“Fearless” is one of the first things I see in the morning. It’s the word I have wrapped around my wrist on a dainty piece of string that acts as a bracelet that has seen more of my life than most pairs of eyes. It has been surfing in the ocean with me, wrapped around my wrist when I have been through fearsome nights, and has been a constant reminder in the morning, that just like the sun, I can rise again too. For more than most of my life, I knew I wanted to be fearless. I just wasn’t exactly sure what that term meant. In most dictionaries, it just means, “the absence of fear” but for more than one reason, I believe it actually is the action that happens in the midst of fear, itself.
Disaster relief wasn’t an area that I ever saw myself going into, one doesn’t expect themselves to necessarily end up in lands torn up by natural forces, compelling them to come to terms with their own morality, as they struggle to help their community around them. Many social workers don’t even remember this area exists in our world, in fact, at the beginning of my graduate program in Western North Carolina, I had to ask if it even did exist, as I only knew one other person who was making his rounds in this area of the social work world. It is, in any case, a part of social work, which is how I found myself here, a little over a week into my school implemented practicum at Appalachian Service Project (ASP), a little daunted, and a lot excited.
As I have spent a couple days glued to my computer trying to understand the greater Appalachia mountains, their deep history and some folklore, as someone who is not local to this area, I have been both struck down by the very uniqueness of this place in North America, but also a bit enamored and intimidated by it. I mean it no disrespect, as I find within those confounds, I grow a deeper respect for the entity, as I feel this way about the ocean. Locals near where I once lived use to tell us before we would go surfing, “If you aren’t a little afraid every time you go out into the ocean to surf – you probably shouldn’t go out.” And just like then, I now adopt that mindset moving into working within Appalachia.
This blog, I’m hoping, will act as a place to store thoughts, feelings, and a deeper understanding of social work, disaster relief, ASP, and a newcomer’s understanding of Appalachia and the people who make it the community it is, across a handful of states. Unlike other small towns across the United States, Appalachian small towns have the unique foundation of having been built in an area that is quite hard to access and doesn’t create grounds for farming or other trades. Once the coal-mining business moved on, these small towns sunk in economic hardship, and have since faced a multitude of difficulties, all while remaining steadfast and loyal to their land, despite numerous climate disasters in the last few years.
If you want to better understand how social work is wrapped up in this piece of America, as well as, gain a greater understanding of the significance of disaster relief, how vital it is and what it means moving forward in a world wrapped in climate change, all while learning more about ASP and the services it provides – please stay tuned. As I am excited to go on this journey and hope you will join me, so that we can be fearless in the pursuit of seeing how critical and special these communities are, and how to aid in their already growing world.
Chloe B.
Social Work Intern
