Our last day “breaking out” together was a fitting end to an illuminating journey. It began with another 9 AM breakfast that we had become so used to in the past few days. In true PACE center fashion, we were on a mission to minimize our food waste and finish all of our remaining groceries. For us, this translated into devouring chicken parmesan leftovers, enjoying overripe (read: extra-sweet) bananas, and powering through 32 ounces of Greek yogurt. At the end of our meal, we only had a few bags of Fritos and apples left, which we decided to save for the trip back to Princeton.
Following our crusade on the path to sustainability, we remained in the cafeteria for a final group bonding activity. First, we each created a blank cardstock necklace of sorts and wore it so that the cardstock rested on our backs. For the next half hour, we went around the room writing on each other’s cardstocks about our favorite memories of each other throughout the trip. It was a really great opportunity for us all to reflect on what we appreciated about each other and be grateful for all the different perspectives we contributed to the group. We soon realized we would ideally have needed larger cardstock and more time because we really had a lot to express to each other. But we managed to make do with what we had and finish before we planned to leave to meet our last community partner of the trip.
The last outing we made on our quest to understand the nuances of social inequalities in cancer care was to a part of the city we had not yet visited: the Upper East Side (cue Alice’s “cool *whips*”). As we stepped off the Q train at 72nd street station in New York’s most affluent neighborhood, we entered a glaringly sleek, modern subway station. This atmosphere was present throughout our walk to our community partner at New York Presbyterian hospital. This goes without saying, but we, of course, walked into the wrong NYP building the first time around and were redirected to the David Koch Center across the street. This was undoubtedly the shiniest building we had entered throughout our stay in the city.
As we were marveling at the beauty of the building, we walked to our designated conference room to meet our community partners: Susan Marchal and Sarah Waxse. Susan and Sarah explained that they are two of the three social workers who are involved with outpatient cancer care at that hospital location. After brief introductions, they opened the floor to us for any questions we had about their work. We began by having a discussion about Medicare and Medicaid policy in the state of New York and what that meant for the patients that Susan and Sarah worked with.
One alarming point they emphasized was that the upper income limit for a New York resident to be ensured Medicaid beneficiary status was $15000. Even worse, the upper limit for a Medicare recipient (people 65 years and older) to be ensured Medicaid was $10000. This leaves so many people in a middle ground where they make “too much” to receive government assistance with healthcare, but not nearly enough to tackle their remaining costs alone. The conversation weaved through many different topics we had already become more familiar with in the past few days, including palliative care and legal considerations in providing healthcare to undocumented immigrants. However, no matter what we were talking about, I noticed that Sarah and Susan would always bring these high-level concepts down to a personal level. They loved telling stories about the people they worked with, reminiscing fondly with each other about previous patients whose lives they so strongly advocated for. At one point, they went so far as to say that they get so close to their patients that they sometimes feel closer to them than their own family does. Reflecting on this and many other community partner experiences this week, I realized the incredible power that stories have in this line of work. Don’t get me wrong – talking about principles and concepts in equalizing access to care and treatment is so powerful and important. But the times on this trip when I have felt the most passion, the most desire, to be an agent of change in support of this cause is not when we heard about what a patient navigator was or when we learned about New York’s policy decision to fund the Cancer Services Program. It was when I heard cancer patients describe how they felt there was no one in their family they could talk to about what they were going through, or when people like Sarah and Susan remembered and described each patient they served with a smile and each struggle they fought alongside them with a look of worry. If we need to convince more people that this is an incredibly large issue that needs to be fixed, and there’s no question that we need to, I think that listening to and telling stories is an important step in getting there.
As we were wrapping up our conversation with Sarah and Susan, Sarah switched gears and said she had a question for us. “Now that you guys have come to the city and learned so much about this issue, what’s next?” It was such an appropriate question to end our trip. We told her that we planned to take this knowledge back to campus with us and share it with our peers and community there. (Side note: yes, this is an open invitation to ask any of us anything about what we learned this week.) But more than that, this experience is something that we will carry on with us as we continue to figure out our career paths and lives. Addressing inequalities in healthcare and advocating for marginalized communities isn’t something that only patient navigators need to do. It’s something that all of us have a responsibility to do as doctors, policy makers, citizen scientists, but most importantly as humans.
Throughout this Breakout Trip, we got a LOT done (see the map below for a compilation of all the community partners we met). We talked, we walked, we cooked, we shopped, we laughed, and we cried. But the two most crucial things we did this past week was listen and learn, and I can’t emphasize enough how far that took us. I want to sincerely thank everyone who helped make this trip possible. Thank you to the Pace Center for providing this opportunity and supporting it in so many ways. Thank you to Ruby and Alice for being awesome, caring leaders who coordinated and put together such an incredible schedule for the trip. Thank you to the rest of the group for creating such a great, welcoming space for all of us to grow, serve, and learn this past week. Lastly, thank you to all of our community partners for sharing your space, time, knowledge, and experiences with us. Cheers, Niroshan
Quotes of the Day:
“Yeah this building is like 2 seconds old…” – Susan Marchal, referring to the Koch Center “I’m glad we missed the entrance to this last activity at first. We really couldn’t have ended any other way.” – Alice “Excuse me, how old are you?” – NYP security guard to Chantal “Wait, what am I supposed to write?” – Joyce, thinking of a compliment to write on Niroshan’s back “If we say goodbye now, we’ll just all keep walking in the same direction and it’ll be awkward.” - Ruby
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“I can sail without wind, I can row without oars, but I cannot part from my friend without tears." Hello everyone, Chantal here to tell you about how we spent our Halloween! :) So, today is the last full day of our trip. The last full day we get to spend in NYC. The last full day as a group. :’( Although we only met with God’s Love We Deliver today, we spent quite a bit of time in their headquarters and engaged in a few different activities. Afterwards we walked through much of the city exploring for the afternoon. In the evening, we watched the NYC Village Halloween Parade through the city. Overall, we all had a great time serving with our community partner, spending time with one another, and learning more about God’s Love and NYC. The day started pretty early, with all of us waking up before 7am and meeting with God’s Love by 8. God’s Love We Deliver is a non-profit organization that cooks and delivers meals (including entrees, sides, and desserts) to 7,000 people who are living with illness throughout the five boroughs. It started in 1985 with an emphasis on those living with HIV/AIDS and delivered about 50 meals a day on bicycles. Now God’s Love has expanded to include those who are ill and produces meals on a much larger scale. On a daily basis it cooks and packages thousands of the nutritious meals that meet the dietary needs of each of its clients and sends out about 30 drivers every day to deliver food packages in their vans. For our day with the community partner, we prepared ingredients for cooking, packaged food, and delivered frozen meals to people’s doorsteps. Although most of us stayed within the organization’s headquarters in SoHo and worked in the kitchen, a few of us joined drivers in the delivery process and traveled throughout Manhattan and to Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. For those nine staying in SoHo, they were in the kitchen with other more experienced volunteers to cut onions and later portion out bowls of soup and other foods. It seemed like they cut countless bags of onions; everyone had to go stand in the freezer to stop crying because their eyes wouldn’t stop burning otherwise. Afterwards, they came back from their break to prepare assembly-line style meals for kids and adults with different portion sizes, which ended up being a bit more difficult than expected. According to one of the chefs leading the operation, they have to limit the carb intake by packaging certain meals more conservatively because many of the clients are diabetic. Despite what may appear to be an insufficient amount of food for a person, the chefs must keep the clients’ dietary restrictions in account and prioritize their health. Overall, they packaged over 1,000 meals together! Aggie reflected “in general, the other volunteers were extremely nice and genuine. The work, while arduous and repetitive, felt rewarding because we knew the meals would go to people who needed them.” Alice was more appreciative of how they got to see one of the earliest stages in the process of preparing food for clients and see how it all starts to tie together in packaging. While those in back in SoHo engaged in the early step of the food making, a few others traveled throughout the city to experience the final step in food delivery. Hector, Joyce, and I joined different drivers in their vans to bring meals to the doorsteps of clients in four of the five boroughs. The 30+ drivers each have their own routes throughout the week and vans to deliver food in. Routes usually have about 60 clients each and last the whole day to deliver. However, routes are based on convenience in travel and there is no set number of clients for each one. Since many of the clients live in the same buildings or areas, they share the same stops. Most routes only have delivery dates on two days; the amount of food a client receives each time is dependent on the length of time in between delivery days. For each stop, the driver phones the client to alert them of the delivery and then walks up to their apartment to physically deliver them the frozen packaged meals. Although Joyce, Hector, and I virtually executed the same delivery process, we all had different experiences from one another due to our drivers and clients. Because of the evening’s parade, six of the routes were unfortunately canceled and others’ routes were shorter. God’s Love needed to figure out how they would deliver to clients on canceled routes. Hector and I went on abridged routes, but Joyce and her driver had a full route. Hector’s driver gave him a personal tour of the city and got to discuss service and society of different cultures and regions. Hector later informed us that in recent years, the first few floors of new apartment buildings have been reserved for the low-income, disabled population. He thought it was really interesting to be serving a similar subgroup throughout the route yet deliver to a variety of buildings, from old complexes with broken elevators to huge high rises. As for Joyce, she encountered a language barrier first hand on her trip and both she and the Spanish-speaking client had to deal with a lot of stress as a result. This client usually receives meals for the whole week, but for some reason she only had one package today. She tried to tell Joyce of the mistake in Spanish, but the difference in proficiency and the increasing worry and confusion prevented effective communication and a resolution to the issue from taking place. In the end, Joyce’s driver who is bilingual was able to assist and handle the client’s concerns. On my route, I was able to talk about the more social and emotional aspects of food delivery with my driver Irving. Irving has been with God’s Love for the past three and a half years and claims to be the best driver in the organization with his speed and efficiency. Our drive had a rocky start due to unexpected traffic caused by the evening parade and construction, and Irving was especially frustrated. Nevertheless he was able to weave through the sea of cars and quickly drive to Brooklyn. It was clear that he knew the route and clients like the back of his hand by how well he maneuvered through the crowded streets and his ability to recall the exact location of every client’s room. After seeing how annoyed Irving got at every other reckless driver and listening to how exhausted all his commitments keep him, I asked him why he does what he does. Irving said his favorite and most worthwhile part of the job was making his clients happy. On days when he doesn’t feel like talking to anyone and he gets to drop off food for clients whose families can’t afford to visit them, everyone gets to laugh over a few jokes and connect with each other for a little while. I can definitely see it. With how frequent and regular these delivery routes are, it makes sense that drivers and clients are able to build relationships with one another and would know about each others’ lives. I even heard Irving call a few of older female clients on the phone ‘Ma’. It’s an understatement but it’s really nice to know that service has no limits and can influence countless lives for the better. Overall, we all had eye-opening and really engaging experiences with God’s Love We Deliver. Ruby pointed out later that this working alongside members of this organization really demonstrates the differences between vertical and horizontal charity. Instead of vertical charity where more privileged individuals may offend members of disadvantaged communities with condescension and lack of understanding, horizontal charity puts both groups on a more even plane and allows for cohesion, compassion, and shared work. Alice said it was easy to forget what impact service can have when work gets a bit tedious and tiring. She explained that at first she hurried through packaging soup for the meals because of the huge amount of bowls she had to fill. After remembering that these meals will be delivered to and eaten by actual people, she slowed down and took her time in making sure the soup was spooned with care and effort. Leyla thought that the “assembly line [was] a good testament to our teamwork” and that everyone in the kitchen did an amazing job. For me, I was surprised to see how social God’s Love is and how warm all the interactions are. Because the organization differs from traditional soup kitchens I had worked in in that cooks don’t meet with their clients, I didn’t expect for there to be many personal interactions between them and the staff. However, the drivers play this role by being aware of their clients’ needs and advocating for them when necessary. Joyce also informed us of God’s Love’s policy of staff members in administration, food prep, and delivery where every individual has to do each special task with the company annually, ensuring that everyone stays grounded and appreciative of each role. (Check it out at: https://www.glwd.org/ ) After the people who went with drivers arrived back in headquarters, we ate our lunches and left at the end of our shift. In the afternoon, we got to try Do, a cookie dough eatery, visit NYU’s library, and hang out in Washington Square Park. For about an hour we watched street performers liven up a large crowd, entrepreneurs set up stands promoting their special talents and products, and a mini NYU Halloween march take place. We also got told off by a full-time park poet, witnessed a Spiderman showdown, and debated the criteria for streetwear. After that, we explored Hamlet’s Vintage, a vintage consignment store, and chilled by the Hudson River Park. As we walked along the Hudson River, we passed by a rock with a quote by poet Audre Lorde etched inside of it: “Without community there’s no liberation… But community must not mean a shedding of our differences. Difference is that raw and powerful connection from which our personal power is forged.” This argument really spoke to me; it’s all too relevant to this trip and is so meaningful because of both having emphasis on acceptance and inclusion. Each of us on this trip came from different academic and personal backgrounds, yet all of us were able to bond through service learning and exploring the most diverse city in the United States. We embraced our diverse perspectives and experiences to enlighten one another about the socioeconomic barriers to and socio-psychological consequences of treatment. Coming as college students from Princeton, we didn’t share in privilege and understanding from our community partners and their clients. However, through compassion, time, and effort, we were able to find safe spaces to talk about our thoughts and discuss possible solutions to our issue. After exploring the Hudson River Park and posing by the pier, we finally got to eat dinner at Shake Shack and then head off to the Village Halloween Parade. Overall our last full day was beyond our imagination, from crying and freezing over chopped onions, to making silly bets about strangers, to getting creeped out by people in morph suits, to appreciating the good in humanity. Thanks for sticking around until the end; happy Halloween y’all! Love, Chantal Quotes of the Day:
Driver: “Are you scared of the hood?” Chantal: *croaks* “No…” Driver: “She a gangster!” “I had fun today, even though I cried.” - Leyla *in the kitchen assembly line* Sarah: “I’m tired." Alice: “The Industrial Revolution will do that to you.” “Telling your parents that you got [into Princeton] is not flexing.” - Ben “But with a straw you’re like” - Shayla 10/30/2018 0 Comments Day 4: Footprints in the CityIn a word, day four was introspective. The day began with the opportunity to sleep in a little later than usual, and believe me when I say that most of us took advantage of that to the fullest. We started out with some of what I like to call, “immediate service,” and we dedicated our morning to helping our host site. The Metro Baptist Church hosts several clothing and food drives throughout the year for local homeless residents and given that their next drive is being held next week, we offered and were asked to help organize their inventory in preparation for the event. Right after breakfast, the twelve of us all set out to work with a caring and dedicated member of the church, Ms. Kathy Conry, who wholeheartedly trusted us and our organizational skills to separate, sort, and showcase a variety of sizes and types of both men’s and women’s winter clothes on rolling racks. When we successfully put the closet in order, we were invited up to the roof of the church to see the Hell’s Kitchen Farm Project, the garden that the church cultivates and donates its produce. This is the eighth year that the Farm Project has been active after having invited urban agriculturists to lay down the roots of the rooftop garden (no pun intended). The upstairs area was decorated as beautifully as the city skyline and had all of the fixings for a beautiful Manhattan morning. Afterwards, Kathy sat with us as we ate our bagged lunches, talking to us about New York City and her experiences. A Cleveland native, she’s a retired theater professor and a very clearly outstanding member of the church. Her enthusiasm and cheery attitude towards an otherwise daunting task that she said she often comes and spends a few hours a day doing herself, made for a pleasant atmosphere as we went about organizing. One thing that we all appreciated about Kathy’s leadership style was her invisible hand approach. She gave us all a general direction to follow, but allowed us to figure out the system for organization on our own, still providing helpful answers to our questions. When we sat down to eat, sandwiches in hands, we listened intently as Kathy passed on very valuable information to us. She gave us a short history lesson about the church, which we noticed immediately changed our perspective on our host site - it made the space feel cozier after knowing a little more about the building’s and the church’s history. Kathy also made the effort to speak to us about the importance of giving back to the community whenever we can and how important it was to continue to pursue our individual academic endeavors. I had the opportunity to speak to Kathy personally and after speaking a little bit about what it was like for me to grow up in Brooklyn, we also spoke about some of the social issues that are going on today. Kathy reassured me that she and the members of her community shared the same concerns that most of us at Princeton also share. She commented on how great she thought our mission here was and, after emphatically wishing me and the rest of our group good luck on our trip and at school, told me about the faith that she has in students like us to make a difference, even if it starts with something as simple as helping the church organize clothes for a good cause. We took the subway, sans a round of Contact, to the Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care and Prevention in Harlem and quickly realized an unspoken group tradition of entering the same community partner facility on the second try. At the Ralph Lauren Center, we got to see a more holistic perspective of everything that we’ve been investigating over the last few days. We had the opportunity to speak to Dr. Kampel, an oncologist at the Center who enabled us to have an interactive experience in the presentation he gave us, giving us the platform to once again debrief all that we’ve learned about the inequalities and social barriers that surround cancer screening, prevention, and treatment. We also got to speak to a Patient Navigator and learned that the role of Patient Navigator that even exists in the New York Presbyterian Cancer Services Program was pioneered by Dr. Freeman, a renowned physician at the Ralph Lauren Center. Carmen, the navigator who spoke to us was very welcoming and open, and the sheer amount of passion that she puts into her work shone through as she told us a number of stories about different patients with specific detail. Hector later reflected that he thought her job would be a “cool” one to have, to actively champion for people that he genuinely cared for, just like Carmen. A common theme that I noticed between the Ralph Lauren Center and New York Presbyterian, aside from the common role of patient navigator in their system of care was that of cultural competence. Both of these community partners made sure to mention to us, with emphasis, the importance of being culturally appropriate, sensitive, and competent to the patients that walk through their doors. Especially in a culturally diverse city like New York City, you may not initially realize just how big of a factor cultural differences may be in access to care. More obvious factors like language often pose a barrier, but the focus on cultural competence has highlighted more overlooked factors like religion and cultural beauty standards that might keep a person from either seeking out or continuing certain forms of treatment.
SiUnfortunately, we had a limited time in the museum and a very friendly security guard suggested that we make the most of it at the bottommost floor, in the footprints of the original twin towers. We each went off independently from the group and took the time to look at and reflect on each exhibit that was there. Reconvening, we all thoroughly appreciated the opportunity that it gave us to see from a second-hand perspective, a historical event that we all lived through but didn’t necessarily experience first-hand effects from. Overall, day four presented to us the opportunity to learn and reflect. To process and digest everything that we’ve learned thus far on our trip. To think about the significance of the history of the places that we’ve been to and of the institutions that we’ve interacted with. (We also got to do it with a phenomenal last home-cooked dinner, courtesy of Joyce and Niroshan.) Signed off, Leyla :)
10/29/2018 0 Comments Day 3: Navigating the System Today started with another early wake up as we went to meet with two community partners who both do work concerning the issue of disparities in cancer care. After yesterday’s activities provided a more contextual look at the issues that cancer patients face, today’s information sessions had more to do with our specific issue of inequality. We made our way to the Columbia University Irving Cancer Research Center for an information session led by Karen Schmidt, who works in their Cancer Services department. Her job is to make the cancer care at the hospital as accessible to the underserved and underrepresented populations of Manhattan as possible. We learned about the different “social determinants” of health, such as different qualities of housing, food, and transportation. For example, we were asked to consider how people living in polluted areas or areas where healthy food is not accessible would be more susceptible to asthma, diabetes, and obesity, all conditions that can contribute to cancer. In order to help remedy this, Karen’s program offers free screenings, regardless of socioeconomic or immigration status. If patients are found to be in need of care and they are documented, they are offered a fast track to Medicaid coverage and begin treatment. If they are undocumented, there are partners in public hospitals that can offer treatment at no cost. However, there can still be problems even for those who are legal residents and have insurance. For example, we were reminded that in our current political climate, it is unclear if pre-existing conditions will be legally required to be covered in the near future. It was really fascinating to hear about all the diverse sets of issues that different segments of the population might face. It showed that this isn’t an easy or simple process for most people, and that there are real obstacles beyond the primary concern of beating the disease through treatment. We also heard from a representative of We Act, an environmental justice group based in Northern Manhattan. Milagros de Hoz, a health programs manager for the organization, discussed how knowledge of science and research skills can be applied to advocating and educating for safer public policies. These include a regulation We Act supported that prevents school buses from idling along curbs, so that the pollution from the exhaust is not directed towards children for long periods of time. We also spoke about how high schools need to do a better job of teaching about environmental justice issues, and there was plenty of criticism of the American high school education system to go around. Hearing about these issues way really eye opening. There are so many aspects of cancer prevention and care that it is so easy not to think about, and so many different issues that can combine to contribute to whether people get cancer and how they experience it. Continuing with the theme of different levels of access, we then took a long subway ride to Queens to the New York Presbyterian Cancer Services program. We met with Jacqueline Xouris, the head of the department, and her entire staff. Similar to the one in Manhattan, this service works with different communities in the Queens area to address specific issues such as language barriers, lack of access to healthcare information, and cultural factors that can serve as obstacles to getting screened or treated. It was emphasized to us that immigrants from places such as China, Korea, or the Dominican Republic may not speak English, and may be relying on their English speaking children to connect them to healthcare options like Cancer Services. Additionally, immigrants are more reluctant to come in for appointments due to fear of ICE raids in the area, another social factor that affects how people get healthcare. Again, it was really revealing to see just how many different issues can coalesce to influence how cancer healthcare works in these communities. It is impossible to separate problems of language, culture, income inequality, and public policy from the more scientific/medical questions of treatment. There is clearly always a need to be sensitive to the complications that each individual may face as they try to navigate this system, even if patients can be “trouble” sometimes. After a stressful sprint/walk back to the subway, we returned to the church for some very authentic homemade tacos courtesy of Shayla and Agatha, followed by an outing to Times Square. It was a great way to end the day as we split up to shop, get bubble tea, and go ice skating without telling anyone. Overall, the day was a really good mix of different informative talks, looking like idiots playing Contact on a crowded subway, and fending off an overly-friendly Spider Man. Quotes of the Day“Cancer Care inequalities start way back in inequalities in health care" - Karen Schmidt "Our first conversation with patients is always barrier assessment" - Jacqueline Xouris "Imagine being good at sports, like as a concept”- Agatha “Green veggie straws are soaked in spinach” - Shayla “I have yet to see an attractive person in New York” - Shayla “I’ve never had a city hype me up before” - Agatha “Last year for Halloween I dressed up as a sugar daddy” - Leyla Hi friends! So glad you’re still following us on Day 2 of our wonderful Breakout trip! My name is Joyce, and I’m so excited to be sharing this blog post with you all. I will be going through the activities we participated in, reflections we had, and most importantly, the memories we made on Day 2 of our journey through New York City and inequalities in cancer care. Day 2 was literally a journey. I wish I had a Fitbit because we took a major trek around New York City. We started off our day at the Susan G. Komen New York Metastatic Breast Cancer Conference. The conference had started on Saturday, but we just decided to participate in the events on the second day of the conference. Our whole group walked in a tad bit late on a presentation of sound meditation, which was absolutely fascinating. Two helpers were walking around with tuning forks, tapping them together lightly, and waving them near people's ears to create a calming effect. The next speaker was Kelly Grosklags, who gave a talk about Hope, Healing, and Wholeness, and also gave everyone in the room free copies of her book, A Comforted Heart. Her experience helping patients find themselves in the midst of grief and loss caused by cancer gives her a different perspective on hope and healing. She had a lot of quotable moments that are included in “Quotes of the Day” below. Her speech really made me self-assess and try to “be real” with myself. There was then a shift in gears as we heard two doctors, Dawn Hershman and Kelly Hogan, speak about palliative care and nutrition. This presentation focused more on studies that have been performed in the past to prove that certain factors such as exercise or acupuncture have a positive effect on cancer outcomes. Although they used data and experiments to prove their points, they didn’t give many concrete answers about what patients should or shouldn’t eat, but rather, tried to reassure the patients that they shouldn’t be anxious about their diet. I felt like the patients, as did most of us in the group, hoped for more black and white answers that the doctors simply couldn’t give. The next and final speaker, whom we listened to over a delicious lunch, was the social media icon, Dr. Mike. He spoke about the necessity of having a primary care physician (PCP) and having open communication between the patient and the PCP, and the PCP and the oncologist. Our group had mixed feelings about his presentation (especially after he mentioned his 6 million social media followers). It felt more like an advertisement than an educational speech and did not consider those who simply do not have the means to get a PCP. Nevertheless, some of us did get a nice picture with him: The conference then split up into smaller groups, and our group participated in the Moving For Life sample class. It was a very engaging event, and our iconic dancing around the room to stretch and loosen our muscles will never be forgotten. As our group discussed later, this conference really highlighted the resources some people have access to, but did not address the numerous people who don't have the opportunity to receive this type of personalized care. Our next event was planting succulents with cancer patients at Hope Lodge. Hope Lodge is an organization that provides free housing to cancer patients when they are getting treatment in a certain area. There are around 30 locations in the United States that provide a place to stay for cancer patients originating from around the world. It was amazing meeting the patients, hearing their stories, and contributing to their lives one succulent at a time. The pots we painted were so cute; we definitely have some artistic talent in our group. I think I can attest to everyone in the group when I say that giving to people who need it, even if in the smallest way possible, feels so rewarding. After the event, we stopped at Zundo-ya in East Village for some delicious ramen (sorry Ippudo) and bought ice cream at a small shop across the street with some interesting flavors (wasabi??). We then took quite a long trek to an Upright Citizens Brigade comedy show (with special guest, Zoe, a 9 year old who was for some reason at the show). It was hilarious, and my stomach kind of still hurts from laughing.
Hello! We’re super excited that you’re following us on our breakout trip — we’ll be updating this blog every night of our journey, and we hope you enjoy reading our reflections and thoughts on the topic. Tonight, my co-leader Alice and I (Ruby) will be kicking things off by introducing our trip, ourselves, and the activities of Day #1.
Over the course of the next 5 days, we’re hoping to get a closer look at the factors that contribute to socioeconomic inequalities in cancer healthcare. One week is certainly not enough to fully understand the issue, but through service-learning, we’ll begin to scrape the surface regarding the complexities of the cancer illness experience. Alice and I developed this trip proposal last spring because we recognized that understanding the molecular basis of cancer does not translate into acknowledgment of the lived realities of afflicted patients. In addition, we saw that resources varied immensely depending on socioeconomic factors, and that this disparity was salient through various stages — the prevention, screening, and treatment of cancer. We left campus at around 2pm this afternoon, catching a ride into the city on a Megabus. Most of us fell asleep on the two-hour long ride — the dreary weather certainly didn’t help. Luckily the weather is forecasted to improve tomorrow. We checked into our lodgings and then set out to buy our groceries for the week! Tonight’s dinner was led by Ben and Tiffany, but the rest of the group helped out as well. Original plans had involved pre-made pizza crusts, but upon discovering how expensive these were, they quickly improvised using bread rolls to make extra-large pizza bagel bites. We extended up making 48 mini pizzas because everyone was starving from the bus ride and from climbing the four flights of stairs to our room. After the dinner, we headed to a spoken word night at a local cooperative called Prime Produce — the co-op is a gathering space for artists, entrepreneurs, and educators focused on service and hospitality. The topic of tonight was “An Open Mic on Mortality,” and several people went up to share their poetry — our students included! Towards the end, a young woman shared a series of emails her late father had sent her. The way that everyday language can become poetry is a testament to the concept that we can all be artists, professionally trained or not. In the evening, we reflected on the collaborative environment of the space: “... it felt like we could be vulnerable in that space. I felt a sense of camaraderie with people I didn’t really know,” Alice reflected. Agatha later noted that the interaction felt very intimate, and that was “less separation between the stage and audience.” It was a really wonderful first day! We can’t wait to see what the other days bring. |
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