Weekly Activism Blog #1

Activism

For my service learning project I am going to be volunteering with the Harbor House of Central Florida. Since this is shelter for victims of domestic violence, there is extensive training that volunteers have to go through before they can begin. Because this is the case, I will begin my service learning project next week, at the first of my required trainings. I will be attending the training called “Recognize, Respond, and Refer- RRR.”

Reflection

Since I have not begun yet, I have little to talk about. However, I am extremely excited about volunteering with the Harbor House. This past week in class we discussed the article by Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice. While this article focused on reproductive rights, it says, “Under conditions of reproductive justice, we will live in homes free from sexual and physical violence…” (Kirk and Okazawa-Rey 244). This feminist view is saying that as women or people in general, we should not be subjected to physical violence. The Harbor House is helping those who have fallen victim to and helping prevent acts of domestic violence. Obviously, it is easy to see that feminist views and the mission of the Harbor House go hand in hand.

Reciprocity

Again, I have not done anything yet, so it is hard to say what I have gained. I feel as though, through doing this project, I will gain a better understanding and compassion for these people who have been victimized. I am currently taking a domestic violence course and am learning a lot about these issues. However, learning about domestic violence in a class is one thing, but actually meeting people who have been suffering because of it, is a whole other story. It’s hard to know what to expect, but I think it will help me gain a whole new perspective of these types of situations and the people who experience them. I picked this project because it interests me, because I can feel something for these people, and because I want to know more about it and what can be done to prevent it. I hope to gain many different things from doing this project, but I guess I will have to wait and see!

Works Cited

Kirk, Gwyn and Margo Okazawa-Rey. Women's Lives: Multicultural Perspectives 4^th Ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010.