It isn’t easy to explain what a day in the life of a crisis advocate looks like because this revolves around callers who may experience a crisis at any given moment. So, as you read and learn about what this particular Wednesday looked like, keep in mind that crisis calls could come through at any time and pause any tasks or meetings I am engaged in.
This Wednesday morning began with a check-in with my supervisor to transition into my shift. This means their shift has come to an end, and they will fill me in on any on-going related crisis calls so that I am equipped with a head start in case they reach out for support later that day. I then check my emails and review our crisis call logs from the previous day. Other tasks that I perform are working with SignUp (this is where we keep our Crisis Line schedules for Crisis Team members—staff and volunteers), collect insightful and supportive materials to share on our Crisis Team newsletter and with volunteers, support my co-worker with on-boarding new volunteers, de-brief and check-in with my team about trends on the crisis line, and exploring ways to improve our Crisis Team in general. Wednesday afternoons are usually when all the meetings take place. I attend my supervision meeting (this is where my co-worker steps in to support me with holding the line so I can be 100% focused in supervision), and depending on what week of the month it is, Program Quality Improvement (PQI), All Staff and Cultural Transformation Committee (CTC).
As you can see from the beforementioned information, I stay pretty busy during the day, and I love that about my job. I love that even though there is a lot of heaviness and sadness in the work that we do, there is no better reward than knowing I have been of service in the best way I know how, and knowing I have a fabulous team to back me up for support when need be. It is a true honor to work alongside such resilient callers and survivors. Although they may be in crisis, they still have the skills to navigate life’s difficulties by reaching out to our Safe Connections Crisis Line when they need support the most, and for that, I am grateful.
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