A Day in the Life of a Family Support Worker in our Powys Refuge
Denise Paffett is one of our most dedicated family support workers in one of our Powys Refuges, having stepped into the breach many times since she started working with us.
Here Denise shares with us a typical day in her busy working life:
I work in a refuge for up to six clients fleeing domestic abuse. My role entails the day to day running of the refuge: health and safety checks in both houses, room checks , monthly health and safety checks and contacting contractors to repair or service equipment.
The most important element of my role is to support the clients individually with any concerns they have whether it is mental health, housing, domestic abuse programme referrals, finances or concerns about children.
I work with a strong and supportive team who enable me to undertake my role effectively.
On a typical day I start by collecting the post and then visiting each client to ensure they are Ok. I then deal with emails and other administrative tasks before having one-to-one sessions with each of our clients. These sessions are designed to help answer any concerns our clients may have and to help them address or overcome these.
If required, I will then contact various other agencies such as housing, health visitor, social services police, MIND, solicitors etc. I also assist clients, when necessary, with dealing with solicitors and other agencies.
If there are any repairs or maintenance issues in the refuge that need attention, I will arrange for contractors to attend to carry out this work.
During the day I will also update my case notes onto the CALAN programme along with any other tasks my manager has asked me to complete.
I love my job though it can be challenge getting everything done in a day. I do, however, enjoy the challenges my day throws at me and the “not knowing” what each day may bring. If I had to pick one thing that I really enjoy it would be knowing I am supporting survivors of domestic abuse who have suffered domestic violence and fled to the refuge to recover before moving on with their lives.
I am proud to be a member of a very committed, professional team and organisation, like Calan DVS.
Find out more about our services here.