Journal 1

Briana Wesclitz
Internship at Teresa Shelter

My first day at the Teresa Shelter was an exciting experience. As soon as I walked in, two

of the workers greeted me and one of them gave me a tour around the Shelter. As the tour was

happening, the worker explained to me all the rules I had to help regulate there. I was

overwhelmed by how much I had to remember but she assured me it is easy to get the hang of

it. After the tour was done there was a lot of time left for me to work at the shelter. I got to

meet all the women and children at the shelter. I was a little worried about working with

children since I never have before. I am not very good with names but as the week ended I

knew most of the residents at the shelter. I also got to know the kids and had a great time

reading to them. At first the kids were shy around me but after the second day they would run

up to me when I came in. The moms in the shelter sometimes need help taking care of their

kids while they are cleaning or have to do an errand. I loved helping out with that and keeping

the kids company. I also loved interacting with the women in the shelter. They were all very

kind to me. On the first day they all congratulated me on getting an internship at the shelter

and asked me a lot about my education. I had to go out of my comfort zone the first couple

days because the women were older than me yet I was in charge and telling them not to do

certain things. I asked a lot of questions because I was not entirely sure what I was doing but I

know as time goes on I will get the hang of it. When the shelter is quiet and there is not much

to do we have a list of chores to complete. I am used to cleaning so I had no trouble with that. I

am excited to see what else my internship has in store for me. I think I will really like this place.
 Journal 2

Teresa shelter internship

I have been at the Teresa shelter for two weeks now. I have never done more than a

three hour shift at my other internship so it is interesting to do five hours. It does not feel long

to me because I enjoy what I am doing. I find myself looking forward to working at the shelter

on my walks there. The kids there are comfortable with me now. I am trying to engage with

them more because I want to have more experience with kids. I would say I have little

experience with kids but in the future I can see myself working with them. The women in the

shelter are more comfortable with me too. The first week they went to the other workers for

help but now they are starting to talk to me more. I do not mix up their names now as I did in

the beginning. One thing I am worried about is having to intervene during an argument or fight.

I have just gotten use to the names and personalities of the women and do not feel that I am

comfortable telling them what to do. If the ladies fight, threaten, or disrespect staff or any

other resident then they are asked to leave the shelter. I am not looking forward to having to

do this one day. I know that with time though I will feel comfortable enough to do this even

though it will not be easy. I have watched other workers handle bad situations but have not

seen them ask someone to leave yet. By the end of this internship I also what to be able to

intervene during bad situations and help the residents out as best as I can. This will help me in

the future when I deal with situations I feel uncomfortable with. This is because I know that it is

hard at first but eventually I will get better at my communication skills.

 Journal 3

Teresa Shelter Internship

There have been different workers each time I have come in for my internship

but now I have introduced myself to all of them and gotten to know them. Some of them are

just graduated from Loras which was definitely a cool feeling since I could relate with them on

somethings. I got to ask them questions about how they are thriving now and what they

recommend I do for my future. They said the internship at the Teresa shelter is a good start

because It gives me real life experiences and then recommend that I work part time after my

internship because it is a good job to continue. They said that so many different types of people

come into the shelter which gives my experience with how to help certain types of people. I

was definitely glad to hear this and will talk to my supervisor about the chance to work part

time over the summer for the Shelter. I still have not personally seen a staff member have to

ask a resident to leave but a few ladies have been asked to leave while I was not working. There

is a log that we read that tells us what happens every day. I usually read this right when I walk

in so I know what has happened while I was gone. Some of the stuff I read surprises me

because I got to know these ladies and would not expect some of the things they do and talk

about. I have a lot of faith in these women and for some of them to have to leave or relapse is

heartbreaking. I know that I have to deal with this throughout my whole career so I am glad I

am getting use to this now. Women in the shelter can get kicked out just for swearing at

someone which I was surprised of but it makes sense that they need to be respectful and listen

to the rules. The shelter is for women to get better instead of just being a place they can stay. I

think this is a great idea and can see it working for a lot of the ladies there.
 Journal 4

Teresa Shelter internship

I have now had to handle a situation I have been dreading. I did an intake by myself

which I was proud of. I had to ask sensitive questions which I have learned in my social work

practice 1 class how to do with care. The intake was a girl my age which made me sympathetic

for her since I know she does or did not have the same advantages in life I had. She was giving

signs that she was not sober but I did not want to assume anything so I just calmly continued

the intake and knew that her drug test after would give me the answer of whether or not to

have her leave. I showed her to her bed and followed the rules for when it comes to new

residents. When I went back to the office she came screaming through the hallways and was

saying things that did not make sense. The other workers and I called her into the office to talk

but she was very rude to us and called us a bunch of names which meant she needed to leave.

The other workers did most of the talking but I also had a part in getting her to leave safely

without anyone else getting hurt. It was sad to see someone like this and not be able to help

but I had to be professional and keep the other residents safety in mind. I know more of these

situation will present itself and I just need to be ready for anything. I am more comfortable with

handling these situations like I had hoped. During my meeting with my supervisor I told her that

I am reaching my goals of getting better communication skills and feeling better about handling

situations that happen at the shelter. I am way better as knowing what to do when It comes to

the questions the residents ask and what needs to be done at the shelter.
 Journal 5

Teresa shelter internship

It is sad to see the ladies leave but I know that sometimes it is for the best. All

the women I have worked with when I started are gone and new ones have come. Some of the

kids have left which is definitely very sad for me. It is hard not to get attached. I am happy for

the residents who get to leave because they have found housing or a person to live with. Some

give up and just leave the shelter because they are tired of putting up with other residents or

the rules. One lady specifically worked so hard during the time I was there and has been sober

for a while. She followed all the rules and tried her best to stay out of trouble. She

unfortunately just gave up and decided to leave the shelter. I learned that all you can do is put

faith in a person and hope they find a better life. I cannot force a person to get help it is their

own life. I also had to face a hard decision at the shelter. I got a call from my supervisor and she

asked me if I had seen one of the ladies acting in a way that would make her have to leave the

shelter. I was helping the kids get their food for dinner at the time so I could not recall clearly. It

was up to me and the other internship to report anything that would have this lady kicked out

of the shelter. I felt a lot of pressure and did not know what to say since I was not paying that

much attention to this particular individual. I told my supervisor that I did not see anything bad

enough that she would have to leave but I was not able to give her a good description of what

happened. I felt like I like I should have been paying more attention since it is my job to keep a

lookout of the residents. I did not have a good feeling after the phone call because I feel like I

had failed a little at my job. I know situations like this will come up so I just have to move on.
 Journal 6

I love my internship at the Teresa Shelter. There has been hardships that I have

discussed in my earlier journals but most of my experience has been fulfilling. I feel good

helping these ladies and children. The kids run up to me with hugs and that makes me feel like I

am a good influence in their life. One of the little girls actually calls me mom sometimes but I

always correct her. The women know me very well and freely tell me about their life and

hardships they have been through. I feel accomplished that the ladies come to me with their

problems and trust me. I have been offered a part time job at the Teresa Shelter which I am

starting soon. I am excited for this part of my life. This job will help me gain knowledge for my

future profession. During the summer the shelter is always full which will help me be able to

multitask and handle situations under stress. During my internship the shelter has only been

half full which has been good practice for me but now I know I need to step things up if I want

to be good at my job this summer. I am comfortable with putting myself in uncomfortable

situations which was a goal of mine and something I am proud of. I know that whatever

happens I will just learn from it and can apply it later in life. I have gained a love for working

with women and children. I am unsure of what I specifically want to do in my future but now I

have a better idea of what I can be of most help in. Working with this population has brought

me happiness and the feeling of fulfillment. I am glad I chose the shelter because now I have

communication skills that I did not have before. I also was able to apply some of the stuff I

learned in my psychology and social work classes. This practice helped me get a better

understanding on real life situations. One of them being how to react and reply to a person that

is telling me personal problems. I cannot wait to learn more from the Teresa Shelter.