Page 41 - LTHC Publics Catalog, Spring 2018 Update

EMPLOYEE INTERVIEW NOTES

• There’s not enough services for addiction like alcohol and drugs.

• A lot of homeless people have physical illness like cancer, diabetes, etc. and insurance does not cover them.

• Guests cannot bring their medical equipment, like oxygen tanks, into the sleeping quarters.
• No dual programs in mental health and addiction. In order to be more successful, we need to address both.
Lafayette is lacking in rehab services. Cannot find many rehab centers where guests qualify.

• Day-to-day mental health is a resource struggle.

• We need more resources in transportation. Bus systems do not help. Guests lose jobs from missing work due
to lack of transportation. Guests have a lot of walking to do which can become dangerous, especially in the
winter.

Question 5: What about this job makes you keep coming back?

• The co-workers--because they are all compassionate people.

• Helping people in need is a big motivation.
o Clients have amazing lives and stories and they just want to be heard.

o “You don’t start to heal until you feel heard.”

• A client has said to a worker - “When you’re here I feel safe and I know it’s going to be okay.”

• The guests didn’t ask to be homeless or to have a mental illness, so we need to help.

• “Guests are waiting for me to come in every morning.”
• Clients care about the workers and we are a part of their world.

• We are actually saving lives; we’re important in these people’s lives.

• “It’s time to stop chasing the money because I wasn’t happy when I was; this job makes me happy even though
it’s low paying.”

• “Yesterday I housed a guy. He lost his job and was sleeping in his car for a few weeks. We moved him into the
apartment yesterday, providing him with the first step to be back on his feet again. In my eyes, even if we only
have one success, that is still one person we were able to help. That is why I do what I do.” --LTHC employee

• Seeing progress in people keeps the employees coming back to the job. Having that sense of compassion and
best interest for the clients they are helping. Sometimes they will be rude or a bit mean at times, but really they
just need someone to vent to whom they know will listen.

• “What we do matters. It changes the lives of people. It is not just a job where we are working for a paycheck
every week. We are working for the lives of the people we serve. It matters.” -LTHC employee

• “I love when 20 years later, you hear from a client (or run into them at the grocery store like I did last week),
and they just say thank you. They were at a difficult point in their lives but they were able to overcome that
with your help and that is what keeps me doing what I am doing every day. It is really down to the people we
serve/the impact we can make. --Jennifer
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