This week I continued part of my training and orientation. I had to finish online training modules that described how the Illinois Domestic Violence Act impacts how domestic violence service agencies function and promote social justice. It took a day and a half of staring at a computer screen to complete this, and I felt like I was on information overload but I must admit that it was necessary and valid information. I was also able to be a part of different meetings, and hear the various experiences and challenges that other interns and staff members faced during their group meetings and counseling sessions. I really appreciated how everyone shared what they were having difficulties with and asked for advice from others; everyone was helpful and involved because they want each other to succeed. Lastly, I have been assisting my supervisor with finding local resources who will donate for the Women’s Day event that will be happening later this spring.
At Sarah’s Inn, they serve anyone
who lives in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, and who are experiencing
domestic violence whether they are women, children, or men. They offer individual counseling services and
group sessions, as well as childcare.
There aren’t many men that come through the agency that are survivors of
domestic violence, but it does happen occasionally. I haven’t had the opportunity to interact
with any clients yet, but I will be observing intakes and groups once I am
officially through with my training and orientation. There are many services that are offered, and
they’re offered at all levels of intervention.
One program is intervention,
which includes the counselors/advocates who provide counseling services. Next is prevention,
which is a group that travels to middle and high schools on the west side, or
wherever they are called to. Third is legal advocacy, which is a group of
legal advocates that help survivors in the courthouse file and obtain orders of
protection as well as direct them to the other services that Sarah’s Inn has to
offer. Lastly is training and education, which is where members of the staff educate
clergy, law enforcement, medical staff and other professionals about warning
signs of domestic violence, as well as how they should intervene and advocate
for victims.
Sarah, I really enjoy hearing about your experience so far! Your field placement sounds really interesting, and I commend you for working with such an intense topic. I hear you on the information overload. When I first started at Providence, I had to learn all of the policies and the process of admitting a patient and discharging a patient. It was honestly a lot to take in at first, but I knew that in order to help patients I had to know this information. I studied all of this information a lot and I took a lot of notes and I feel like it has helped me learn more in my internship. I know it may seem like a lot, but once you know all of this information you will be able to help your clients in the best way you can! I think it is so great that you are also helping to plan for the Women's Day event, that will be so beneficial for so many women!
ReplyDeleteI think that the different programs that Sarah's Inn does are so interesting. I like the fact that your placement does not just do work within the organization, and understands that they also need to go out in the community and teach people about prevention and warning signs. I also think the legal aspect of Sarah's Inn is really interesting, and I think that you can do some really great work in there since you are so interested in law and criminal justice. You are working so hard Sarah, and I am really proud of you! I am so excited to read about your journey and see all the good work that you will do at Sarah's Inn! :)
Sarah, I understand how mundane training can be, especially when it is on a computer screen and afterwards you feel as though your eyes may explode. I applaud you for sticking with it though since it is important information and will inform your practice heavily. How do you stay focused while reading your training material? Do you take notes so that you do not just get caught up in reading and not actually paying attention. That always helps me to retain the info instead of simply reading it. I would be delighted to hear more about this Women's Day event and all that it entails.
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate the programs that Sarah's Inn offers, as Liz mentioned as well. The prevention aspect is very important because many do not even know what is considered abuse, or the different forms of abuse, until it is quite late in the situation.
I am so proud of you for taking on this internship and the emotional side effects that may come with it. As you know, I could never do what you are doing, so thank you.
Now stop mixing Mexican and Italian food, and get some real self-care.
-Megh
Sarah, will all of the orientation and training materials you have been supplied, it is still neat to see all of the services you will hopefully be able to (now more fully, due to training) help out in. IT is cool to participate in those meetings that we are invited to, right? At the jail, we have interagency meetings that happen all over the compound every single day to make sure that each service, officer, and commander knows everything that is going on in their particular division. I have been able to sit in with many of those meetings with my supervisor and that has been such a cool experience.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing Sarah; I am excited for you to get into your internship even more!
Sarah, they aren't joking on calling it a 40 hour training. But at least once you have completed it you will be done. Also since domestic violence agencies are so big on training, at least I hope it was done in a way that was at least somewhat interactive. I look forward to hearing more about the work that you are doing as you continue on in your placement.
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