Managing a care home involves daytime management, overseeing the daily operations and administration of the facility, as well as nighttime management to ensure the safety of residents and the upholding of the environment, which is essential for the proper functioning of a facility.
What is the role about?
It involves working in constant collaboration with the other supervisors and aligning on the steps to follow regarding the operations. Establishing a structured environment is essential when working with individuals from backgrounds whose boundaries are blurry and the rules are non-existent. There is an administrative aspect to my job – writing reports, assisting residents with administrative procedures, exploring job opportunities, and finding ways to save and manage budgets, so that it can eventually lead to a housing assistance project, in cases where the individuals we support are homeless.
The importance of an accompaniment service beyond just welcome...
It is a matter of restoring a sense of human dignity. The person arriving at a shelter has lost confidence in the most basic things; in themselves, sometimes in life. So, it means walking alongside him to restore all of that. On a pragmatic level and because he is in a state of despair, it is difficult for him to take the first physical steps on his own and to see beyond his current situation.
"By supporting their reintegration, we change not only the life of the individual but also the lives of the generations that follow, because a child can see before them the example of someone who has come off the streets."
What does it take to do this job?
Patience, empathy, a great amount of humility, be non-judgmental, listening skills, making it a mission rather than just a job and the ability to meet the person at their level.
But that does not diminish the need for professionalism that work hand in hand:
maintain confidentiality, uphold ethics, ability to manage a residential facility firmly, seriousness, diligence.
In short: a velvet glove over an iron fist!