Name: Marlo Hulnick

Social Justice Group: Child Soldiers

Date of Fieldwork: January 19, 2018

Name of Organization: GRASP

Person (people) with whom I met and their job titles: Jason MicBride, Outreach Coordinator

Type of Fieldwork: Interview

What I did:

GRASP is the Gang Rescue and Support Project. They work to get all children in violent gangs to safer situations and help to reintegrate them. We interviewed Jason about the organization GRASP and what they do. We asked him about the organization’s programs for reintegrating kids out of “gang lives.”

What I learned:

I learned about how GRASP provides care and protection to kids in need of it because their parents or guardians may be absent from their lives. I also learned about how they have group meetings so they can talk about their life. Jason described it as AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) for kids. It was interesting to hear about this program because it just shows how much of the damage psychological.

What I learned about Social Justice “work” and/or Civil and Human rights “work” from this fieldwork:

I learned that interviews are just as, if not more important than volunteering hands on. When you interview someone you can learn more about them, their work, their organization, what they know, and so many other things. I also learned that if you are just beginning to start your own social justice type project, it is best to start off getting in touch with key organizations and/or people. For example, by interviewing Jason we learned so much about GRASP’s programs that we couldn’t learn from just reading the website. That was not the only benefit though. Talking to somebody who is an expert in your field is the best way to get information about your topic.