Mikayla Davis

EXPL 390

21 March 2019

ABCD Reflection

Since my first orientation at Misericordia, I’ve been impressed by how positive and

supportive the community is. It’s well connected both with the Rogers Park community and

within itself. The expansive campus has a range of assets that make Misericordia extremely self

sufficient in serving our residents. Its 31-acre campus is its greatest physical space asset in that it

offers many opportunities to build new facilities. For example, they’re currently building a new

housing complex to accommodate more residents.

Beyond physical assets, there is also a number of relationships that Misericordia has with

other institutions that are mutually beneficial. A prime example is their relationship with Loyola.

This connection to the university is an asset given the close proximity that it has to the Lake

Shore campus and the large number of interns and volunteers that Misericordia receives from

Loyola. Whether it be exercise science majors fulfilling their internship requirement, the men’s

basketball team volunteering for a day, or the interns from our SJI program, Loyola students’

service to Misericordia is beneficial. There is also an opportunity for residents to work at Loyola

in the Loyola Helpers program, which allows them to contribute and experience work in the

community outside of Misericordia.

Many of the programming and fundraising that happens at Misericordia is done by the

“individuals” asset of supportive volunteers. Many of resident family members or retired special

education instructors volunteer throughout the campus everyday or during special events.
Utilizing volunteers alleviates some of the costs that it would potentially take to fully staff some

of the programing, and the residents benefit from being assisted by experienced people who have

a background in working with the population.

Looking at Misericordia, it’s difficult for me to point out deficits that are focused on

because it doesn’t feel like that’s ever been a part of larger conversations that I’ve had about the

status of Misericordia. I haven’t discussed or engaged in some of the politics of Misericordia nor

has anyone in PEP discussed them with me. It would be beneficial for me to find time to talk

with some of our other staff to see what their viewpoints are on ways that they think

Misericordia is lacking in certain areas or that hinders us from achieving our goal of providing

opportunities for our residents to thrive and challenge themselves. It doesn’t seem that

Misericordia takes a deficit based community approach because of how well they use the

resources on campus and in the Rogers Park community.

This is especially interesting to me because I feel that I’ve only ever seen community

development as deficits. Readings and discussions within my major are usually tailored towards

examining deficit based approaches, and it’s made me realize that that approach can result to

negative or pessimistic thinking over time. When thinking about how to improve a community,

I’ve always tended to jump straight to what’s missing and what the community needs to improve.

Focusing on deficits leads to burnout and almost a sense of hopelessness when there seems to be

no present solutions. Working in PEP, there always seems to be solutions within our reach. If we

need certain craft materials for new activities for our residents, we can source them from the arts

and crafts room. I’ve yet to encounter any problems within PEP that haven’t been solvable with

our staff available.

 My work at Misericordia has, by far, challenged me to find more value within

communities. It’s an incredible model for how much a well connected community can achieve.

For example, the greenhouse on campus provides work for residents, grows produce that is used

for making lunches in PEP, and sells plants and flowers that gives money back to Misericordia.

Projects like this show how multi-beneficial the many parts of the campus can be. The wide

range of staff who come from different backgrounds and trainings presents new and unique ideas

for improvement. I recently was having a discussion with PEP’s weekly yoga instructor, Ritta,

about an idea that she has for a relaxation room for Misericordia staff. She suggested that we

repurpose a room to create a sort of sensory room specifically for staff to have a place to de-

stress and participate in free meditation sessions lead by her. Ritta’s idea reflects an asset based

approach to support our hardworking staff. It’s only a small piece of the greater impact of

Misericordia. Although I do feel that acknowledging room for change is important, and no

institution should go without critique, I admire how connected it feels. It’s an encouraging

environment that I love working in.