While still a baby undergrad, I began my career working at St. Stephens as a shelter advocate.  My days were spent behind a closed office door listening to the stories of shelter guests who had everything and nothing to say, but who desperately needed to talk.  I witnessed tsunamis of pain and joy, hope and despair, stories as diverse as the people telling them.  I grew to understand that their needs go far beyond the obvious considerations of employment, housing, and finances.  I witnessed the enormous gap between mental health needs and available services. Certain questions seemed to bubble to the surface over and over, but without the proper mental health training, I couldn’t ask them.  So I set out to change that.

I chose to pursue my Masters in Social Work, because social workers are specifically trained to consider the entire person when choosing their intervention.  Social workers understand that the brain is connected to a body, which lives in a big, complex world filled with other people and forces in and out of our control. I found a happy home at the VA in their program to end homelessness, where I practiced for the next 10+ years as clinical social worker specializing in narrative psychotherapy, substance abuse, and trauma.

Like many, the pandemic substantially changed the way we practice and interact with our clients. I used to walk into a Veteran’s home and smell their cooking and talk about their family pictures on the wall, which made the care I delivered so much more personal and engaged. Then the pandemic transformed everything, leaving only endless telehealth and phone conversations in its wake. I started feeling disconnected from my work, colleagues, and passion for the job. I started to feel adrift and unfulfilled, which eventually impacted the care I was giving. I knew there was something missing, which I wasn’t finding at the VA. Ultimately, I left with a heavy heart, but full of hope for a new path exploring the parts of social work practice that I truly enjoy. I loved my colleagues and working with them through difficult clinical cases. I felt my heart swell with a desire to support and nurture their development. I knew that was something I wanted to focus on next.