Week 5 at CrossRoads (blog 6)

CrossRoads is an organization that works to accept and take care of not only their clients but their employees. Since the work can be so difficult and a large emotional strain the culture of the employees focuses on helping each other and looking out for each other when tougher cases come in. Something that the employees really work on is self-care. They also make sure to point out if some people aren’t taking care of themselves. This isn’t to make fun of the other employees but to look out for each other. The employees at CrossRoads also find ways in which to set boundaries so as to find a chance to have self-care at the office. This includes not allowing work talk while at lunch, this is a way to give a mental and emotional break for the employees. While some employees will have to work through lunch sometimes when they don’t work at lunch they have a chance to step away from their clients and talk about things that inspire them like food, TV shows, events going on in the community and their lives. This also allows for the employees to get to know each other better and allows us to make deeper connections with each other. It also allows for the employees know how to help someone when they are struggling with a case or how to help when they have things going on outside the office.
My highlight this week was that I got the chance to go to an event with the other intern at CrossRoads by ourselves and represent CrossRoads at this event. This event was a part of a task force who are focused on helping a higher poverty area in Burlington. This event was focused on connecting people with job resources for people, especially those who may have criminal backgrounds. It was great to get to be a part of this event and meet the people in this community. This event allowed me to see what it would take to organize a community event, especially looking at how to advertise an event out to the community. This was a highlight for me because it was awesome to see all the people in the community who came out and it was a great learning experience!