Hello!

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            Thank you for taking the time to read a little bit more about some of my experience in student placement with Community Living Ajax-Pickering-Whitby. (You can read about my first year of placement under SSW, First Year Placement Tab) In this section, you will find my second-year placement experience and my essential employability artifact - our CLAPW's Employment Manul. You will also find links to some of my Jeopardy Labs and a link to Community Living's website. 

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            An entire year has passed, and I have found myself in a similar experience as last year on navigating student placement during a global pandemic. I  have been extremely fortunate in having the opportunity to be welcomed back to Community Living Ajax-Pickering-Whitby for my final year of placement. The staff and student coordinator of CLAPW once again had to pivot their services to match the provincial and ministry guidelines regarding our current states. Students were in search of placement hours, and service users were in search of a level of service that they had come to know. Our placement coordinator asked myself and a few other students if we would like to continue placement with the organization. How could I say no?

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            I had the privilege of working with a special group of members and an inspiring supervisor in my first placement round. I had learned so much from working with these members and had fun while doing so. Our coordinator mentioned that we would be working with a different group of members this time around. CLAPW is dedicated to supporting people with developmental disabilities to feel inclusively supported within the community, allowing them to advance safely while living a full life. We were provided with an opportunity to run the Employment Group's weekly two-hour sessions. A few of the members we worked within the first round knew we would be running this group and asked to join our sessions.

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            As a student, we knew that we would need to create a program that would be fun and interactive, empower the members, provide value, and give them something to take with them, and perhaps show off to their family and friends. We had spent some time thinking about what we should do with the group. We knew their cognitive limitations were aligned with going out and earning a living while pursuing their goals and dreams. We knew that we needed to create a program that aligned with CLAPW's mission and values. CLAPW strives to build a community where anyone with limitations can enjoy equal rights, respect, acceptance, a sense of self-worth, and growth opportunities. The abilities and uniqueness of each member are celebrated, supported, and acknowledged. We knew we had the tough task of meeting the standards of CLAPW.

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            In our first round of placement, we played many games, including Dowty Family Feud, Scavenger Hunt, and Scattegories. Over the year, CLAPW had stepped up their online services to include Jeopardy. Which meant we had to step up our online service abilities as well – no more writing on a whiteboard with a dry erase marker! After spending some time reflecting on all of these factors, we decided to develop an Employment Manual for the members of CLAPW. The manual would be a collaboration where we each drew on our skills and strengths. For myself, my responsibility was to create the PowerPoint manual, add the images, format the text, make sure the numbers added up, share my screen on zoom, make sure I saved the correct document, and email a copy of what we worked on each week. It may sound simple enough, but there was a definite learning curve. In the first session of working on the manual, I thought I had saved the most recent version, but I had not. I essentially lost all of the member's contributions and drew from my memory to input the information. A few times, the members had so many answers that I would sometimes mix up the numbers on the list. There were some challenges, but nothing that was discouraging or a setback.

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            I know that the manual would not be completed to the degree of satisfaction if it were not for the members. Their contributions were valuable, humourous, well-thought-out, and most of all, geared to their level of understanding. They had thought of ideas that some would easily overthink. For example, in one week, we worked on how to prepare for an interview. Most of the members agreed that planning out their route, including writing down the address, looking up the bus routes, and figuring out how long it would take, were some of their answers. These plannings may come naturally to those without any limitations or not necessarily be something that we have to prepare for actively. Nevertheless, the members thought hard and made this manual into something that we all felt proud about. Each of us shared the manual with our loved ones, and everyone was impressed.

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            As a facilitator, my role included communication, numeracy, critical thinking and problem solving, information management, and interpersonal and personal essential employability skills. I had to think of various topics and communicate them clearly to our members. I then had to present this information in a way that was effective for any level of cognition to understand. I had to analyze my numbers, format them with consistent font, and save the correct weeks that would be emailed to all the members. As a group, we had to be creative, evaluate, analyze, and decide which data was relevant for each manual category. As a group, we had to gather and select the right information, search the correct images, save and input those images into the presentation, and evaluate the relevant sources. We worked as a team, which meant we were all respectful towards each other's opinions and contributions, and we all worked in an effective way to complete the manual.

 

         Any student would benefit from using their strengths to work effectively within a team to create something beneficial. The employment manual is a great resource for the members and future graduates looking for work. The manual symbolizes using time management and technology skills to prepare weekly content for the members and producing a document through a PowerPoint presentation. It also symbolizes respecting the diverse contributions and opinions while taking on a back-seat leadership role. While we had a plan of instructions, we also allowed them to guide the flow of the manual.

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            There were a few instances where the members thought of different answers that needed to be a separate category. We realized we needed a new category while working on 'Reasons to be called into the boss's office.' The topic allowed the members to share stories about past work experiences, specifically their bosses. Through the generation of conversation, we created the topic, Qualities of a bad boss. It was a topic that we had not come up with but quickly realized its importance. The employment manual changed dynamics, as it was no longer just a manual but a way to collectively share work experiences. Members were able to realize that it is a bad sign to hear your boss using inappropriate language. We were able to generate a conversation as to why the workplace, and a person in charge, should not use bad language. While it may seem obvious to some, it was not as obvious to others. The manual provides insight for a group of people who may otherwise be treated unfairly or disrespectfully.

 

              There is quite a bit to learn as a student in the Social Service Worker field, and I believe most of it comes through awareness, reflection, and experience. Some of it also came through our coordinator, seeing something in us to ask us to join for another year. We had to quickly adapt and pivot as students navigating placement during a global pandemic. From the beginning of the pandemic, most of us were uncertain about securing a placement. I had no idea what to expect at that time, but I am forever grateful that I was provided with this opportunity and even more appreciative of CLAPW. Not only are members treated with respect and inclusion, as per CLAPW's mission and values, but as students, we were treated with the same effect. Knowing an agency's mission, values, and vision is essential in knowing if it will be a great fit. That is, do they align with who you are at the time of applying.

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            CLAPW's Employment Manual is on my top list of achievements. We all worked together to create something special that the members can keep with them and easily reference when they are applying or looking for jobs. I ensured that I managed the use of my time while being responsible for guiding the process. I had the direction of how I wanted the manual to look, but every member truly guided it. It was a collective team effort. We each drew on our strengths to contribute to the overall success of the member. It was lower on the list of a challenge, but it was higher on the list for the rewards.

 

Thank you 😊

We invite you to check out our manual!

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