First week

Oh my!!! What an adventure it has been getting started at World Relief. The agency was closed for two weeks due to a Holiday break and when they reopened the Polar Vortex hit causing flooding in the building due to pipes bursting. The building was declared structurally unsound and the agency closed for another week. My start has been a bit slow but on my first day it was as if I entered the building and they said, "Welcome to the race!" The first two days they oriented me to my surroundings and then day 3 they sent me on my first home visit alone. Adventure!!! The family was located in Lansing. After a drive that seemed it would never end I arrived to find a frustrated family. My assignment was to do a 30 day assessment. I was given a checklist of things I had to check in the home and a crash course in how to do it. The family had arrived in the States on Dec. 18th and they felt that the agency had really let them down as far as expectations. They did serve me some delicious chia tea. I spent the week working with families displaced from Iraq. It has been delightful communicating with them and learning there joys, fears, frustrations, hopes, dreams and even the things angering them.

Documentation is an area this agency could do some work. I have only been at the actual agency two days so I did not question them on there choice of documenting things but it seems so haphazard. A caseworker asked me to help him with some paperwork at the end of the day on Thursday. He had literally thrown papers in a desk drawer and they had to be organized to meet a deadline. Since the agency gives clients cash and this money is from government funding it is very important the paperwork be matched directly with receipts. It took some time for us to complete this task working together. A better filing system would help everyone. I think if client files were kept in a specific spot it might be easier especially when an intern is sent out on a home visit or expected to take clients to public aide or some such agency. While at public aide, you have to keep calling back and asking the caseworker for more information because you don't know the information on the clients. If files were kept orderly and in a set location you could view them before going out to meet clients so you would have a clear idea of how to handle client situations and interactions. Some of the documentation here is done on line and some done on paper. It really seems confusing. Also, when I went to do my home visits I was given a white piece of paper and a pen. It might be nice if you had a document that had the questions on it so you might be able to make sure you are getting them all asked and had a place to jot down some notes.

All that said, I have immensely enjoyed my week. The people I have meet are so kind and the agency really has a sense of family. I look forward to next week.