Written by Mehreen Shahid
It has officially been a month since we started our work placements.
The first few weeks of work felt a little like being dropped into the middle of a conversation that everyone else had already been having. There were training sessions, introductions, new acronyms, unfamiliar systems, and the occasional moment of wondering, Was I supposed to know that already? But slowly, the unfamiliar has become familiar. The trainings are mostly over, I understand what my day-to-day looks like, and the real work has begun.
As the Healthcare Marketing Fellow at Chicago Family Health Center (CFHC), I spend my days thinking about how to communicate healthcare in ways that feel accessible, relevant, and connected to the community. One of the best parts of my placement is that I am not doing it alone. Two other Amate fellows work at CFHC, so we have developed a very important tradition of eating lunch together.
But the best part of the day might actually be coming home.
Most evenings, at the dinner table, it’s time for “rose, bud, thorn,” where each person shares a highlight, something they are looking forward to, and something that was difficult that day. I have grown to really appreciate this tradition, not necessarily because I enjoy participating in it, but because I love hearing about everyone else’s day.
I appreciate the ritual for what it gives us: a few minutes each evening to slow down, check in, and remind ourselves that we do not have to carry our days alone.
Community also looks much less profound sometimes. It looks like cooking dinner together, trying not to get in each other’s way in the kitchen, and dividing up dishes, sweeping, and the other less glamorous parts of communal living. We are still learning how to consistently keep the house clean, an ongoing but expected challenge with twelve people sharing a space.
This month, we also had our first spirituality night and social justice night. Spirituality night gave us space to talk about what spirituality means to each of us and created a safe space for reflection. During social justice night, we watched Cooked: Survival by Zip Code, a documentary examining Chicago’s record-breaking 1995 heat wave, which claimed more than 700 lives. The film explores why some communities are disproportionately affected by disasters and the political decisions that can shape those outcomes.
For Fall In-Service Day, we visited Steelworkers Park and learned about the history of steelmaking on Chicago’s Southeast Side, while also discussing the development of the Illinois Quantum & Microelectronics Park on the former U.S. Steel South Works site and what such a massive project could mean for the surrounding community. We then watched Exit Zero: An Industrial Family Story, which brought us back to the people and families behind Chicago’s industrial history and prompted us to reflect on labor, economic change, and the communities shaped by it.
It is strange to think that all of this has happened in a month.
Somehow, these people who were strangers not long ago already feel like people I have known for much longer. I cannot help but wonder how much I would have missed had I not taken this opportunity. I came into Amate expecting to learn about faith-based service and social justice. I did not expect to learn so much about myself through eleven other people with different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives.
I am excited to see what the next few months will bring for all of us.