Thank you National Health Care for the Homeless Council for highlighting the accountability we as leaders, and our organizations as a whole, have when it comes to creating the structures, policies, communication pathways, and organizational cultures that allow “self-care” to occur.
Self-care without resources - including time - isn’t possible. Self-care without leadership and org policies protecting your right to engage in what sustains you isn’t safe.
Focusing on self-care while evading our responsibility to make that accessible, safe, and available to everyone doing the work not only isn’t helpful, it’s harmful. Research on what drives burnout leaves no doubt that this gaslighting of staff results in burnout and attrition as those who love the work are forced to leave orgs that fail them.
How about we collectively agree that organizations must provide staff with information on elements of the work environment ensuring staff’s right to self-care doesn’t risk current harm to them, nor to their professional trajectory? Orgs that fail to do so will be fined a ‘gaslighting penalty,’ which will create a resource pool used by staff in orgs that fail them, ensuring staff members get that self-care they deserve. Can someone make that into a WAC or something?
Clinicians serving people experiencing homelessness are very aware of the role self-care plays in one’s well-being and ability to care for others. We also know that self-care cannot only focus on the individual — it requires the support of teams, organizations, and communities. What can we learn from one other to foster renewal and restoration in our work and our lives? Join us April 24 at 11 a.m. CDT for an interactive Community Conversation where we'll explore individual and organizational strategies that support well-being.
Community Conversations are not webinars; they are discussions on issues affecting providers of all types who serve people who are unhoused. Register to join us here: https://lnkd.in/gPbvy6Yf
