Job Shadowing

I was more than delighted to learn that I would be able to shadow at the homeless shelter called The Haven. My interest grew once I figured out that the shelter is a high barrier shelter rather than where I am interning in Colorado Springs because it is a fundamental difference in how the clients receive services. This experience has given me a broader view of interventions for people experiencing homelessness. In Cape Town, a person seeking shelter at The Haven is given 3 days to commit to a personal development plan (PDP) that is progressed by meeting with a social worker and following what is outlined by the PDP. At the end of 3 months, if the client has not made progress towards the goal, or has not worked well with the social worker, then they are terminated from that particular shelter. If they have made good progress and need more time, then they are allowed 3 more months. Keep in mind that there are about 23 different Havens in Cape Town so if a client wishes to seek shelter, then they must go through the whole process again at a different location. A client can return to the same location but only after a 3 month waiting period. According to an estimate from one of the social workers I talked to, about 30% of clients return to the shelter after completing a 3 or 6 month PDP. Additionally, clients must pay a small amount of money each night to stay at the shelter. This is usually covered by money given to a person experiencing homelessness by the government. This is a specific allowance for homelessness. If the person, for whatever reason does not have money, the shelter allows the person to work at least one hour a day at the shelter to pay for the bed. Interestingly, each shelter attracts a certain type of client so I was able to visit a shelter that had more clients needing mental health services and another that has more clients with substance abuse concerns. These two shelters offered specialized programs to match the clients. In the Cape Town homeless community, the different shelters have a reputation for helping better with certain issues and are referred to by those in the community, thus specific shelters attracting specific needs of the clients. From what I saw, in Cape Town there is a beautifully complex web of lots of smaller moving parts that covers for the needs of the whole town. This is different from the shelter I intern for which tries to be a big shelter that does everything. Given the comparison of these two types of shelters, it really makes sense for Springs Rescue Mission to be low barrier because there would be no safety net for many people if the admission into the shelter was more restrictive. Given the life-threatening nature of the cold weather in Colorado, it also makes sense to be a low barrier shelter. Some things that left an impact on me are how much work the social worker at the shelter has on a daily basis. I was impressed by the level of detail that the client files included and appreciated that level of work once learning that the social worker that I observed also put in 20 hours of group therapy sessions a week. I also really like the required participation in the PDP and meetings with the Social Worker because it really gets the client thinking about getting out of homelessness instead of just relying on the free handout. Although this would not work at Springs Rescue Mission for a myriad of reasons, I am left wondering if there is more we can do to encourage case management. The last big learning was how well the South African social workers empowered their clients by being direct with areas of improvement, especially during the assessment and PDP. For me as an intern, and very new to doing assessments, I was challenged to say what needs to be said to a client rather than being afraid to offend or overwhelm the client. The key here is that when I am direct, it should be in a way that is empowering not demeaning or dismissive of their story