunteers work with the residents. The art therapist
in PEP also does a lot with the community outside of Misericordia. This
year, she initiated several different programs that involved
organizations in the community. For example, one program was a pen
pal program with Anixter Center, another organization similar to
Misericordia. Ten adults from both PEP and Anixter Center wrote pen
pal letters to each other and exchanged artwork. This program allowed
the adults in both programs to express themselves creatively and build
new relationships with people they would not otherwise meet.
PEP also builds on the assets that individual residents bring to
the program. For example, one resident is a hard worker and is training
to hold an actual job in the community. So, when this resident comes to
PEP, he works diligently to complete different tasks, such as sweeping
the kitchen and wiping down tables, and then gets paid at the end of
the day. In this situation, PEP takes advantage of this residents strong
work ethic and cleaning skills in order to prepare him for a real job. On
the other hand, PEP also values the deficits that exist within the
program. One common deficit among the residents in PEP is being able
to regulate their own behavior and behave appropriately in certain
situations. PEP values and focuses on this challenge. The PEP staff
members use a variety of strategies in order to improve residents
behaviors and help them work toward regulating their own behavior.
For instance, there are different reward systems in place for individual
residents in order to motivate them to show appropriate behavior.
Both PEP and Misericordia as a whole have taught me so much
about community development. Ive learned that there are so many
assets available in the community, and it is important to use them to

help populations who are marginalized in society. Using those assets

will help educate others about the specific population and bring new
opportunities for everyone. Misericordia looks at what the community
already has, which is a fundamental component of asset-based
community development (ABCD Animation Video), and uses those
resources to help improve the quality of life of the residents. By using
community assets, Misericordia helps the whole community improve
itself because everyone, including the Misericordia residents and the
assets, is learning and building relationships.
Moreover, Ive learned that community development is all about
give and take. If an organization uses assets in the community, it
must try to give back to the community in order to maintain positive
relationships. For example, Misericordia offers swimming and yoga
classes for people who have special needs in the community but are
not residents at Misericordia. Ive also learned that community
development is all about networking, communication, and building
partnerships. Its about creating new connections between people
(ABCD 101 Video). For instance, Misericordia forms partnerships with
so many businesses, and PEPs art therapy program plans programs
with other organizations like Misericordia. Building these relationships
with people and establishments in the community requires some time
and effort, but the opportunities that result from these relationships
are invaluable.
In my own life, I value the assets and deficits that an individual
brings in every relationship that I have. I value the qualities, skills,
knowledge, experiences, perspectives, and ideas that every individual
has. I value peoples positive qualities because they force me to reflect
on my own qualities and make me want to work to be a better person. I
value peoples skills because they help me improve and develop my
own skillset. I value peoples knowledge because I get to learn about
the world and share that knowledge with others. I value peoples

experiences because they teach me life lessons. I value peoples

perspectives, especially when they are different from my own, because
they force me to think critically and see the world through a different
lens. I value my own strengths because I can use them to help others.
However, no one is perfect, and everyone has areas they can work on
improving. Nevertheless, deficits can, and should, still be valued. I
value an individuals unpleasant qualities because they force me to be
patient. I value ignorance because it allows me to educate others and
spread awareness. I value my own weaknesses because they help me
understand myself better and give myself goals to work toward. There
are both assets and deficits in every relationship, in every situation,
and in every community. The real challenge is to consistently think in
an asset-based mindset and to find the value in everything, even the
deficits.