Maysville Housing Authority

1
Maysville Housing Authority

• City Population 8,993 (1999 Census)
• Average income 27,813 (1999 Census)
• Maysville Housing Authority (MHA) formed in 1950
• 264 housing units
• MHA average household income is 9,591.59/year
  average rent is 182/month
• MHA Camp Discovery developed from an after school
  drug prevention program in 2001
• All 3 MHA Camp Discovery directors senior
  internship students from EKU

2
Camp Discovery

• 2004 budget for Camp Discovery 40,617
• Camp staff 11 staff 1 director and 2 assistants
  all EKU Park Rec. majors 8 part-time staff all
  college students from Maysville
• 150 campers were enrolled in camp for 2004 with a
  diverse population of African Americans,
  Caucasian, and Hispanic
• Camp Discovery duration was 10 weeks June 2-Aug.
  6, 2004 from 7a.m.- 430p.m.
• Camp facilities included playground equipment, an
  open field, 2 basketball courts, a shelter and an
  equipment room
• Beechwood Community Center used for lunch and
  rainy days

3
Stereotypes

• The perception of a housing authority as unsafe
  and as a haven for illegal and immoral activity
  was prevalent initially with the EKU students.
• I am nervous about my neighbors. Are they
  alcoholics and drug-users? Im imagining drugs,
  white-trash, gangs, and a lot of poor people
  living around me. I expect a lot of noise and
  commotion I figure I will have to be very
  careful of everything I do.
• I had a fear of racial tension simply because I
  was the only black on staff. It amazes me how far
  behind Kentucky is in promoting race unification.

4
Optimism Prevails

• Yet despite the living arrangement
  apprehensions, the students still maintained
  optimism and a sense of purpose.
• I think its good Im living here because it
  will show the children that Im not above them.
• Im going to enjoy being able to live
  rent-free, and Ill also have a better
  opportunity to get to know these people more.

5
Unfounded Stereotypes

• The stereotypes associated with living on-site
  were quickly dispelled upon their moving in and
  experience.
• Within a couple of days I realized that Bruce
  (Housing Authority Director) runs a tight ship
  and does a great job keeping his apartments safe.
  I saw no gangs or drug activity. The neighborhood
  was clean and well-kept it was not a bad place
  to live.
• The good thing about living in the housing
  projects is that it is very quiet at night. Ive
  even unintentionally left my back door open
  throughout the night several times and nothing
  has happened.

6
Staff Stereotypes

• A police officer visited the camp one-day for an
  educational session and this visit became fodder
  for continued stereotyping. One Maysville
  counselor said, These campers should get used to
  sitting inside that police car because its in
  their future. One of the EKU students wrote,
  it was funny yet sad.
• This student avoided a confrontation and failed
  to correct and educate the peer. This was a
  learning opportunity wasted.

7
Camp Life

• This experience afforded these EKU students with
  an invaluable learning opportunity given the
  complete autonomy to plan the events and
  supervise the staff and budget. While the camp
  allows 3 weeks for staff planning, there was
  still chaos and shock as 150 children converged
  the first day.
• The kids were asking for stuff right and left.
  The counselors were overwhelmed I was
  overwhelmed. This has been the longest week of my
  life! It felt like the days were longer than a
  boa constrictor.
• This reaction is certainly not atypical. A sound
  strategy for subsequent years to minimize such
  shock would be to capture videotape footage of
  the first day or two of camp to be used with
  counselor and management training.

8
Parent Issues

• Parent issues developed on occasion throughout
  the camp. One instance involved a parent who
  frequently picked up her children well past the
  designated ending of the camp. This of course
  caused the students to be delayed in finishing
  their responsibilities, obviously a source of
  frustration.
• One EKU student took the initiative to confront
  this woman. The parent indicated that she was new
  to the community, had moved from Atlanta to
  escape an abusive relationship with the
  childrens father.
• The EKU student later wrote, If we take the
  time to see whats going on in some of these kids
  lives, I bet we can trace their behaviors to
  these circumstances. Sometimes it (effective
  management) is simply a matter of listening.

9
Values of the Camp

• A primary benefit of the camp according to
  parent interviews was the activity component.
  Without the camp, the majority of parents
  indicated their child would be inactive and
  watching TV or playing video games. Some parents
  also mentioned the mentoring element of the camp.
• I think its good that college students are
  here because it gives them (the children)
  positive role models.
• Some parents even indicated an increased
  likelihood of their children attending college
  based on their interactions with these college
  students.

10
Leadership Lesson Role Models

• Our interactions with one another will
  influence how the children respect and react to
  the staff and to one another. It bothers me that
  we (staff) seem to resolve conflicts in public
  and not in private. We also segregate ourselves
  from one another. I have yet to see all staff
  engage in one conversation the children do this
  as well. As responsible adults we should
  encourage social interaction with all kids, but
  we have sadly dropped the ball in doing so.
• Counselors were perhaps not as vested in the
  camp experience, unlike most camp staffs that
  many times may share similar values. All
  organizations can learn from the segregation
  mentioned above and make conscious efforts to
  promote interactions.

11
Camp Recommendations

• Character education for both children and parents
  
• Establish and mandate personal development goals
  (contract) for parents and campers
• Students in training need positive reinforcement
  and affirmation
• One EKU student commented, Debbie walked to my
  apartment and thanked me for the summer and told
  me it was the best one yet. That statement meant
  a lot to me, yet most parents could have been
  nicer and more appreciative.

12
Living Recommendations

• For the first week I had no TV, no phone, no
  bed, and no money a bad combination.
• While the students live rent-free, the housing
  authority should still consider a furnished
  apartment with more attention paid to creating a
  pleasant, college-oriented environment where
  students can revive and recreate their energies
  and mental strength. As anyone could imagine
  living and working in the same place is
  difficult.

13
Student Reflections

• A lot goes into running a camp. I was tired
  physically, mentally and emotionally, but Im
  glad I did itan internship people would die for.
  Most of these kids are good, but get a bad
  reputation because their home lives are not
  always the best or because of simply living in a
  housing authority and the associated stereotypes
  this entails.
• This experience has taught me many things not
  only as a professional but as an individual.
  Being a recreational professional I believe means
  caring for the patron and I can honestly say I
  cared for those children. I often catch myself
  thinking about particular children and wonder how
  they are doing. With all that Ive done, I hope
  that I at least was able to help one child, and
  if I did, then I did do my job. This experience
  taught me to be more appreciative of the things I
  have and showed me I can always go without and
  continue to be happy.

14
Conclusion Theyre Still Just Children

• It taught me that I can make it on my own Im
  a lot stronger mentally than I thought I was.
  This experience taught me how to better work with
  people. It showed me that kids today are living a
  much different life than they were just a few
  years ago in that they are more worldly, more
  aware of sex and drugs rap music seems to be
  such a bad influence on these kids.
• The campers were treated to an amusement park
  experience. One of the students ensured that all
  children he was supervising received a souvenir
  of the park visit (paid for by the student). One
  camper he writes, thanked me from the time she
  received it (stuffed animal) until we arrived
  back at camp. She really warmed my heart.
• And these worldly campers are really just kids
  needing attention, discipline and limits.