I completed my practicum at “The Tree” this is a program for women and families to seek community and support in times of need. The program facilitates amazing opportunities for women to gain the support that they need starting with a day program where women can have a hot meal, a shower, complete laundry, participate in crafts, or speak to a trained staff member about what is going on for them. All while bringing along their children as the staff have created a cozy and welcoming environment to support mothers and their families. They also run a donation room that is free to women who need clothing, baby or children’s items, or household needs. Two days a week they had food share where women could pick up extra food to help to get them proper nutrition and sustenance. The Tree also facilitates weekly groups such as mothers for recovery for mothers and women who are recovering from substance use and the program has a counselor on staff for participants to access. There were so many instances for opportunities to work on and advocate for issues relating to human rights and social justice as many of the participants at The Tree are facing very adverse circumstances from addictions issues, mental health issues, disabilities, intimate partner violence, lack of housing, lack of food, lack of consistent or adequate healthcare, the list goes on. I can not speak to any individual cases as that is confidential and The Tree guarantees confidentiality of its participants but the main understanding and deep relation that I made was that all of the participants are living very diverse lives and although they may or may not show or speak about their circumstances outside of safe spaces such as The Tree in Kamloops as a community we can do better for women. Many of the struggles and inconsistencies that the participants face are completely outside of their control and with assistance they are able to navigate some of the profound barriers that hinder them.
I felt that many of the interactions were very important not only between myself and the participants but myself and the staff. The biggest moment which was not just a moment but a building appreciation for me was realizing that such a powerful positive influence can wield from just one person. Susan, my site supervisor and the executive director of The Tree is a very influential woman who started the programs to fill her own need for services as a mother in addiction and recovery herself. She started out with a friend but has built a community of support and so many of the participants come in and are immediately relieved to see and speak to her. Some come in to drop in, or to the groups to only request her as that is who they feel most comfortable opening up to. To have that kind of energy, consistency, and rapport with so many people is truly incredible. Some of the women who had been out of active addictions for a long period of time but have found themselves back in a place that they need support remember Susan and come to The Tree knowing that she will help them to get back to the place they need to be. I hope to bring the passion that Susan has for working with her participants and staff into everything I do and to carry the fact that as an individual you never know how large of an impact you can have.
This program and my work at The Tree went hand in hand and I felt as though my work at The Tree built a great support basis for further work that I can do for mothers and families in the future. I enjoyed the front line nature of the work and getting to meet and support the participants each time I was there. The nature of seeing what life was like from the participants’ perspectives and hearing their stories was incredibly impactful and helped me gain a great sense of appreciation for them and the systemic issues that are entrenched within our society. A lot of my area of interest within my work in my classes was with pregnancy and research surrounding rights of women in pregnancy. I have also always worked with children and youth and to see the other side and advocate more on the basis of the mother and the family as a whole was very special to me.