AmeriCorps Troops Expand

Last year, Americorps VISTA member Emily Siefken boosted Truman School’s after-school offerings with science experiments, a dance group, a new Boy Scouts troop and workshops with parents on literacy.

A $345,000 grant announced Wednesday to the New Haven Education AmeriCorps VISTA project will bring more VISTA members like Siefken to the city. The grant came from the Corporation for National Community Service will go to the Agency on Aging of South Central Connecticut. It will allow the agency to expand from 16 VISTA members to 22 in the coming year, according to Anne Ostberg, the Connecticut program director for the Corporation for National and Community Service. Of the seven VISTA programs in Connecticut, the New Haven education program is the largest, she said. 

U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro announced the grant at New Haven Reads at 4 Science Park.

The Agency on Aging has received small VISTA support grants in the past, but the new grant will allow the not-for-profit to hire a full time staffer as well as add 6 VISTA corps members. The agency recruits more than 700 senior citizens to volunteer for community service projects each year, according to Director of Volunteer and Training Ron Webb. Many volunteers work with New Haven kids. The agency’s foster grandparent program pairs seniors with special needs children to help improve the kids’ reading and social skills. The Retired and Senior Volunteer Program matches seniors with more than 80 agencies, including hospitals, New Haven Reads, and local schools.

Through the grant, the agency will be able to take greater ownership of these volunteer programs by paying the allowances of each VISTA corps member themselves, Ostberg said. VISTA is a national service program that fights poverty by providing full-time workers to not-for-profits, community organizations, and public agencies. It was conceived by President John F. Kennedy and created in 1965.

In New Haven, VISTA members work with a variety of organizations, including Higher Heights Youth Empowerment, Common Ground High School, Dwight Hall at Yale University, the United Way, and the New Haven Public Schools Office of Wraparound Services. Wraparound services include the program Siefken worked for, BOOST!, which connects kids with social-emotional supports and recreational activities at school; and kindergarten canvassing, a program where volunteers knock on the door of every incoming kindergarten student to welcome the family and encourage parents to get involved in their child’s education. Other services include organizing a back-to-school rally and running Parent University New Haven, a series of workshops for parents. At New Haven Reads, VISTA members gathered 136,000 books last year to give to local children. New Haven Reads itself was started by a former VISTA member.

Rather than working one-on-one with students or community members, VISTA corps members typically coordinate other agencies that directly serve people. In the past two years, VISTA members have recruited more than 260 volunteers in New Haven, given more than 12,000 hours of service, and helped more than 3,000 students learn how to read and prepare for college, DeLauro said.

The grant will allow more children to receive the services they need and will allow VISTA to raise more money for community organizations, VISTA leader Alyssa Carboni said. 

“This is one of the best models in the country,” National Director of AmeriCorps VISTA Mary Strasser told the crowd. ​“Who knew the White House knew what you were doing here in Connecticut? They’re very pleased with the work you’re doing.”

Studies have shown that nothing is more strongly correlated with income than education, Strasser said, so VISTA and the new grant play a vital role. ​“It’s not something nice. It’s something necessary. It’s a good investment,” she said.

Schools Superintendent Garth Harries challenged VISTA members, many of whom come from out-of-state, to stay in New Haven after the end of their service. VISTA members commit to one year of service, but many extend for a second or third year. ​“Youth can change the world,” he said. ​“VISTAs have been critical.”

DeLauro then called out those in the federal government who don’t see the value in the work of the VISTA program. ​“Lots of people don’t see this moral responsibility to help others,” she said. ​“They don’t believe this is something government should be involved in.” The VISTA program was subject to cuts this year and 500 corps members were not placed with organizations due to sequestration. DeLauro pledged to stand ​“shoulder-to-shoulder” with VISTA to maintain the program’s funding.

“This is not a fly-by-night program,” she said. ​“It works. It is successful. Anyone who wants to cut it is mindless.”

“Young people are strong and when you can multiply the hands and the hearts that are available to minister to people….[This community work] would not get done without the volunteers that are here,” DeLauro said.