August 8, 2011 - 2 hours (training)
Today was my training day for the Compass House internship program. I got there and to my surprise there were about six other people there for training as well. We went through all of the guidelines for the internship itself and also what Compass House is exactly. I learned that the main focus of the Compass House is the children at the shelter. They are there for all different reasons and it is very important to try to reunite them with their families because this is such a temporary shelter. When I say temporary, the average stay of a client is about 7-9 days. The maximum that a client can stay is about 3 weeks. During training we received a tour of the house and met the clients that were living there at the time. We saw them and the staff cooking dinner together and eating at the table. It was nice to see the kids in a family setting and befriending one another. Although this training session was informational and more paperwork than anything, it really gave me insight as to what I would be doing/experiencing all semester and got me really excited. We learned that we will be dealing with all types of clients. Teens with mental health disorders, which relates to Abnormal Psychology, developmental disorders which relates to developmental psychology and even different ways to talk to the kids to make them feel comfortable around you, which relates to techniques of counseling.
August 29, 2011 - 5 1/2 hrs (first day)
Today was my first real day as an intern at CH. I was fortunate enough to be able to read all of the files about all of the new clients in the shelter. All of the paperwork provides you with reasoning as to why they are there. Both their side and their guardian's side of the story are written down during the intake procedure. Although interesting, it was difficult to read all of these teenager's stories as to why they are there. Due to the fact that it was my first day, the supervisor on duty did not want to overwhelm me with teaching me how to do all of the different paperwork required for each client. There is a lot more paperwork than I ever would have imagined, and EXTREMELY detailed. After I read all about the kids I got to meet them. Despite the small bias I may have had from reading their files, they were all extremely outgoing and welcoming. We played pool and video games and just had small conversation for the duration of my stay. As I was about to leave an interesting incident took place. For the sake of the client's integrity and privacy, I will refer to him as "Joe." A few days prior, Joe and one of the other male clients were accused of inappropriately touching three of the female clients at the shelter. The girls did not want to say anything to get anyone in trouble but eventually did. It is still unknown if the allegations were in fact true or exaggerated due to personal conflict with one another. However, while interviewed about the incident by the supervisor the boys claimed that it was "just a joke and they just hugged the females." Obviously the safety of the clients is the most important thing, so the two boys were asked to leave. Which sort of relates to ideas in techniques of counseling that if someone is to hurt themselves or someone else, they need to be admitted into a hospital, but in this case, due to the safety of the other clients, he was asked to leave.
While I was there the phone rang and a supervisor told the staff on duty that one of the boys would be returning to the house even though the same females were still residing there. The staff was worried whether or not this would cause the females in the house to be uncomfortable and maybe cause them to want to leave. Because this is a voluntary safe place, they would be able to do so even without having shelter to go to. Unfortunately, my time was up so I was unable to meet this young man and discover the outcome of the discussion staff had with him once he arrived. Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to get some more information. All in all it was an exciting first day just playing games with the kids and listening and starting to form trust so that they open up to me and actually talk to me about their situations so that I can learn more about them.
August 30, 2011 - 10 hrs
Today was my second day at the shelter. It was nice to walk in and see the same kids and have them remember my name. I actually learned a lot about the process of the intake and other paperwork. I was taught how to answer emergency phone calls and also how to fill out "Blue Sheets" which are very important in the filing process because they collect all of the client's personal information over the phone and they try to talk to the client on the phone and also the referring individual, whether it is their parents, Buffalo Police Department, or a participating program such as TOPS. While on the phone they try to gather as much information as possible before the client arrives. A narrative of the situation and the phone conversation is recorded on this blue sheet and filed with the rest of the client's information. After I learned about the paper work I hung out with the kids for a while and attended "group" with them. Group is basically when someone from the Compass House Resource Center comes in and talks to the kids about every day things that happen in life. Today the main topic was how much on average it would cost to live on your own (bills, rent, etc.) Because all of these kids don't have an ideal situation at home, they all want their own apartment but are completely unaware of how much money it actually costs. Also, they have a false sense in reality of all of this because majority of their parents live in subsidized housing and their rent is based off of their income, which they don't understand yet. It was really interesting to talk with them about how much things really cost and hear what they thought about it. I think it might make them appreciate their situation at home even if it isn't perfect. After group we all made lunch together. It was nice to see them all being responsible and using their manners at the table. The kids are also required to have a "moment of silence" before they eat each meal, which I thought was definitely neat. After we all finished eating at the table together, all of the kids were assigned a duty to complete in order to clean up.
The kids really enjoy walking down the block to the Compass House Resource Center, so after cleanup they did that. Unfortunately one of the kids is only thirteen and you have to be sixteen to go to the RC, so he had to stay behind by himself. The kids didn't come back in time before I had to leave for the day, but I look forward to seeing them all tomorrow.
August 31, 2011
When I arrived at CH today things were very slow. All of the clients were at the Resource Center for the first two hours. The other staff and myself just hung out and discussed cases. I also read more into all of the client's files. After the day time staff left and the night crew arrived, I got to practice an intake on a staff member, and he did the same to me so that I would become familiar with the intake process and how to ask questions that are necessary and how you can get more in depth with the client and the situation. I actually learned a lot from doing this, not only about paperwork but also about a little bit more of a counseling aspect and listening to the client, which is generally the main focus in techniques of counseling, so it is always a lot more interesting when it is something that you can relate to and have a little bit of experience with. When the kids got back to the shelter we all just hung out and watched television and played games. I found out that a female client had left this morning, so it was apparent that the kids were a little upset because they had all formed a relationship being around each other all day every day. Another male client was scheduled to leave the next morning and return home.
September 5, 2011
Today was a holiday and the last day of summer before school for some of the clients. Two new clients arrived over the weekend and I was able to read their files today to get a sense of who they are and the reasoning as to why they are there. There is an underlying theme in all of these teenagers lives that land them at CH. They all just want to be loved and given attention. For the sake of the client's privacy I will call her Nicole. Nicole arrived at Compass House on Sunday, September 4th. She is a seventeen year old African American girl from Buffalo. She has a two year old daughter that lives with her grandmother. She is seeking help and shelter from CH because she claims that her mother has chosen her boyfriend over her own daughter. Nicole claims that she will be 18 in a couple months and wishes to get her own apartment and have her daughter live there with her. The more I read into her file, the more emotional it became. She does not have a high school degree, nor is she enrolled in school or any other educational program. Her family members take care of her daughter, and she has no where to live. It is difficult not to feel for the clients but at the same time there are so many problems in all of their lives that you will continue to see it day in and day out. Another new male was brought to CH by his adoptive mother. For his privacy, I will call him Thomas. Thomas is fifteen years old and currently resides with his adoptive mother. He has lived with her since he was six. The reason why he came to CH is because of his temper. His adoptive mother says that he began breaking dishes in their home that day. She claims that he has both an anger problem and also a personal hygiene issue, as he refuses to bathe. Thomas claims that he became anxious because his adoptive mother would not tell him where she was going and he feared that she was going to find him another place to live. He also stated that he is sick of feeling as though his adoptive brother receives more love and attention that he does. After I read these files I went into the common area and met the two teens. They both were very nice and respectful and were getting along very well with the other clients in the house. Other than the two new clients I learned about, today was a slow day. We all just hung out together and had lunch.
September 6, 2011
Today was the first day of school for some of the kids, so when I arrived at 11:00 am, only a few were there. All clients must attend school if they are enrolled or they are not allowed to continue to live at CH. The staff monitors this by calling the school that the clients attend to make sure that they are present. A few weeks prior, a client attempted to return to compass house after he was sent back home. During the intake process he lied about the year he was born in because a few months prior, he had turned 18. Once a client is 18, they are no longer eligible for housing at CH, they then have to apply for shelter at another institution, which can take a very long time on a waiting list due to the lack of space and funding from the government. This kind of reminds me of when I had to call to see when the next available initial appointment could be at a psychiatrist's office, everything has to do with waiting when these kids and patients may need it right away. After the case worker doing his intake got in touch with the last school he had attended, she discovered he was lying and could not accept him at CH. A few weeks later he ended up in Erie County Jail, and yesterday his face was in the newspaper, because he had committed suicide. When I heard this I was shocked. It is very sad that people have nowhere to go and no one to rely on for love or shelter. The outcome is extremely sad when this happens.
Today I also got to sit in on group as they talked about peace and constructive ways to deal with their anger. These are called Peace Jams, which is a little bit of counseling as well. After group, the kids went to the Resource Center to hang out and the day was very slow from there on out.
September 7, 2011 - 29 hours
Today was the first day of school for the remainder of the clients, so when I arrived, it was only staff and a couple clients who are not enrolled in school. Because it was so slow, I read through all of the clients' files again and also read their previous files if they have been to CH before. For being so young these children experience a lot of difficulty. For the remainder of the time while the kids were at school, the staff and interns just hung out. When they got back to the shelter from school, we played games and talked about their first days. At shift change, the PM staff supervisor promised to rent the kids a movie, so we watched that while dinner cooked. I also searched the internet to help a client find housing for her (17 yrs old) and her two year old daughter. She was having difficulty because the city will only give her so much a month for rent, so she has been unsuccessful and has nowhere else to go with her daughter. I wrote down addresses and numbers for her to call tomorrow. She was very grateful and it made me feel as though I was helping her in some minimal way. After the movie, we all ate together. I also learned how to dial out on the phone for the clients, which is a major help to the staff because the kids ask about 100 times per day to use the phone, and we have to dial the numbers for them.
September 12, 2011
Today there was a new client waiting to do his intake when I got to CH. It was the first opportunity I had to actually watch a real intake with a real client. For the sake of this person's privacy I will call him Michael. Michael is a fifteen year old homosexual multi-racial male who is also an ex resident of CH. His adoptive mother could not deal with his attitude anymore and she dropped him off at his biological mother's house to live with her. That did not last long because he has been raised by his adoptive mother and he and his bio-mom do not have a relationship. He went to Casey House for a few days until he came to CH today. The most difficult part of the process is trying to figure out what his housing options are after his stay at CH because this is just temporary (7-10days). Living with his adoptive mother is not an option. Nor is living with his biological mother. His last option would be living with his biological father who was just released from prison who lives in Louisiana. This is to avoid him entering the harsh reality of foster care. After the intake process I went outside with Michael as he smoked and we just talked about everything and he really opened up to me. He confided in me to tell me about his cutting and why he does it and we talked about his hobbies and family. It was really cool to have a client actually open up to me as an intern. It made me feel a lot more comfortable talking to the other kids. It was almost like practice. After we talked everyone just hung out and the night staff arrived. A young client with a two year old daughter asked to talk to me and vented about her difficulty trying to find a house for her and her daughter to live in because she has no income or any family to help with a security deposit, which is the only thing holding her back. It was sad to listen to a seventeen year old girl experiencing so much hardship at her age, not only for herself but for her daughter as well. After we all ate dinner together, like a family.
September 13, 2011
Today was a very slow day. I was there during the day while all of the kids were at school. So the staff and other interns just hung out and listened to previous stories about some of the terrible stories of the kids that had been to CH before. It was really interesting to hear.
Week of September 20th
This week was actually pretty busy at CH. We got a lot of new intakes and a lot of them opened up to me which was really cool. We had one case of INS come in. An illegal immigrant from Guatemala was brought to CH after a farm was raided and the illegal immigrant workers were caught. He spoke no English whatsoever. We sheltered him for the night and INS had him deported. I have always heard stories about this happening and never seemed to take a personal interest in it.. but when I saw this boy highly upset because he was going to be deported, it was very sad. I later learned that with illegal immigration, the teens parents basically put a 2nd mortgage on their house for him to come to the US.. where he would work and be able to pay off their debt for him being in the United States and then he would start to send them money which would help the family after the debt is paid off. When you are deported back to your country, more than likely, your family loses their home because they are unable to pay back the debt of sending you to the US. I was completely unaware of this but it really was interesting and sad to hear all at the same time. Especially because this boy spoke no English and had no idea what was going on.
There was another boy who had to take medication every day because schizophrenia ran in his family and he was already diagnosed with ADHD and other mental illnesses which I am unaware of. This reminded me a lot of my Abnormal Psychology class with Dr. Sanders. We learned so much about mental illness and the signs and symptoms, and it was weird to see in real life. This child also lied so frequently that he believed his own lies. For the sake of the client's privacy, I will not mention his name but, it was very easy to see that this young 13 year old boy was caucasian. He had green eyes and blond hair. Yet he was telling everyone that he was African American. I forget what this illness is called but I remember learning in Abnormal about a disorder that you lie so frequently to get attention and you really start to believe your lies yourself because you say them so many times.
Week of October 1
This week was also very busy at CH. It was a sad time because a long time client who stayed at CH for two straight months, left this week. She has been trying to find shelter in a foster home, but it has not been working out. For the sake of her privacy I will call her Jill. Jill's father passed away when she was young and her mother had her at an older age. Jill is 15 and her siblings are in their 20's. For some reason Jill and her mother never seem to get along and living with her was not an option. She was accepted into a group home for girls in Buffalo and will remain there for a year. This made me sad because she does have a family, but it is just not a safe environment for any of them to be in when they live together.
Week of October 9
There were a lot of new intakes at CH this week. One specific resident I will call Tommy, arrived at CH because he is no longer welcome in his family's home. This is because this specific resident admitted to stomping and killing his grandmother's dog. Initially when I first met him he was adamant about all of the staff and other residents knowing that he considered himself to be a "gangster" and also was proud of the neighborhood that he grew up in. This specific resident has served time in delinquent facilities at the early age of ten. Abnormal Psychology taught me a lot in seeing symptoms of mental illnesses. One of the first steps to diagnosing a sociopath is by knowing that he/she killed an animal. This was present within this case and was really interesting. This resident proceeded to get into a physical altercation with another resident in which he initiated, this also shows another physically violent act trying to inflict pain on another individual. This week I also took the residents to the Resource Center to watch a movie. I have really enjoyed my internship thus far, but the more I am there the more I see unprofessionalism from the case managers at the RC, not at the shelter. They made both me and the residents feel very unwelcome and also publicly put down a youth counselor who told us to go there. I am there for the experience and for the kids and I felt as though this was not the case with these workers. This is not what I expected to encounter throughout my internship but I am glad I did, this made me realize a lot about what I want to do.
Week of Oct 15 - 104 hrs
This week I actually answered emergency phone calls and filled out paperwork. The week was definitely looking up from last week when two brothers came to CH and claimed that their father allegedly was beating them so they ran away. These brothers returned home today (10/19) and the youngest one expressed how much he loved CH and how much fun he had there. This definitely turned my thought process around because there are people there who truly are there for the kids and want them to succeed and have better for themselves. This same day a young lady was asked to leave because she broke curfew and came back to CH later than she was supposed to which is one of the major house rules. She was not happy with being kicked out and made that very clear with verbally assaulting the director and other staff. It is sad in the sense that we do not know what will happen to these kids but they are not willing to help themselves either. There was another situation where this resident was 13 yrs old and in 8th grade. He is from Niagara Falls which is a different county so their shelter is Casey House. This resident was kicked out of Casey House for wrongly accusing a staff member of hitting him. This of course was found to be inaccurate, so he was brought to Compass House for temporary shelter. Because of Abnormal Psych I was able to see traits of ADHD in this individual based on his lack of paying attention and hyperactive constant state. He was a compulsive liar, so much so that he believed everything he lied about. He made false accusations on staff at CH during his stay and was admitted into a shelter for young boys with mental disorders. His situation shows through genetics because his mother is bi-polar and his father is Schizophrenic which I learned in Abnormal and Developmental Psych.
Week of November 1 - 114 hours
Lately it has been pretty slow during the times that I have been at CH because all of the kids are at school. However, today a client returned from an all boy's group home because he was kicked out. All of the information that was given to CH was not grounds to have him kicked out so CH accepted him back for a few days until there are living options for him. It was nice to see a familiar face return, but sad at the same time. I sat at the kitchen table with him today and talked to him about why he got kicked out of this group home, and he told me a lot of stories from his childhood. This relates to one of my communication classes, Constructive Uses of Humor. Because he reminisced about times that were more positive throughout his life and that brought a positive sensation for that short moment and took him away from his current negative situation. It was neat to see that and think about it relating to something that I am learning about. We were also sitting with a youth counselor who was 'counseling on the go,' and talking to him about his situation. This reminded me of techniques of counseling because she was not asking him close ended questions and only yes or no questions, but discussing his current feelings about his situation, and allowing him to tell his side of the story so that he was not looked at as the problem. He clearly trusted us at that time because we had formed a previous relationship with him about a month ago when he was at CH. This also relates to techniques of counseling because he does not discuss anything with anyone, unless he is comfortable and there is a trustworthy relationship.
Last week at CH - 120 hours
This was my last week at CH and it was very busy. There were a few cases involved with INS which are particularly my favorite cases. They are extremely interesting because majority of the time these illegal immigrants who are kids in my eyes have made there way through the United States doing anything and everything they can do for money trying to support their families back home in Mexico, Guatemala, etc. These families have spent everything they have and sold all of their belongings and home in high hopes of their child succeeding and being able to send them money.
Doing this internship was a real eye opener. I am extremely glad that I did it. Although at times it was difficult to be exposed to the harsh realities of some youth's lives, it was very rewarding. I learned a lot about the way that the state works for children in bad situations and I have seen many employees of CH go above and beyond for the residents at CH, which was very helpful because it made it clear that all of them are there for the right reasons and have the best heart in mind for these kids. Not only did I learn a lot about how CPS and INS work, but I was lucky enough to view all of the patient's files and also complete paperwork and sit in on a lot of counseling sessions and intakes.
Aside from the paperwork aspect of it, I really learned a lot from interacting with the kids. I started to sort of help counsel them and they really opened up to me after they saw me for a few days and built a little trust with me. This is something that I learned in Techniques of Counseling with Professor Akin, forming a trustworthy relationship with the client is one of the most important parts of the counseling process. Although I am not a professional, they really looked to me for advice and an ear because I am closer in age to them. I was very surprised at how much these kids opened up to me.
I would have to say that the biggest most influential part of this process was learning not to judge a book by its cover. So many kids are going through things that you cannot even begin to understand. After I read files on these kids, I will admit that sometimes I placed blame on the child and really did judge them. As time went on, I did less of that because they all deserve a chance to tell their story as well. There was one specific teen that I can quote from memory.. he did not speak very much English, so one of the youth counselors that knew a little Spanish did his intake. During his intake he said, "I do not think that I've ever done wrong, I've only done what I had to do to survive." To hear those words come out of a young teenager's mouth who's father is in jail and mother lives in Puerto Rico and cannot afford to fly him home, is the most influential thing I've ever heard in my life. That alone make my internship worth doing.
Although my hours are complete for course credit, I will still attend CH as a volunteer about once a week because I find this organization to be so important to our youth, and I truly enjoy being with the kids.
