However did I sleep last night after smooching the naked dude?

[judecorp]

So I survived the second day at my new job, and it was pretty informative. I spent the morning at something called Appeals Committee which is when people who have been barred from services or kicked out get to appeal their decisions. It went on forever and ever but I learned a lot of things from the people who have worked with the homeless population for a long time. After that I ate a quick lunch and went to a discussion group for women which was okay. The person who was training me leads groups very differently than I do, which is fine, but I miss Bill from Children's! (I also miss the clout I had at Children's - I had the power to diagnose there.) I observed the Housing Resource Specialist who was having a conversation with a resident about being "Saved" and that left a sour taste in my mouth. I didn't think anyone was supposed to discuss any particular religious orientation. I think if I ever hear a staff member proselytizing to a resident, I will ask my supervisor about it. I then spent the rest of the afternoon with the dude I'm replacing, and he seemed like a pretty nice guy. He is in school for his MSW which makes me wonder if my job is really an MSW sort of job, but I know that one of the other case managers (at least one) also has her MSW. Still, I think it is a beneficial experience. When my supervisor comes back, though, I need to ask about supervision hours toward my LISW.

Tonight I went to Steve's to watch I Am Sam. It was a really amazing movie and you should all watch it. It's funny, though - I had no problem dealing with all of the sad parts, but I found myself getting emotional during all of the good, touching father-daughter scenes. I'm sure the bittersweet tumultuous relationship I had with my father growing up has a lot to do with that. I've noticed since high school that I get choked up at dad-kid things. *shrug*

Steve and I had an interesting discussion over dinner at the Drexel Radio Cafe. He said that since I often fret about being the token in my group of friends, he was surprised that I would take employment where I was the token in the work place. It's true that I am very different from the other people at Faith Mission, but in some ways, I think it can be a very good thing. I am comfortable enough with who I am that I don't mind being singled out at work. I think that some great benefits can be derived from my being willing to make myself known at work, especially as an out, queer individual. I would hope that the workplace would support my making it clear that my office is a safe place to talk about those issues. I think I will need to find something that I can hang up or display to make that known. I'll add that to the list of things to talk to Tammy about when she comes in on Monday.

Which reminds me - they gave me about 12 keys and I think sometime tomorrow I should actually find and label which doors they go to. Ugh. I hate things like that.

Comments

[00solstice.livejournal.com]

speaking of dinner... i left/lost my debit card there. dambit. :-(

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Oh that sucks - so you had to cancel it and stuff? :(

Suckage!

Re:

[00solstice.livejournal.com]

yep... canceled it last last night!

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

BLEH. Sorry.

Re:

[00solstice.livejournal.com]

don't be!! It's not your fault.. it was my silly absent-mindedness!

being "Saved"

[etherial.livejournal.com]

What exactly was the deeper context of the conversation? Was it being saved in a literal, general figurative, or specific religious sense? Were they talking about personal (or anecdotal or apocryphal) experience or predicting the future.

In this situation, it's all about context.

Religiousness should be encouraged. That is, knowing what you believe in, being comfortable with that, testing your faith, and finding your relationship with [the Godlike thingies or lack thereof] rewarding. And discussing that faith should also be encouraged (though people in your field should probably avoid bringing the subject up, avoiding it altogether would, IMNSHO, be damaging).

Re: being "Saved"

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

I agree with you that spirituality can be a good thing for a person. I consider myself a very religious person and my life has only been enhanced by that experience, however, my particular experience is not right for everyone.

These two women were specifically talking about born-again Christianity, witnessing, and working for the Lord. I know this because I heard the entire conversation. While I don't think a client should be discouraged from discussing a particular religious bent, I don't know that a staff person should indicate that one faith (or a lack thereof) is better than another.

[gangrel-pri.livejournal.com]

So, out of curiosity, how does one get banned from recieveing services?

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Violence toward staff/other residents
Drugs/weapons in the shelter
Threatening staff
Being a sex offender (current agency policy :( )

You can also lose your bed by not coming in by curfew (9pm) unless you have a particular work reason.

There are a number of rules which you can be written up for, some you can be put on probation for, and if you violate probation you can be banned temporarily.

Re:

[gangrel-pri.livejournal.com]

Sounds like high school in some ways.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Well, a lot of the rules are set up for resident safety, but there are lots of rules to ensure that people coming to the shelter are going to actively try to get out of the shelter, and with such an insane waiting list for beds every day... yeah.

Re:

[gangrel-pri.livejournal.com]

well, that does make sense to have the rules the way they are.

[brosie.livejournal.com]

Overall, it sounds like you had a good day, albeit long and somewhat slow.

I'm glad things aren't bad, but I hope things get better for you.

<3<3

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

I think it will be a good place for me. Today I was shadowing this other woman, Shannon, and she said, "Oh, look, it's the condom lady." It was a woman named Ria whom I worked with before (she does sex ed stuff all over town), so I got to have a happy reunion. :) :)

[feathered.livejournal.com]

I am Sam made me cry. ;P

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Dude, it's a sad movie. But it was very good, and Sean Penn was /excellent/!