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Transcript

The Support Workers Who Actually Change Lives (It’s Not What You Think) · Sarah Knows Support Workers

• 0:00
  Hi everyone, it's Sarah from Sarah.
• 0:02
  No support workers. And today I am going solo and
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  I'm talking about a topic that I love talking about because it's
• 0:08
  one of those things that makes such a big difference for the
• 0:11
  people that we serve. So today's episode is the
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  support workers who actually changed lives.
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  And I know it sounds really like that warm fuzzy feelings.
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  And it is a little bit because they can have such a big impact.
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  And let's get into why I fully believe this.
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  Let me say something that might sound a little bit blunt.
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  Not all support workers are the same.
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  Some turn up, some turn it up, and some really show up.
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  And the ones you actually change people lives, they're the ones
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  that honestly give a shit. All right, so I'm going to talk
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  about this. Like turning up versus showing
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  up. There's a massive difference
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  between the two. Turning up to shift and showing
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  up for a person looks completely different.
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  Turning out looks like doing the hours, following the routines,
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  sticking to what's written. Showing out looks very
• 1:00
  different. It is being present for that
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  person. It is noticing changes.
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  It is actually caring about the person in front of you because
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  this job is not about tasks. It's about humans and human
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  relations. Curiosity is a superpower.
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  The best support workers I've ever seen are curious.
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  They're not nosy or pushy or just curious.
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  They are things like, what do you feel like doing today?
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  What's been on your mind? I can see that you're thinking,
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  is there something you would like to tell me?
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  Is there something you've been wanting to say or try say?
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  And they are curious also with technology, especially in
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  communication aids. They are curious about how to
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  get somebody moving and how to get them engaged in community.
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  They are curious of ways to to improve that person's life.
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  They're not assuming, they're exploring.
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  And because of that, they find opportunities that were never
• 1:53
  written in a plant, seeing opportunities that others miss.
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  And this is something that like where I believe the magic really
• 1:59
  happens because they're actually caring.
• 2:02
  They start to see things a little bit differently.
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  They start to open doors like, hey, did you want to check this
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  out? We could trunk this together.
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  Let's look into this. They deep dive and peel back the
• 2:15
  layers and they support someone. And this is how like the
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  confidence of the person that we support starts to grow and you
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  start to see it because if these support workers peeling back the
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  layers and exploring opportunities that haven't been
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  done before, This is how we build independence for the
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  people that we serve as well, because they're getting
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  opportunities to have these feelings and have these
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  opportunities of activities that they probably may never have had
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  unless it was explored. And that's how we expand
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  somebody's life. Following through matters.
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  All right, this part a lot of people miss.
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  And it's not just about having an ID, it's about following
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  through. So I believe that the best
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  support workers remember what matters to that person brings it
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  up again, take small steps forward with them.
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  And not everything has to be big.
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  Sometimes it's sending an e-mail, making a call, visiting
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  a place or trying something once or a dish thing like cooked
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  together that they never thought that they would cook.
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  And it's about consistency and the consistency of the support
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  worker to support this person is important.
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  But also I would like to put like a disclaimer here.
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  If you're a support worker and you say something we're gonna
• 3:25
  gonna do, you better see it through because the people that
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  we serve also remember also remember how they got let down,
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  how you said you'd do something and you didn't do something.
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  And then also it's a lack of trust because you didn't follow
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  through with what you said you're going to do.
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  And that there is so important to not just to humans in
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  general. Gosh, it doesn't have to be the
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  people we serve. Humans in general.
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  If you're going to say you're going to do something that
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  you're going to go see it through and get it done because
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  consistency is everything and consistency builds trust.
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  It's not also about being perfect.
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  Let's be real, like it's not going to you're not going to get
• 4:01
  it right on the first go. And there will be days where you
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  miss something, you feel a bit flat or you don't even know what
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  to say because it's you're in a situation that you've never been
• 4:12
  in before and a turn of events that's happening for this person
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  here. You may not know as a support
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  work, how to best support this person emotionally.
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  We're human, we get it wrong, and that's OK what matters the
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  most is that we keep coming back, we keep being curious, we
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  keep caring, we keep looking for ways for them to connect because
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  the. What people remember the most is
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  not the task, not the schedule that they remember us as support
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  workers. At the end of the day, the job
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  isn't about doing support, it's about seeing a person and
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  helping them have a life that feels like their own.
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  And if you're someone who asks questions, looks for
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  opportunities, and gives a shit, keep going because you're making
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  a difference. Thank you so much for listening
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  to today's very short podcast. If you like what I do, Please
• 5:07
  remember to press the subscribe button and hit a like so I can
• 5:11
  continue to make content for you all.
• 5:13
  Support workers, thank you so much.