Shelter Reflection Paper

• The last two days of this past week were quite busy at the Crisis Center. At one point, we had four open beds which allowed for many calls inquiring about shelter. Several callers I had to deny shelter because of previous interactions they had while receiving services from the agency. Others either partially completed or fully completed the intake paperwork but were not approved by approval staff. I was able to accept two people into shelter, but one did not show up in the allotted time. The client that did arrive at the shelter and proceed with check-in was Beth* and her seven month old son. This client had been in an abusive relationship with her husband for several years. The abuse was both physical and emotional. The abuse had become so horrific at points
She immediately made friends with another young mother in her bedroom. In addition to this experience, I was also given my first client that I would solely be working with along with a project called Lifetime Surveys. The client I was given was actually Beth*, which made me very happy because I felt that I had already gained part of her trust during the check-in experience. On Thursday, September 29th, I will complete a forty-eight hour interview with Beth*. This is done to see how the client is progressing after being in the shelter for forty-eight hours along with talking about different aspects that were not discussed during the intake and check-in. The Lifetime Surveys are an assignment that I have been given to complete with clients during my time at the agency. The purpose of these surveys is to receive information on how clients after receiving services from the agency. In order to participate, a client must have been in the shelter for at least a total of six days, have a permanent email address or phone number, and be willing to participate in the six month period that the survey runs for. On Thursday, I will begin speaking to clients about the surveys and hopefully