By Kristine Thomas
Marie-Therese Senecal can now laugh about what happened on her first day of work last August.
She’s amazed how much she has learned since that day when she began working for the Eviction Defense Collaborative in San Francisco as a Jesuit Volunteer Corps member.
“I cried because I didn’t think I could do it and I was out of my comfort zone,” she said.
She recalls having to translate legal documents from English to Spanish for a client.
“I was in over my head,” she said. “I had no experience and didn’t think I was qualified to be working with the client. It’s amazing what people will teach you.”
And what you learn about yourself along the way, she said.
“It’s been a privilege to hear people’s stories about why they are in the situation they are in and to help them find the tools to better their situation,” she said.
In 2007, Senecal was chosen as Silverton’s 2006 Future First Citizen. She graduated from Seattle University in 2011 with a major in International Studies and a minor in Latin American studies.
Not sure what she wanted to do after college, and realizing she needed work experience, Senecal joined the Jesuit Volunteer Corps.
According to its website, The Jesuit Volunteer Corps, in collaboration with the Society of Jesus, enhances the capacity of local organizations to serve their communities by providing Jesuit volunteers to directly serve the poor and marginalized in the U.S. and developing countries. For a year or more Jesuit volunteers live simply, in community, immersed in Ignatian Spirituality.
The experience opens the volunteer to be conscious of the poor, attuned to the causes of social injustice, and dedicated to service informed by faith.
Senecal lived in apartment with six other volunteers, where they shared one bank account to pay for housing, food and utilities.
“We ate a lot of rice and beans,” she said, laughing.
At Eviction Defense Collaborative, Senecal works with clients who are on the verge of losing their housing.
Her job has allowed her to see the patterns entrenched in the system of racism, poverty and abuse.
“It’s exhausting and sad to see people in their situations and not always knowing what can be done to help them,” she said.
That is why she is excited for her next adventure working for The Emerson National Hunger Fellows Program, a social justice program that trains, inspires and sustains leaders. Senecal is one of 16 fellows chosen for the program this year.
Fellows gain field experience fighting hunger and poverty through placements in community-based organizations across the United States and policy experience through placements in Washington D.C.
“It’s an opportunity to take what I have learned to the next level,” she said. “I know what’s happening in the lives of people. Now I want to learn how policies can be changed to help them.”
In August, she travels to Washington D.C. for training and then will travel to Boise to work for the Idaho Hunger Relief Task Force. Her assignment is to “design Idaho Hunger Free Community Initiative (IHRCI) protocol for statewide IHRCI Network to guide and sustain the IHRCI as it moves across Idaho,” she said.
After her time in the field, she returns to Washington D.C. to work with policy makers and share what she has learned.
She said she’s grateful for the experience she gained from working for Eviction Defense Collaborative.
“I feel so much more confident in my job now than when I first started,” she said during a visit to Silverton. “My job has been a learning opportunity from how to work in an office to how to work for a nonprofit. The experience I have gained is hard to get.”
Always eager to help whenever and wherever she can to make people’s lives better, Senecal said the most valuable lessons she learned were she can’t fix people or solve all their problems.
“I have learned it’s my job to help people find a way to achieve their goals and know their rights,” she said. “I learned how to accomplish a lot by listening and that I have the strength to be an advocate for people. My goal is to be quiet, listen and help people understand their rights and what tools they have to address the obstacles in their lives.”
In a story in Our Town in February 2007, Senecal said one of her favorite quotes was Eleanor Roosevelt’s comment “Do one thing every day that scares you.”
She continues to do the things that push her out of her comfort zone.
“I have learned to take a breath and realize I can do more than I think I can,” she said. “If there is something you want to do or learn, find a way to make it possible. There is always someone who is willing to help you along the way.”
