AmeriCorps

Meagan Stark

VISTA- Kingsport, TN Served 2008-2009

"We cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress and prosperity for our community. Our ambitions must be broad enough to include the aspirations and needs of others, for their sakes and for our own."      ~Ce’sar Cha’vez

I was only twelve years old when my mother was diagnosed with a deteriorating spine.  The condition made it extremely difficult for my mother to walk, and eventually she could no longer work.  As a single mother, she was the sole provider in the home and it wasn’t long before the loss of income took a serious financial toll on our lives.  Eventually, my mother and I became homeless.  With the help of some community programs we were able to get an apartment in public housing though the Kingsport Housing and Redevelopment Authority.  We soon were living in Lee Apartments and making great new friends.  Caring for a disabled parent at such a young age could often be stressful, but I found refuge in the teen program at the Lee Family Learning Center.  It was through the tutoring program at the Lee Family Learning Center that I began to excel in school.  In fact, I credit the program with teaching me to enjoy learning and helping me to graduate from Dobyns-Bennett High School with a 4.0 GPA.   My new found love for learning lead me to enroll at East Tennessee State University.  After four years I graduated from ETSU with a degree in Sociology and Political Science.  After graduation, I understood that it was my responsibility to give back to the community that had given me so much; the only problem was that I didn’t know where to start.  I knew I had found what I was looking for when I came across a flyer about AmeriCorps.  Shortly thereafter, I became an AmeriCorps VISTA with the Kingsport Housing and Redevelopment Authority.  As a VISTA, I have pledged to serve one year helping KHRA develop programs to fight poverty.  I am currently running The Abundant Living Care Program, a program targeted at improving the lives of seniors and the disabled in public housing.  Through the program we are identifying the unmet needs of seniors and the disabled and finding ways to address those needs.  This is a program that hits close to home for me, because I know what it is like to care for a disabled relative.  I know this program would have been a huge help for me and I am glad that because of the VISTA program we are able to offer these amazing services.