{"id":2132,"date":"2018-11-06T21:33:05","date_gmt":"2018-11-07T02:33:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=2132"},"modified":"2018-11-07T17:25:29","modified_gmt":"2018-11-07T22:25:29","slug":"ocesa-keaton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=2132","title":{"rendered":"Ocesa Keaton"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bringing Syracuse HOPE <\/em><\/h1>\n

By Lorna Oppedisano | Photography by Alice G. Patterson\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important to figure out what matters the most to you and try to verbalize that for yourself,\u201d said Ocesa Keaton, the executive director of Greater Syracuse HOPE. \u201cYou never have to share it with anybody. But if you\u2019re able to identify that and verbalize it for yourself, I think that would help you find the most fulfillment in your life.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Ocesa, it\u2019s about helping people find a voice.<\/p>\n

From pointing out inequalities in her high school to attending law school to finding her way into the human services sector and her current position with HOPE \u2013 which stands for Healing, Opportunity, Prosperity, Empowerment \u2014 that\u2019s been her personal mission statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdvocating for those who need the most help \u2014 that\u2019s really been my driving purpose in just about everything that I\u2019ve done,\u201d Ocesa said.<\/p>\n

A born advocate<\/h4>\n

Throughout her life, Ocesa naturally noticed injustice and wouldn\u2019t stand for it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you have that type of personality, people always say, \u2018You should be a lawyer,\u2019\u201d she remembered.<\/p>\n

So, when she graduated from Henninger High School, Ocesa wanted to be an entertainment lawyer.<\/p>\n

After she completed undergraduate studies at Clark Atlanta University, she took a year off to return home and study for the LSATs. During that hiatus, she worked as a care manager at the Salvation Army, her first exposure to the human services field.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was an eye-opener \u2014 a completely different type of field and concept,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I did enjoy it.\u201d<\/p>\n

When she returned to school, this time at Western State College of Law in Los Angeles, she became even better acquainted with the human services sector. While completing her first and only year at law school \u2014 a field she eventually realized wasn\u2019t a good fit for her \u2014 Ocesa was diagnosed with lupus.<\/p>\n

Being a full-time student, she wasn\u2019t allowed to work. So, she found herself seeking assistance in an unfamiliar health care system. Since she didn\u2019t have health insurance, some of the clinics she visited turned her away.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy inability to navigate that system almost cost me my life,\u201d she said, \u201cbecause by the time I really did get help, my kidneys were shutting down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Through the Veteran Affairs system, Ocesa\u2019s father, a veteran, was able to connect her with a hospital where she received care. During her five-day stay, Ocesa met a social worker who explained what social work entailed and encouraged Ocesa to return home to a state with more health care options.<\/p>\n

Thinking back, Ocesa described the whole experience as a blessing in disguise that ended up directing her down the right career path. Though she wasn\u2019t happy in law school, she initially didn\u2019t want to give it up. She was the first person in her family to attend graduate school and her parents had made sacrifices so she could attend.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my mind, there was no way I could pick up the phone and say, \u2018It\u2019s not for me. I don\u2019t want to go to law school and I don\u2019t know what I want to do,\u2019\u201d she remembered. \u201cI just felt like I\u2019d be like this big disappointment.\u201d<\/p>\n

An introduction to HOPE<\/h4>\n

When she came home, Ocesa also returned to the human services sector. She gained experience working for a couple organizations, earned a master\u2019s degree in social work from Syracuse University and began working for the city of Syracuse.<\/p>\n

While the social worker who\u2019d inspired her was a micro social worker \u2014 someone who helps people on an individual level \u2014 Ocesa went into macro social work.<\/p>\n

\u201cMacro is when you take a look at how systems interplay with communities and the community is your client,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n

When she worked for the city of Syracuse, part of Ocesa\u2019s responsibilities included\u00a0maintaining good relationships with the community. That prompted her to attend community meetings, where she eventually became aware of Greater Syracuse HOPE Ocesa began to learn more about the initiative from Helen Hudson, then Syracuse Common Councilor-At-Large, and got involved by volunteering her time and input.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust helping people who are most impacted by poverty, I thought that was a wonderful concept and a wonderful idea,\u201d Ocesa said.<\/p>\n

The story behind the mission<\/h4>\n

HOPE was formed in 2015 by multiple community stakeholders from different sectors in Central New York, to \u201cbring our diverse residents and stakeholders together to impact systems and create effective pathways of opportunity, resulting in a community with an inclusive future,\u201d according to the organization\u2019s website. The efforts are funded by Governor Cuomo\u2019s Empire State Poverty Reduction Initiative.<\/p>\n

The group did a lot of work before bringing on an executive director in April 2017, Ocesa explained. With the help of a parttime coordinator, they put together listening sessions throughout the city and organized a summit.<\/p>\n

While Ocesa was familiar with the organization through her position with the city of Syracuse, she also felt the health problems she\u2019d had in L.A. gave her a unique perspective. Though she hadn\u2019t been happy in law school, she\u2019d felt it was her only option.<\/p>\n

The experience instilled in her the compassion to understand the motivation behind people\u2019s actions when they have seemingly limited options, she explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t grow up with money. But the poverty that I experienced when I was in law school, it just felt different,\u201d she said. \u201cI felt, at times, hopeless.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since her position was implemented, she\u2019s worked to help the organization take shape and form. She assembled a community advisory panel a few months ago that\u2019s been instrumental in helping with outreach, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey represent the community in the everyday people who feel the effects of poverty the most,\u201d Ocesa said, adding that they have ambitious goals, many of which provide awareness to the community on topics that fall under HOPE\u2019s four focus areas of economy, education, health and housing.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn each of those focus areas, we have indicators that we look at to see if we\u2019re making an impact,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Another effort Ocesa\u2019s been leading is the selection of the community organizations HOPE will partner with in the future. Last fall, they put out a request for proposals for community partners. They went through a review process, bringing some partners back to the table to help tweak the proposals to fit the vision of HOPE.<\/p>\n

The overall goal of these partnerships is to build community by strengthening community assets, Ocesa explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cInstead of looking at it from a deficit model \u2014 and this is the social worker in me kicking in \u2014 we\u2019re forcing the community to look at themselves, ourselves, from a strengthbased model,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat are the existing assets we have in the community that are working and can be strengthened or scaled to larger initiatives or programs?\u201d<\/p>\n

This strategy can be divided into a few different pieces, she explained, including looking at how HOPE can help fill existing gaps in the community; building neighborhoods by strengthening communal relationships and teaching people to lead; and looking at what grassroots agencies could potentially collaborate.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was one of the things that came from the listening sessions: agencies need to stop working in silos,\u201d Ocesa said. \u201cThey need to talk to each other, so service delivery can be more efficient and productive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Along with those efforts, Ocesa researches other cities that have similar initiatives to discover best practices and serves as the face of the organization, meeting with other agencies that share in the mission. In the future, she\u2019d like to have more time to connect with the community, too.<\/p>\n

One of the most challenging aspects of the job is trying to make sure people understand the purpose of HOPE or any antipoverty initiative, Ocesa said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like people only pay attention to the work that I\u2019m trying to do when negative numbers come out,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She explained that sort of attention isn\u2019t from a place of support to the cause.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not the answer to poverty. HOPE is not the answer to poverty. Poverty is something that\u2019s been in existence for a long time,\u201d she said. \u201cI always try to tell people that it wasn\u2019t one thing that got us here, so it won\u2019t be one thing to get us out of poverty. So, the question should never really be, \u2018What is HOPE doing to get rid of poverty?\u2019 The question should be, \u2018What are we doing to build our community resources and community assets so that we mitigate some of the issues surrounding poverty.\u201d<\/p>\n

The answer is more conversations and openness to recognizing biases and the roles they play, she explained, along with challenging ourselves to be more inclusive, from an individual or organizational level.<\/p>\n

Getting to know Syracuse<\/h4>\n

Along with a job that aligns with her mission statement of advocating for those with less of a voice, Ocesa follows that mission through board involvement, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing involved, that\u2019s just good citizenship,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s just the price you pay for the luxuries that you get in America.\u201d<\/p>\n

The boards she serves on speak to a common theme, she explained. Leadership Greater Syracuse satisfies civic engagement; YWCA stands for equality and the dismantling of racism; and Salvation Army Young Leaders Advisory Council is doing the most good, she said.<\/p>\n

When she\u2019s not volunteering or spending time with her friends and boyfriend, local comedian Travis Blount, Ocesa has been making a concerted effort to reacquaint herself with her city.<\/p>\n

\u201cSyracuse really is a tale a two cities,\u201d she said, explaining that while the city faces problems she helps to solve at work each day, it also has attributes that didn\u2019t exist a few years ago, like a growing art scene. \u201cSo, I literally look at all this disheartening information every day and still try to find the positive in it \u2014 because there\u2019s always some positive to be found.\u201d SWM<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bringing Syracuse HOPE By Lorna Oppedisano | Photography by Alice G. Patterson\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s important to figure out what matters the most to you and try to verbalize that for yourself,\u201d said Ocesa Keaton, the executive director of Greater Syracuse HOPE. \u201cYou never have to share it with anybody. But if you\u2019re able to identify that…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2148,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2132","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured"],"gutentor_comment":0,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Ocesa-Keaton-0008-1.jpg?fit=5200%2C3470&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3722,"url":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=3722","url_meta":{"origin":2132,"position":0},"title":"Cover – Cydney Johnson: Following in Father\u2019s Footsteps, Namesake Champions Youth, Education in Syracuse","author":"syracusewomanmag_c4lfdt","date":"August 3, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"By Cheryl Abrams First and\/or middle names can be familial or historical, reflecting one\u2019s identity and place in the world. 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