Careers
Celebrating a 30-Year Career
Shelley remembers the moment that her life was transformed and her career path chosen. She had been invited to work at a summer camp for kids that offered camps for people living with developmental disabilities.
“I didn’t really want to do it but they were really short on staff,” she says. “I signed up but I was actually scared.”
Her fear was that of the unknown. She was afraid to work with people with disabilities because she had no experience with them. But her fears and discomfort disappeared when the campers arrived.
“I loved it! It became my absolute favourite thing ever,” she says, with a big smile.
That experience became the seed that grew into a 30-year career with Communitas Supportive Care Society. Shelley started with Communitas in 1994, coordinating respite for children. At the time, there were 34 children whose parents were looking for respite care. Shelley’s job was to match caregivers with families.
“It was really satisfying when you made the right match,” she says.
A few years later, Shelley’s career shifted when she was asked to oversee a new contract started by Community Living BC (CLBC, the government agency that funds services for people living with disabilities.) The new service was called Home Share: finding providers who are willing to welcome people living with a disability permanently into their own home, to become part of their family. The introduction of Home Share marked a shift in how services were being offered to adults with disabilities living outside their parents’ home. Communitas was at the forefront of this change.
“Communitas and other agencies facilitating Home Shares all got together and we helped set standards and create policies that are still being used to this day,” Shelley says.
Shelley also did adult respite which led her to become a Home Share provider, giving her a unique perspective. Bringing a person with a disability into her home and sharing her life with that person has been a joy. For Shelley, it was also a confirmation of her “calling” – a willingness to be open, to experience, and to learn. It’s something she’s been doing now for more than 30 years.
When asked if she expected to be in this career for so long, Shelley says she never really looked that far ahead but points to the fact that it has been three decades of the same experience.
“Change has been a constant and that has made for variety and challenges that have kept me engaged,” she says.
The work has enabled her to use her education, her skills, and her gifts. She’s able to work one-on-one with people but also has ‘down’ time to do administrative tasks. The work has also provided many opportunities to grow and be connected in her community in meaningful ways.
Her work has not been without its challenges. Over the years, Shelley has seen a noticeable change in the complexities of care needed by new referrals. She notes that one of the biggest challenges is the reality of an aging population. Age-related challenges impact Home Share families in the same way as they do any family caring for an elderly loved-one. When the needs outpace the resources available, it is difficult for everyone.
“I’m a fixer and it’s hard when you are faced with challenges that you can’t fix,” Shelley says.
But even her hardest days are nothing compared to the joy she feels when she can be with the people she serves. These moments are vital and help put the challenges in perspective. Her hope is that the caregivers that she works with, will also find those moments.
“I hope they can truly enjoy the people they serve, that they can experience those moments of laughter and sheer joy,” Shelley says.
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