Bellvue University Evolve Recovery Center at Toms River Service Learning Project

Entry 5: Narrate your experiences on the project in a minimum of 500 words. Be sure to relate your project experiences briefly to specific ideas in each of the week’s readings. Ideally, you will synthesize ideas from these readings. You may also briefly reference ideas from earlier weeks of the course, as well as up to four additional sources you have found in your own research. Cite at least 2 articles and/or readings from the course in this entry. 

This week reading : 

Letter from a Birmingham Jail, M.L. King, April 16, 1963

Why We Must Judge Roger Berkowitz

The Domain of Justice M. Adler, Chapter 24

Federalist Paper No. 10, [22 November] 1787, James Madison, Founders Online 

• True Leaders Believe Dissent is an Obligation, Bill Taylor, Harvard Business Review, 2017

[Write your entry here]

• Entry 6: Narrate your experiences on the project in a minimum of 500 words. Be sure to relate your project experiences briefly to specific ideas in each of the week’s readings. Ideally, you will synthesize ideas from these readings. You may also briefly reference ideas from earlier weeks of the course, as well as up to four additional sources you have found in your own research. Cite at least 2 articles and/or readings from the course in this entry. 

This week reading : 

• How the Moral Lessons of To Kill a Mockingbird Endure Today, Anne Maxwell, The Conversation, 2018

Rugged Individualism: Two of the Greatest Threats to this Distinctively American Value, David Davenport, Gordon Lloyd, Hoover Institution, 2017

• Rooting for Complicated Heroes, It’s Complicated, Jack Bowen, Institute of Sports Law and Ethics, 2015

When in Doubt – And There’s Always Doubt – Be Your Best, Jack Bowen, Institute of Sports Law and Ethics, 2015

• [Write your entry here]

Entry 7: Narrate your experiences on the project in a minimum of 500 words. Be sure to relate your project experiences briefly to specific ideas in each of the week’s readings. Ideally, you will synthesize ideas from these readings. You may also briefly reference ideas from earlier weeks of the course, as well as up to four additional sources you have found in your own research. Cite at least 2 articles and/or readings from the course in this entry.

This week reading 

The Constitution of the United States: A Transcription, Read Articles 1-3, James Madison, National Archives

The Federalist Number 47, [30 January] 1788, James Madison, Founders Online

The Federalist No. 51, [6 February 1788],  James Madison, Founders Online

extra material which you already done for me : Entry 1: “Selection of the Service Learning Project.”The service-learning projects are important because they help students apply different skills while helping others. Additionally, the service-learning projects allow the students to build their resumes while still in school, which may give them a chance to get a good job after school. For this assignment, the service-learning project chosen is giving presentations on violence and drug prevention. Violence refers to any extreme form of aggression, including murder, assault, or rape (Dahlberg &Krug, 2006). On the other hand, drugs refer to any substances that may harm or cause addiction to the user. Examples of such drugs include cocaine, bhang, and alcohol. This project is direct-service learning, where individuals receive service in the form of a person-to-person.To present violence and drug prevention, I will be volunteering in Evolve Recovery Center at Toms River. The employer of the organization is Michelle Gross. This organization is a drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre that deals with alcoholic outpatient programs by helping alcoholic addicts, among other drug dealers, return to sober living (Evolve Recovery Center, 2021). The organization provides a road to recovery for the addicts. I learned about this organization while in high school when it ran alcohol and drug prevention campaigns in the community. In the organization, I would have counselling sessions with the patient, and I will also be involved in the organization’s campaigns that deal with drug abuse prevention.Some of the life experiences that have influenced the selection of this project are growing up in a family where there was violence and drug abuse. While growing up, my father was one of the few in the neighbourhood who abused drugs. Some of the drugs he used include alcohol, which he abused, making him very violent in the family. He was not only violent in the house, but he also engaged in fights with other individuals in the neighbourhoods. Another reason for choosing this project is the increase in juvenile crimes. Now and then, we hear about young children charged with crimes due to drug abuse. I am confident that this project will help reduce substance abuse among the people involved. Reduction in substance abuse will subsequently lead to a decrease in violence. All these experiences are negative, and therefore presenting violence, and drug prevention can help eliminate these experiences on other individuals who may be victims.The community and individual responsibility affected my selection of the violence and drug prevention service-learning project. Our community is suffering as a result of violence. Cases of murder and rape are reported now and then. Therefore, it is my responsibility as an elite community member to solve the problems affecting my community. I am optimistic that presenting the violence and drug prevention will help reduce such people; members of the community will be enlightened on some of the things they can do to reduce the rates of violence and drug or substance abuse (National Crime Prevention Centre, 2009). Ambition also affected the selection of the project since I like socializing one-to-one with people and helping people solve their problems no matter how pettish or more significant they may be. My project is essential since it will help build my resume and improve my communication and problem-solving skills. Additionally, the project will be helpful to the community since it aims at preventing violence and drug abuse in the community.ReferencesDahlberg, L. L., & Krug, E. G. (2006). Violence a global public health problem. Ciência & Saúde Coletiva, 11(2), 277-292.Evolve Recovery Center. (2021, September 20). Toms River, NJ, recovery center | Evolve recovery center. https://www.evolverecoverycenter.com/toms-river/?g…National Crime Prevention Centre (Canada). (2009). School-based drug abuse prevention: promising and successful programs. Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada.Entry 2: Write an entry of 400 words minimum explaining how your project relates to at least two of the course objectives. See the complete list of course objectives in the course syllabus. Be sure to explain why you think these objectives are important. Label this entry “Service Learning Project Objectives.” Cite at least 2 articles and/or readings from the course in this entry.Note: The purpose of this entry is not to tell what you think the objective of your SLP is; rather, it is to relate your project to the course objectivesRemember, it is your job as a student to demonstrate learning based upon the assigned course materials.[Write your entry here]My service-learning project is on violence and drug prevention. Violence and drug prevention are classified as an act of engaged citizenship since it aligns with the United States civic virtue of fostering neighborhood relations when the community converges to identify drug and violence prevention strategies. In addition, violence prevention helps create a secure environment amongst the renowned engaged citizenship acts (Bosin, 2019). Therefore, my project on service-learning aligns with the course objectives that outline that at the end of the course, one should be able to understand the obligations of individual citizens in fostering engaged citizenship and evaluate how individual acts of engaged citizenship impact the community. This paper will discuss how the project aligns with these course objectives. One of my measures to foster violence and drug prevention is that I will be volunteering in Evolve Recovery Center at Toms River. The organization is a rehabilitation center that facilitates drug prevention (rehabilitation of alcoholics and other drug users) (“Evolve Recovery Center,” 2021). One of the course objectives is to understand individual citizens’ obligations in fostering engaged citizenship. Conversely, the individual duties of engaged citizenship are volunteering or participating in community activities (Bosin, 2019). Therefore, alongside volunteering, my commitment will be to be involved in counseling sessions and participate in drug abuse prevention campaigns, which is my duty as an American citizen to foster engaged citizenship. Another course objective is assessing the impacts on the communities of my acts of engaged citizenship. The life experiences that encouraged the selection of violence and drug prevention projects were because the family and neighborhood I grew up in comprised of violence and drug abuse. Besides, there is a significant increase in juvenile crimes in the community. Therefore, through participation in violence and drug prevention volunteering to help with counseling in the rehabilitation centers, I am optimistic that it will help reduce the rate of substance abuse in the community and aid in violence prevention. The rise of juvenile cases is mainly due to increased substance abuse amongst children who then resolve to violent activities such as rape and theft (Dahlberg & Krug, 2006). My act of engaged citizenship facilitates services at the rehabilitation center. Violence and drug prevention campaigns help reduce the number of individuals who participate in substance abuse and reduce violence cases in the community (Putnam, 2000). In conclusion, my violence and drug prevention project realigns with the course objectives. My acts of engaged citizenship in the project include volunteering in the rehabilitation center and participating in the violence and drug prevention campaign. The measures help enlighten individuals on the downsides of substance abuse and persuade them to join in the fight against such practices in the community. Through the process, I am optimistic that it will reduce the rate of substance abuse and the number of violence cases, resulting in a safer and more engaged community.ReferencesBosin, S. (2019). Civic Virtue | Learning to Give. Learningtogive.org. https://www.learningtogive.org/resources/civic-vir…Dahlberg, L. L., & Krug, E. G. (2006). Violence a global public health problem. Ciência & Saúde Coletiva, 11(2), 277-292.Evolve Recovery Center. (2021, September 20). Toms River, NJ, recovery center | Evolve recovery center. https://www.evolverecoverycenter.com/toms-river/?g…National Crime Prevention Centre (Canada). (2009). School-based drug abuse prevention: promising and successful programs. Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada.Putnam, R. D. (2000). Bowling Alone: America’s Declining Social Capital. In Culture and Politics (pp. 223–234). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-62965-7_12Entry 3: Narrate your experiences on the project in a minimum of 500 words. Be sure to relate your project experiences briefly to specific ideas in each of the week’s readings. Ideally, you will synthesize ideas from these readings. You may also briefly reference ideas from earlier weeks of the course, as well as up to four additional sources you have found in your own research. Cite at least 2 articles and/or readings from the course in this entry. Remember, it is your job as a student to demonstrate learning based upon the assigned course materials.[Write your entry here]My experience as a volunteer was terrific, mainly because it allowed me to contribute to the nation by dealing with one of the most significant problems, drug addiction facing Americans. Organizational values and culture also facilitated my experience At Evolve Recovery Center Evolve (Recovery Center, 2021). Before I joined the organization, I was a bit skeptical, especially about the commitment of rehabilitation centers to focus on the good of the patients. According to many people in the community, drug addicts are not patients but criminals who should be punished just like drug traffickers. As a volunteer, I learned that this is not the case since addiction is a problem that is usually contributed by other underlaying psychological and mental problems. I also learned that addicts are not weak and immoral people as most people paint them. I interacted with many who, in my opinion, are the strongest people I have ever met due to the fight they put up against their problems. Most people also perceive addiction as a problem affecting specific ethnic communities, especially those of low economic status. However, this is not the case since I helped addicts from various ethnic and racial communities, and after interacting with them, their problem was not contributed by who they are or their culture. However, drug addiction is common in poor neighborhoods where residents turn to criminal activities, including drug trafficking, as a source of income (Knight, 2017). Therefore, due to other problems such as depression, many residents end up engaging in drug abuse, which makes poor neighborhoods a hotspot for addicted individuals. Nevertheless, one must understand that the perception that only people from specific ethnic communities are affected by drug addiction stems from the fact that a majority of the poor population comes from minority Asian, African American, and Latino populations. This makes people from these communities more prone to drug abuse and addiction. In my opinion, the problem of drug addiction further shines a light on existing racism and discrimination in American society. Therefore, it should encourage people to help the affected. In addition, it should be a challenge for every leader to do as much as they can while in power to eliminate the problem permanently.Evolve Recovery Center intensely engages in drug abuses prevention through campaigns. To effectively address the problem, the center focuses on research to determine current trends and areas that should be addressed. As a volunteer, I learned that the problem of drug addiction among teenagers is very serious, mainly due to access to the internet and technology. Alcohol and bhang are the main drugs abused by teenagers. Though these drugs do not have severe impacts compared to other hard drugs such as cocaine and heroin, they might result in severe health and social impacts if abused for a long time (Matthews, 2015). Moreover, they might serve as a stepping stone to abusing hard drugs and death having severe immediate impacts. Therefore, learning about current trends in drug abuse and addiction will help me understand and deal with the problem in my community and nation in a better way.ReferencesEvolve Recovery Center. (2021, September 20). Toms River, NJ, recovery center | Evolve recovery center. https://www.evolverecoverycenter.com/toms-river/?g…Knight, B. (2017). Rethinking Poverty (p. 184). Policy Press.Matthews, D. (2015, September 21). The case against equality of opportunity. Vox. Retrieved March 28, 2022, from https://www.vox.com/2015/9/21/9334215/equality-of-…Entry 4: Narrate your experiences on the project in a minimum of 500 words. Be sure to relate your project experiences briefly to specific ideas in each of the week’s readings. Ideally, you will synthesize ideas from these readings. You may also briefly reference ideas from earlier weeks of the course, as well as up to four additional sources you have found in your own research. Cite at least 2 articles and/or readings from the course in this entry. Remember, it is your job as a student to demonstrate learning based upon the assigned course materials.[Write your entry here]As mentioned above, I learned a lot about the Centre’s view of its patients and other affected individuals in the community. Unlike general opinion, centers such as Evolve Recovery Center are focused on helping patients live normal lives more than their focus on earning a profit. I found out that the center was determined to provide services in line with its mission statement of providing help every step along the way to ensure recovery. The center employed knowledgeable and experienced individuals determined to provide services that promote recovery of the mind, body, and spirit. This applies to volunteers who must meet certain specific requirements, including a set of values such as integrity and honesty. The institution understands that rehabilitation and recovery are crucial elements, and patients should be helped to establish a foundation to ensure they can remain clean in the long term. The center can guarantee happiness in the patients’ daily lives by achieving this. The center also applies researched strategies that promise better results for the patients. For instance, it applies an individualized treatment plan comprising the individual, group, and family counseling. This allows the staff to identify personal risk factors and challenges and develop specialized solutions (Dahlberg & Krug, 2006). Family counseling allows family members to understand how they can support through speaking and creating a conducive environment that will help their kin achieve and maintain sobriety. Evidence-based treatment also includes regular exercise and nutrition, which are essential in promoting physical and mental recovery. The institution gives patients enough recreational time for meditation and personal reflection to ensure spiritual recovery.Evolve Recovery Center understands that drug addiction is not a problem specific to specific ethnic communities. Therefore, the institution welcomes patients from all races and has established a conducive environment free of discrimination and racism for maximum recovery. The center has also established a Veteran and Military Services Program that assures former and current soldiers (Evolve Recovery Center, 2021). During my service, I encountered several former soldiers who were proud of their success since they joined the institution. According to the soldiers, they were skeptical before they joined the problem because they believed no one would be able to help them since they had not been at war and did not understand what they went through. However, they confessed that the staff who helped them allowed them to deal with their problems by focusing on the good in their lives. Therefore, they are committed to advising other soldiers to join the program and turn their lives around. Other patients also confessed that they were opposed to joining the institution because they did not perceive their additions as a problem until it led to divorce and financial problems. This prompted them to act, and since they joined, they have managed to remain sober for months. As a volunteer, I learned that most people in the community who have a drug addiction do not know or are in denial. Therefore, helping them realize and accept they have a problem sets them on the recovery journey.ReferencesDahlberg, L. L., & Krug, E. G. (2006). Violence a global public health problem. Ciência & Saúde Coletiva, 11(2), 277-292.Evolve Recovery Center. (2021, September 20). Toms River, NJ, recovery center | Evolve recovery center. https://www.evolverecoverycenter.com/toms-river/?g…