Greg at his desk in our Durham, NC office.
I walk through the office doors of the CWS Durham office, in the basement of a large church in downtown, breathing a sigh of relaxation as I begin my day as an employment specialist in helping resettle refugees. After unlocking the door to the large, bull-pen style office, I feel myself smile while turning on the lights and quietly sitting at my desk. As the first one in the office, I serenely plan and organize my day so that I am fully prepared for everything on my schedule. As my computer turns on and I start to “clock in”, I cannot help but think back on the day that I first walked through the office door.
On that first day, I could feel the sweat bead on my brow. It was the oppressive heat typical to the southern regions of the US. The type of heat and humidity that fills your lungs with hot air and causes sweat to stick to your shirt every time you walk outside. As I walked through the doors of the church and was led by my manager into the office area, I saw a scene of people bustling from one place to another, performing tasks, using professional jargon mixed with humor and diligence. Everyone seemed to be diligently working on a task while engaging in conversations about clients that showed passion for their profession. But, as soon as I sat at my desk, each passing person warmly introduced themselves and welcomed me to the team. Immediately I felt a sense of family among the office and noticed how excited everyone was to be doing their jobs. During that week, the office was undergoing a monitoring session and I was given a list of training videos to watch while I waited to accompany my colleagues into the field as they served clients. After my week of training videos, I felt an eagerness to be a contributing member of the team. The next week, my I got my wish.
I watched and took notes on how to enroll people in our program, complete budgets, work with other teams to correctly service clients, and answer questions from clients. I learned how we organized employer contacts, created job interviews, reviewed job expectations, and most importantly watched as my mentors related with their clients and assisted them in accomplishing their goals. While listening, I discovered the importance of allowing clients to solve their problems without our help and knowing when we should step in and assist them in their goals. While watching them work, I could not help but feel my stomach turn in knots as I nervously wondered whether I would be able to keep up with them and be an asset for the team. Then, I was then given my first enrollment and it was time to step out of the shadows as an observer and start to “step up” as a teammate. Prior to my enrollment appointment, I could not help but feel the nerves churn in my gut as I felt my mind wander into every worst-case scenario for my interaction. Once inside the home of my soon to be client, I opened my mouth, and all my nerves went away as I reviewed the program with them and felt a sense of wanting to rush as I waited for the interpreter to translate. By the end, I was sweating and felt a lump in my throat as I finished the enrollment by asking for their signatures. As we left the client, my manager, who simply observed my enrollment, opened the door to her car and explained the good things I did during the intake. She also made some suggestions, but by the end of our conversation, I could not help but feel pride and apprehension as I had just received my first client.
As the weeks rolled by, I found myself gaining competency in my position. I had done multiple enrollments, budgets, trouble shooting, and helped clients to obtain jobs. I also found myself enjoying the people I was meeting and had established a connection with my clients. And just as I felt slightly competent, I gazed at the TV as the American troops left Afghanistan. I watched with unbelieving eyes as I saw thousands of people attempting to leave the country in a mad rush to save their lives. Little did I know, my job was quickly about to change.
The arrival of the Afghan allies was like treading water in a hurricane. I went from doing one or two enrollments a week to enrolling 5 families in a day. I watched as the entire office geared up to accommodate for a group of arrivals larger than any day we had previously seen. I heard and responded as my office director called for “ALL HANDS-ON DECK!” as we prepared to plan for the new arrivals that were on their way to us. All the different teams in the office, from employment to case management seemed to lend a hand in any manner possible. I utilized community connections to help with food, watched as case management secured a bus, and saw our housing specialist secure hotels and housing with local landlords. It was as if everyone was being asked to perform on a higher level and the entire office was rising to meet the occasion. As it turns out, being forced to swim in a hurricane makes you a strong swimmer. And our entire office was powering through the waves created by this refugee crisis. I found myself no longer getting flustered by questions or being nervous about budgets. It became very easy to stand in confidence with my program and found increased communication with my office mates to be integral in our serving our clients.
After reflecting on my professional growth, I watched as my teammates begin to trickle into the office to begin our workday. As the hours melt through the completion our tasks, I cannot help but feel pride in being a part of the great team we have in the basement of this church. As I close my laptop and “clock out”, I walk through the door for home with the pride that only comes from being a part of CWS.
Greg Hansbrough is an employment specialist with CWS Durham.