Personal Narrative: The Gatehouse
The past few days at placement have been an emotional rollercoaster for me. In past few days I experienced tears of joy, and tears of sadness, one moment I was happy with a survivor’s growth and the next moment I was heartbroken to hear the struggles they faced to be where they are at now. At one point I felt like I had no control over my emotions and it was my emotions that had control over me. I felt so weak when I had no control, but I also felt good and free to let all my emotions out. The past few days at placement made me reevaluate certain things in my personal life, and changed my perception for a lot of things. I don’t think I have turned out to be a nicer person or an amazing listener, but I do think I have become more genuine.
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My role at placement includes conducting intakes, answering phone calls and doing other administrative work. I am often the first person they contact, it is the empathy and concern in my voice that makes them decide if they want to be part of The Gatehouse or not. When I first started my placement I never realized the importance of my role, however now I understand how vital is the work I do. Being there for someone and making him or her comfortable enough to have them share their biggest secret of their life if very hard and life changing work. A simple task such as answering the phone can change one’s life and knowing this completely changes my perspective on small tasks I do at my placement. In the beginning I used to answer the phone with a very monotone voice, and had no interest in talking to the person on the other line. But now I understand how immature I was, and how many lives I touched negatively, I regret being so ignorant and unconcern while answering the phone. Now when I look back and compare how I used to work and how I work now; they are two very different working styles. Now when the phone rings I jump to pick it up on the first ring, I don’t let the phone ring for more than 2 seconds. I know how hard it is for childhood sexual abuse survivors to pick up that phone and dial The Gatehouse’s number to seek
My role at placement includes conducting intakes, answering phone calls and doing other administrative work. I am often the first person they contact, it is the empathy and concern in my voice that makes them decide if they want to be part of The Gatehouse or not. When I first started my placement I never realized the importance of my role, however now I understand how vital is the work I do. Being there for someone and making him or her comfortable enough to have them share their biggest secret of their life if very hard and life changing work. A simple task such as answering the phone can change one’s life and knowing this completely changes my perspective on small tasks I do at my placement. In the beginning I used to answer the phone with a very monotone voice, and had no interest in talking to the person on the other line. But now I understand how immature I was, and how many lives I touched negatively, I regret being so ignorant and unconcern while answering the phone. Now when I look back and compare how I used to work and how I work now; they are two very different working styles. Now when the phone rings I jump to pick it up on the first ring, I don’t let the phone ring for more than 2 seconds. I know how hard it is for childhood sexual abuse survivors to pick up that phone and dial The Gatehouse’s number to seek