The Journey is Over!

Final Blog, 30 October 2019

How strange it is to have completed this amazing journey.

I have learned so much about both about myself and my own limits, but also about what it means to be a part of an organisation that works with vulnerable people.

In this post I will share a significant learning experience I had in my 4 months with Free to Feed. I have put a trigger warning since it does contain themes that may be triggering to some.

Working with People Who Have Experienced Trauma

Trigger warning: self-harm.

The incident itself actually happened before I joined the organisation, but I had the privilege of experiencing how Free to Feed (FTF) learned from it. Prior to me joining the organisation, one of the participants attempted suicide. Several of the employees at FTF knew that the person was struggling and supported to the best of their abilities. It is important to mention that FTF is a food industry employer and employment program – not a counselling service. However, many participants are very close with the permanent staff, and in many ways view them as extended family. For this reason, the staff wanted to make sure that they are properly equipped if anything like this were to happen again. Something, which is a real risk, considering the cohort they work with, who in many cases have experienced trauma before, and perhaps even during, their arrival to Australia. Additionally, many are living in great uncertainty in terms of having sufficient income to support themselves (and possible family/children), whether their visa will be renewed, and with constant worries about their family they have left behind (these are just some of the triggers I have noticed through my conversations with participants and staff). Galera, Giannetto & Noya (2018) suggest that social enterprises and non-profit organisations are playing an increasingly greater role in the inclusion of refugees and asylum seekers into the workforce. For this exact reason, it is crucial that organisations that do focus on employment also know how to deal with the complex issues that this population is dealing with.

FTF decided to invite two counsellors from Foundation House to come talk to us about working with people who have experienced trauma and may be experiencing a reinforcement of trauma through the hardship they face in Australia. I was lucky enough as an intern to be a part of that workshop, which really opened my eyes to what participants at FTF actually deal with behind the scenes. I, for example, experienced a participant having breakdown during a cooking class due to a tray being dropped in the kitchen. In the workshop with Foundation House I came to realise that loud noises can be a major trigger for people who have experienced trauma. This awareness of triggers is so important for my future career, because it allows me to be responsive to their needs in a more appropriate manner.

My RRR Question

My RRR question has evolved out of a combination of my learnings from my previous entry and this one. It is:

How does power, voice and agency impact participant feedback?

I want to explore how we best include people who may have previously been silenced, and who may be affected by invisible barriers in their own life as well as in their public life, at work and in organisations they are involved with. Feedback is such an important factor in improving services, and the subject of the service is the most important source of feedback, since they are the direct beneficiary.

Source:

Galera, G, Giannetto, L & Noya, A 2018, The Role of Non-State Actors in the Integration of Refugees and Asylum Seekers, OECD Publishing, Paris.