This week we are taking about how Guiding and Scouting can change the world for girls who are homeless.
The girls of Troop 6000 have more struggles than many other members, but in Scouting are building the skills they need to help themselves and their families change their futures! All it takes is a little bit of community, self-confidence, and of course, cookies.
The Troop was formed in 2017 in New York City by Giselle Burgess with help from councilman, Jimmy Van Bramer. Both had experiences with homelessness, Jimmy having been homeless himself for a few months in 1970, and Giselle who found herself homeless when her rental home was sold. Giselle and her family moved into a shelter, where they lived together in a one bedroom unit.
Giselle had worked for the Girl Scouts of Greater New York and wanted to start the troop to help the girls “understand that life happens. [being homeless] is not something to be embarrassed about - its something to push us forward and motivate us to be optimistic.” The original Troop started at a Sleep Inn not far from Queens in February 2017, and was a quick success thanks in part to a New York Times article. The troop expanded into 14 more shelters, which allowed 500 more girls join the next fall.
While most troops ‘pause’ for the summer to allow for camps and vacations, the girls of Troop 6000 don’t have anywhere to go and so they meet year round. The parents/guardians of girls in Troop 6000 don’t have to pay the units fees, as they are covered by USGNY. They have also had a lot of help from the City of New York to grow the Troop and offer the girls everything that a traditional troop offers from field trips, uniforms and snacks.
GSUSA believes that every girl in the five boroughs of New York City deserves a chance to reach her full potential: to have her eyes opened to possibilities for college and careers, to make loving and supportive friends, to learn from caring female mentors, and to chart her own course to achieve her goals. Research has shown that Girl Scout Alumnae have a stronger sense of self, achieve higher levels of education, and are more likely to reach a higher socio-economic status. The goal of Troop 6000 is to give the girls a place to be themselves, learn, grow, and some consistency - especially since a lot can be inconsistent in their lives.
Learn more about Troop 6000 on the GSNYC site and read the stories behind Troop 6000 in the biography Troop 6000: The Girl Scout Troop That Began in a Shelter and Inspired the World written by Nikita Stewart,
We also talk about a huge supporter of Troop 6000, AOC (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez). She is making waves in Congress, but hasn’t forgotten her roots in Scouting, and won’t let others talk down to her about it.
AOC is the daughter of American, Sergio Ocasio-Roman, and Puerto Rican, Blanca Ocasio-Cortez. Blanca says that Alexandria was politically inclined from a young age, noting her political tendencies when she was very young.
Alexandria attended Yorkton High School, where she presented a microbiology project that won her 2nd place in the microbiology category at the Intel International Science and Engineering fair in 2007. Upon her impressive finish, she had an asteroid named after her. It is still floating through space today! She attended Boston University and graduated cum laude in 2011 with a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and International Relations. In her time at Boston University, Alexandria worked in the office of the late Senator Ted Kennedy. Her role provided a firsthand view of the heartbreak families endured after being separated by ICE. This role led her to organize Latinx youth in the Bronx and across the U.S. as an Educational Director with the National Hispanic Institute. She helped Americans, DREAMers, and undocumented youth in the areas of community leadership and college readiness.
Sadly, in 2008, Alexandria’s father, Sergio, passed away. It was also a time of economic crisis, in the United States, which resulted in her family being forced to sell their Westchester home. Alexandria also pulled extra shifts to work as a waitress and bartender to support her family. During the 2016 presidential election, Alexandria worked as a volunteer organizer for Bernie Sanders in the South Bronx. She expanded her skills in electoral organizing and activism, which took her across the country and to Standing Rock, South Dakota to stand with indigenous communities.
Eventually, AOC headed back to New York’s 14th Congressional District, where she launch her campaign for Congress. Her brother, Gabriel, helped launch her congressional campaign by writing her application and submitting it to Brand New Congress, a progressive organization that was recruiting candidates to run in the 2018 midterms. Alexandria carried out a people-funded, grassroots campaign, despite the fact that her competitor, Joe Crowley, was a 10-term congressman and had a 10-1 fundraising advantage over her. Despite the fact that it was her first time running for office, she thoroughly defeated Crowley in the state's Democratic primary. As a Democratic Socialist of Puerto Rican descent, her stunning triumph was a boon to the progressive hopes of her liberal supporters.
During her primary victory speech, she said:
"This is not an end, this is the beginning. This is the beginning because the message that we sent the world tonight is that it's not OK to put donors before your community."
On November 6, less than a month after her 29th birthday, Ocasio-Cortez went on to dispatch her Republican opponent, Anthony Pappas, emerging victorious in the general election to become the youngest woman ever elected to Congress. She was sworn in by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on January 3, 2019. If you want to see more about how she got there, then you'll want to check out the Netflix documentary, Knock Down the House.
Read more about Alexandria, why she defended the Girl Scouts, and how she is fighting hard to give citizens of the United States basic resources.
And finally, as we trek along, shall we sing a song? In our campfire we talk about As We Trek Along, a light song to make a long hike or tough day a little better.
You can listen to Episode 27 now, and catch up on previous episodes, either right here on our website or on your favourite podcast app (Spotify, Apple, Google, Anchor, etc.).
We would love to know what your opening and closings you use in your units. Leave a comment below, or send us a message on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. If you'd like to contribute to an episode of Guides' Own, send us your ideas for topics, program, campfire songs, etc. send a message to guidesown@gmail.com.
Dream big,
Marissa & Taryn