My intention behind spending a day with people in their jobs
is two-fold. I hope to gain some
perspective on the reality of various jobs and learn about people’s journeys
that got them to their current place.
With any hope, you may get a glimpse into a world you may not have
known, and/or you may discover an insight that may help you when looking down
your own “yellow brick road.” Let’s get
our ruby slippers on!
Renee Moseley, LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker), is the Program Director at Bridge Meadows
and a great friend of mine. Last week, I wrote about an adoption ceremony that took place at Bridge Meadows, which is an
extraordinary intergenerational housing community. This week, we get to begin our exploration
from jobs to journeys with Renee as my first "shadowee." I am in Renee’s debt for how much of herself
and her day she shared with me. I had
an amazing time and am now the biggest ambassador for Bridge Meadows because of
her work. Thank you, Renee.
Fluidity required
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| Renee Moseley and her infectious smile c. Brooke Van Roekel |
Some people smile from their head, some from their heart, and some people smile
from their whole being. Renee is
one of those people who smiles from her whole being. I swear, her smile comes from the inside-out,
and she is quick to laugh which creates an ease for everyone around her. It cannot be underestimated how crucial this
is when intentionally building community, which is what Renee is doing every
single day.
Being the Program Director at Bridge Meadows requires being a Tai Chi Master. No, not really. It does, however, require an ability to go with the flow, to channel people’s energies and move them in a positive direction which is not always an easy task when you’ve got 67 people who come from very different backgrounds and experiences and range in age from a few months to 89 years old. There was one word that first popped into my mind when I observed Renee’s day – fluid. It can also be used to describe how Renee handles her day – with fluidity and much grace and patience.
How does Renee
describe her job?
She sees herself as a liaison for the residents to help them
get the services they need. One resident
deemed her the “Flow Facilitator.” She
runs 2 structured activities a week, which are ‘support’ circles. The Wisdom Circle is for the elders and The
Circle brings together the elders and adoptive and pre-adoptive parents. A number of organizations like to volunteer
their time and/or services, so Renee spends a lot of time coordinating those
opportunities for the residents. She
keeps them engaged and working as a community, which takes intention and careful
thought. After two hours, I was
wondering if it was break time!
Bridge Meadows is a very unique model and differs from the
traditional social work model because Renee is in the community members’
homes. She is a much bigger part of
their lives than just having a private client relationship where she would see
a client for an hour a week. In fact,
when a photographer volunteered himself to take family photos for the
residents, a few kids asked Renee to be in their family portrait. That is how important she has become to many
of the residents. She is a part of the
family at Bridge Meadows.
What does her day
look like?
9.30am
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| Renee shares an office with Derenda, the Executive Director c. Brooke Van Roekel |
Renee typically starts her day around 9.30am because she
often times stays late to spend time with the residents in the evening. For the first couple of hours, she focuses on her emails and phone calls needing action. These are with the residents, various agency
partners, other non-profits, case workers, therapists, and even the property
manager. Truth be told, she isn’t
terribly fond of sitting at a desk doing emails. She much prefers being up and engaging with people,
which is good since that is what the majority of her day is spent doing.
10.30am
Renee met with the volunteers who were decorating the
community room for the adoption ceremony.
Her role in this was to help them organize, provide a bit of direction
and understanding of the flow of the ceremony and how that might impact their
decorating. As mentioned last week, it
was a flurry of activity – much like one would find before a wedding. So much to do and so little time!
12noon
She ran a few errands before the party in the afternoon. (Ok, truthfully, she took her brother and
sister-in-law’s dog to the doggie day care because it was going to be too long
for little Ruby to go without being taken outside.)
1pm
Lunch with me and my 20 questions. (That’s an understatement.) During our lunch, the property manager popped
her head in the door and asked about food quantities for the adoption
ceremony. She had some concern that
there wasn’t going to be enough which led to the decision that she would go get
a few more pans of lasagna. Problem
solved. (These are the problems and
issues that crop up throughout the entire day and where Renee exhibits that
extraordinary grace and patience with each and every one.)
2pm
Renee took me on a tour.
We got 5 feet when we were stopped by one of the residents asking a
question about the party. We made it
another 20 feet when another resident approached Renee about yet another
question relating to the party. Renee
did try to run to the restroom, but was stopped by yet a third resident asking
about an incident the previous night. Did
I mention the need to be fluid in this role?
2.30pm
Meeting with Dr. Derenda Schubert, the Executive Director,
and a few MBA students conducting interviews for an award in Oregon that Bridge
Meadows had been nominated.
3.30pm
Final prep for the party was under way, and Renee met the
photographer and videographer who were going to be capturing the event. She directed them where to set up all the
while little kids were running around, she was checking one little boy’s
homework, and an elder was bending her ear about an issue with another member
of the community. (Patience is a
virtue, and Renee has it in spades particularly at moments like these.)
4.00pm
Special guests (board members, account directors of other
non-profits, case workers, etc.) started to arrive and Renee and Derenda took
turns greeting them while answering the periodic question from a youngster
usually asking when they could get a piece of the cake.
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| From 2 years old to the elders, Renee engages all c. Brooke Van Roekel |
4.20pm
After a bit of a delay because the judge got stuck in
traffic, the ceremony began and Renee could sit back and enjoy it.
5.15pm
The ceremony concluded, and there was much interaction with all
of the residents, the special guests, and the judge. Renee was grabbed in a few different
directions – even being asked to take a few family photos.
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| All in a day's work! c. Brooke Van Roekel |
5.30pm
Renee took a few of the guests on a tour of Bridge Meadows
6.15pm
Helped to tidy up, checked-in with a few of the residents,
and sent a few necessary emails.
7.45pm
Was able to get in her car and head home. Whew!
I have highlighted the phenomenal amount of patience that
appears to be needed for a role like this.
What I saw in Renee was more than patience; it was presence. What struck me the most was how she brought
that to every interaction – regardless of how impromptu they were.
It is very common to hear people describe their jobs that no
two days are the same. For Renee, I can
attest to the fact that this is indeed the case. She is dealing with 29 elders, 27 kids and 11
parents. There are a whole lot of
dynamics in that mix and when you add the support agencies and other resources
involved, she is indeed a “Flow Facilitator.”
*****************
Next up, we’ll start to learn about Renee’s journey and how
she came to be a LCSW and came to be at Bridge Meadows…It’s filled with all
kinds of fun twists and turns!
