Social change agent, experienced nonprofit executive, passionate people person. Accelerating the impact of mission-driven work though focus, strategy, and evidence-based leadership.
The results of this study are both unsurprising and affirming. At a recent national conference, one of the keynote speakers addressed a room full of tenured animal welfare leaders and said "we are spending far too much time justifying our work." It's not just the compassion fatigue and the vicarious trauma. It's the constant defending of every service, every decision, every expense, every interaction. What other field can you think of that requires the professionals in it to have to explain why their work is important, why it costs what it does, how every day-to-day decision is made, why experienced and professional staff are required, why anyone should care about or support it, and what it is exactly that every person being paid to do the work is actually doing? It's demeaning, exhausting, and unnecessary.
Our study (Peter Wolf, Chris Segrin) examining the well-being of animal shelter staff in the United States was recently published in the Journal of Shelter Medicine & Community Animal Health. Animal shelter staff experience burnout and secondary traumatic stress at levels just as high or higher than many other first responder professions and significantly higher than the general US population. Working in an animal shelter isn't just playing with puppies and kittens - sheltering is a complex profession that is equal parts emotional, physical, and mental. Please check out the full article if you're interested in learning more: https://lnkd.in/gjvYMzfF Adopt. Spay/Neuter. Volunteer. Donate. Advocate for your local animal shelter staff! Best Friends Animal Society
Well said!
Educator at SWEETWATER COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT 1
2wI agree with your comments and also say that education is very similar.