AFVN Barry University AmeriCorps VISTA Sustainability Coord - Miami Shores, United States - Americorps

Description

AFVN Barry University AmeriCorps VISTA Sustainability Coord.

The VISTA project will address issues of environmental sustainability & climate change resiliency on campus & in low-income neighborhoods located near Barry's main campus in Miami-Dade County (population 2.5 million).

The initiative will collaborate with & create structures for Barry's Laudato Si' Committee (faculty, staff, students, & community partners) to lessen Barry's environmental footprint while providing education to foster environmental sustainability on & off campus.

The initiatives seek to make Barry a hub for providing educational resources & neighborhood services that foster resiliency in the face of climate change.

Miami-Dade County is considered ground-zero for the effects of climate change (i.e., sea-level rise, elevated heat index, stronger hurricanes, etc.) while also facing rapid cost-of-living increases.

The populations most impacted by climate change are low-income residents who are experiencing the new phenomena of climate gentrification-displacing impoverished families in historically segregated neighborhoods from their homes.

The university sits amidst some of the micro-communities most impacted by climate change & gentrification. The City of North Miami has a poverty rate of 26.6% & is a mainly Caribbean immigrant community. Opa-Locka, 1.5 miles west, is Miami's most impoverished community, with 43.1% of residents living below the poverty line. This community is 65% of mixed African descent, 35% Hispanic, & 27% white.

Liberty City, 2.5 miles to the southwest, is a historically segregated African American neighborhood within the City of Miami, which has a poverty rate of 30%.

Little Haiti, is 2 miles south of campus & has a large population of recently-arrived Haitian immigrants, but is rapidly undergoing gentrification.

Finally, La Paloma, a low-income residential area comprised primarily of Hispanic & Caribbean immigrants is part of unincorporated Miami-Dade County & receives fewer social services than the surrounding incorporated areas.

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Member Duties :

Working collaboratively w/Barry faculty/staff, students, & community partners, the VISTA will create structures to foster environmental sustainability on & off campus while strengthening community resiliency to the effects of climate change.

The VISTA will support the development of initiatives designed to provide campus and community awareness and education about climate change & how environmental sustainability practices can be used to slow climate change while creating systems & strategies to decrease the university's consumption of energy & single-use products.

The VISTA will also engage students, faculty, & staff in community efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change & climate gentrification and help to leverage university resources to make Barry an anchor institution for environmental sustainability and community resiliency in Miami.

Program Benefits :

Health Coverage* , Childcare assistance if eligible , Housing , Living Allowance , Choice of Education Award or End of Service Stipend , Mentoring & Professional Development , Relocation Allowance , Training .

Terms :
Permits attendance at school during off hours , Car recommended .


Service Areas :

Technology , Community and Economic Development , Homelessness , Neighborhood Revitalization , Children/Youth , Education , Community Outreach , Health , Environment , Housing .

Skills :

Leadership , Conflict Resolution , Teaching/Tutoring , Fund raising/Grant Writing , Recruitment , Computers/Technology , Writing/Editing , Team Work , General Skills , Community Organization , Communications , Public Speaking , Urban Planning , Environment , Education , Public Health , Youth Development .