In working in human services in direct care for over five years now, I feel that there is more to this work then a job or a paycheck. I have heard many stories, for coworkers and from clients, as to what has been the reasons staff stay around and have been moved by many of them. For me, I see the work as a commitment in improving the human condition, for others, and myself, one person at a time. The names that are used in the essay are fictitious, but the people are real.

The one skill absolutely needed in this work is the skill of making a connection and nurturing a relationship. I have worked in two different programs in this agency. When I switched after two and half years, I recall that several clients expressing how sad they were at my changing jobs. Their biggest concern was they would not see me, even though I was remaining in the same cluster. One in particular, Jane, who I worked with regularly before I switched, moved to Framingham recently. She has no supports outside of human service workers and a cousin she calls a couple of times a year. No other living family is around. After Jane moved in, I made it a point to see her new apartment. She let her staff know how excited she was that I was stopping in, and she had the place picked up and very clean for the visit. But it takes time to build these strong relationships, and sadly people often need to move on in their careers before they really connect.

The obstacles, or challenges, of this work are many. It calls me, as a staff person, to be flexible, willing to work late hours and holidays, and stay late if a crisis is occurring on little to no notice. It is facing the stigma in the community when you are trying to move someone into their own apartment and you know that the landlord is saying it is not available because they think the person is disabled. Or because the person needs a subsidy and the landlord feels it is too much of a hassle to get one approved. One client, Joe, had to leave his home, since the landlord refused to lease up with a new subsidy. Joe fought this for several months, but in the end decided that getting a new apartment was easier. It is sitting in the emergency room with a Ruth who is too scared to be in her own apartment, too scared to be alone at this moment, that she experiences physical illness. It is knowing that working on Christmas, or Thanksgiving, I get to go home to my family and open gifts and have a large sit down dinner. However, with many I work with, the open house with some snacks, and dinner we provide, is the best they will get on this day.

The satisfaction comes in many forms. It is when Mary learns to use the ATM for the first time. It is when Jack moves into his own apartment after five years in residential programs, and more in the hospital. It is securing twenty-six subsidies for clients to live in the community, so that they have the ability to leave the system in the future, but still afford the rent. It is when Betty says to you that you were a big help that day to make her feel safe. It is when the Lynn’s sister, at Lynn’s funeral, says to you that the last year was the happiest in her life, since she was able to stay in her own apartment and lead a normal life.
I hope to be in this field for a long time to come. I have worked in other jobs, both non-and for-profit, but have not had the personal satisfaction that I have in here. Though I may change positions, as I advance in my career, I will continue to carry the relationships and memories of all of those who have touched my life with their courage and their hearts.