My post for future JV's

A fellow EMT recently emailed me with a list of questions she had about the program so I thought I'd list the responses here for anyone else who might be wondering the same things...

Hey, I'm excited to hear about how excited you are about doing a year service! Let me attempt at addressing your JVC concerns, many of which I also had before I was actually doing the program, and I admire your foresight into what problems and/or issues you'd see arising during the year.

As far as the money issue goes: whether or not you stick to the stipend is your decision. JVC is not going to be checking your bank records to make sure you arn't spending saved money on travel, or extra things you might need. You're right, housing, food, utilities, and insurance are taken care of. It is up to the community to stick to the food budget, and one of the most interesting things that I've learned here, is that you can survive on $75 a month for food for one person, and actually do more than that, some of the meals I've had here blew me away with what you can do with a little. Your personal stipend is $85, it might increase more in the coming years but thats basically the amount you're going to get for a month. In all actuality, you are able to do stuff with that money and still go out and have fun. Transportation money is also given to you on top of that personal stipend, so you shouldn't be spending any of your personal money on transportation (which helps). The thing to remember is that this year is about simple living, you arn't going to be super comfortable or super uncomfortable. You will learn how to live within a budget, and learn a bit of what your clients deal with, except you are secure in your housing, and know you will be fed. Loans you have can be put on hold, as you will be not making enough money to pay them off. JVC will tell you how to take care of this.

Living situation: I am living with 5 roommates, and have my own pseudo room, if you read my blog that will fill you in on a number of questions you might have already. My neighborhood is safe, at least I feel relatively safe, however being in a city in an area that does have crime you have to be cautious, the former Jesuit Volunteers in the area gave us a list of dos and donts for the city when we arrived. There is one other JV in my house who works at SOME, but in reality, she could verywell be working for a different non-profit as she works in a different section of SOME. JVs in a house will be working at a variety of different placements.

Work does allow time off, and if you have a good relationship with your supervisor and are a hard worker, which I'm sure you are, you should have no problems taking time off to interview for medschool, which is what i'm doing right now. Many JVs have gone on to do med school the year after so know that it has been done! You can also go back home for vacation now and then, I'm doing the Americorps grant, which takes care of 5 grand of loans, so I'm required to get 1800 hours in, so though it seems like a lot of hours, I did the math and i can take vacation for a few weeks. It depends on your placement.

Overall, I would HIGHLY recommend JVC, its a great program, and if you apply enough and are diligent and persistent for what kind of placement you want (I was), you'll get it. I can't emphasize enough, APPLY EARLY. That's when the placements are fairly open and you can see ones which you can preference. You dont get to chose, but with your EMT experience, medical placements will WANT YOU. I'm enjoying myself, and learning a lot from the people i'm living with, those i'm working with, as well as my patients. Any other questions don't hesitate to email me, best of luck!

Jordan