October 04, 2010
For a third consecutive year, St. John’s innovative Project
Identity is improving the lives of some of New York’s neediest
residents by assisting them in obtaining official identification
they need to vote, apply for jobs and ensure
self-sufficiency.
Project Identity is one example of the many services Ozanam
Scholars perform under the rubric of the Vincentian Institute for
Social Action (VISA) which was created to more visibly embed
the University’s Catholic, Vincentian
mission into students’ lives.
Ozanam
Scholars, a select group of young women and men chosen on the
basis of their academic excellence and dedication to service, work
with clients of St. John’s Bread and Life to guide them through the
official process of retrieving birth certificates and filing for,
driver’s licenses, state IDs and social security cards — vital
forms of identification. Located in Brooklyn, St. John’s Bread and
Life is one of the city’s largest sources of food, clothing and
other services for those in need.
“Project identity is an initiative most faithful to the essence of
VISA and the Vincentian mission,” said Rev.
James J. Maher, C.M. Vice President of Student Affairs. “It
combines service, community based research and impact – a great
example of how VISA was designed.”
It was after speaking with several clients at St. John’s Bread and Life that Ozanam Scholars
Eugenia Soldatos and John Wilson discovered that one of the major
contributing factors of poverty was that many of New York City’s
disenfranchised did not possess proper forms of
identification.
“Frequently clients would come in and tell me that all of
their belongings were stolen or misplaced,” explains
Robin Kornstein ’13C, an environmental studies major and Ozanam
Scholar. “It’s amazing how we take for granted how important it is
to have these forms of identification. Without them we have no
proof of who we are.”
Early mornings, four days a week small groups of dedicated Ozanam
Scholars arrive at St. John’s Bread and Life via bus to assist
clients with paperwork and provide them with funding to secure
their lost belongings.
Students in Project Identity are guided by Service Research
Mentors, St. John's faculty who assist with their research
projects. The professors are Ming-Hui Li, Ed.D., and Andrew
Ferdinandi, Ed.D., both Associate Professors of Human Services and
Counseling in The
School of Education.
Working with VISA, the students have shaped the program to become a
resource for the entire community. Working with the clients
one-on-one, initial consultations are set-up to assess what
documents are needed and what paperwork is required to obtain the
items. Then twice a week, students accompany the clients to the
Department of Motor Vehicles to finalize the process.
“I’ll never forget the day one of my clients exclaimed ‘I am a
person now!’ when she was handed her new state ID,” recalls
Jennifer Traditi, Graduate Assistant of VISA. “In the program’s
first year alone we were able to secure over 162 documents. Now
people are coming into the soup kitchen just to see
us.”
Through St. John’s Vincentian Institute of Social Action or VISA,
Ozanam Scholars are provided with the academic resources to address
issues of global poverty and injustice and are encouraged to
promote the Vincentian mission of the University through service
all around the world.