Lindsay the Intern: Week Six

(This week, our Intern reflects upon how what she has learned about helping people has helped her to help herself.)

A large reason why I find human services so appealing is the fact that it brings different groups people together. For the most part, human service workers stand up for the vulnerable and under-represented, supplementing their abilities with resources and guiding those in need towards independence. Human service workers are advocates for many groups of people.

Throughout my professional and educational development, I have realized that perhaps the reason I am so drawn to advocating for others is because I have a really hard time advocating for myself. If the issue endangers my basic needs or rights, I can stand up for myself, but I often roll over on the smaller matters, afraid of what my peers and superiors might think if I held my ground against them. It is a quality that some might appreciate in the midst of debate and decisiveness, but the more I hold inside and shrug off, the more pent up frustration I feel bubbling inside me. This behavior brought me to a breaking point where I realized, “What good am I to a client if all of my focus and energy is spent on turning over past events and reveling in my lack of presence? How can I stand up for someone if I cannot even muster the professionalism to constructively state my opinion?”

I always thought that my education would help me to better stand up for those in need, but I now see that the lessons I am learning are helping me to figure out how to better stand up for myself. I know that if I want to properly advocate and provide for others, I need to be at peace with myself. The only way I can do that is to compassionately give my opinions and ideas, even if it is not what others want to hear. Along with this is the ability to accept what others think or feel about an issue without getting defensive. It is an equally difficult learning experience to allow others to take the lead, and admit that maybe I was wrong, or didn’t consider everything when making a decision.

By signing up for this career path, I am indefinitely accepting that fact that I will have to work with different people, from all different places and backgrounds. Learning when to stand up for my beliefs and ideas, and when to go along with others who have positive contributions is truly a challenge, but a lesson that will pay off considerably in all aspects of life.

lindsay the Intern: Week Five Musings

(Lindsay has been busy over the past weeks visiting ShelterCare's programs. This week, she takes the time to reflect on the dedicated staff members she's encountered.)

Over the last few weeks, I have had the pleasure of visiting a few of the ShelterCare programs. From the community meals to the decorated walls, you could really feel the understanding and warmth. I enjoy meeting people who wake up everyday passionate about making a difference. Of the few that I had the privelege to speak to, both found their respective jobs on a path they assumed would lead somewhere else. For them, what looked like a stepping-stone ended up as a career and life mission.

I was inspired by their patience and willingness to go beyond traditional methods to inspire growth within a vulnerable population. Of course if they were in it for the praise and sel-satisfaction, they would be long gone by now. Change can be a slow process and not everyone crosses the proverbial finish line to success. Whatever the reason for, or result of, working with vulnerable people can be a demanding job. 

In class, we have been talking about burn out, and how prevalent it is in the human service field. Most of the people you will find working in places like ShelterCare's 11 programs, are givers. They give and extend and reach out for the betterment of others, and in the process, forgetting about themselves. As noble as their intentions are, what happens when there is nothing left to give?

I am not sure of my audience here quite yet, but I know that if you are reading this, you care. And sometimes caring too much for things outside of your own needs can lead to burn out as well. So I ask of all you givers, helpers, and caring individuals, those from ShelterCare and beyond; take time for yourselves too, so you can continue to reach your hands out to others.