Central Outreach and Advocacy Center

We open doors to overcome and prevent homelessness

self care

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Why Do We Close?

by Brenna Lakeson

Every August for the past six years, the OAC has closed its doors for services for one week.  To many, especially our guests, this can seem strange, indulgent, or even selfish.  Why, then, do we take a week off from providing services every August?  There are several reasons!

  1. Lack of case managers – This is probably the most practical of reasons.  In August, our summer interns have finished their hours, usually leaving us with three or four less people on deck.  In addition, August is a time when many of our regular volunteers take vacation.  Most days in August, we only have one or two case managers working when the ideal is four or five. This can get taxing and overwhelming.
  2. Organization and catching up – Our week without services gives staff time and space to reorganize, take inventory of what we need, and catch up on lingering projects.  Without the continuous piling up of new work and with the addition of three more hours per day to do work outside of case management, our staff can do things that usually take a back seat.
  3. Team building and goal setting – This is perhaps this most important aspect of our August retreat time!  Sometimes, the staff goes on a short trip together.  Other times, we stay in Atlanta but do activities together around the city.  This time together always involves evaluating the previous year and planning for the year ahead.  What needs work?  What big dreams do we have for the OAC?  The staff also spends this time building comradery and friendship, crucial for a high stress job like social services!

Hopefully this gives all our supporters a helpful glimpse into what we do during our mysterious week off in August!  We believe this week makes our team stronger, more productive, and more prepared to tackle the everyday challenges of the OAC.

We are closed for services August 26-September 2, 2019.  We will reopen with regular hours on September 3, 2019.

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Finding Rest

by April Campbell

The world around us is constantly changing. Everywhere we turn we are bombarded with news natural disasters, political agendas, and tragedies. It feels like a never ending cycle, especially with social media constantly at our fingertips. So, how do we get up every day, go to work, take care of our homes, and be productive members of our community and not let all of the negativity of our world affect us? How can we be expected to leave all of the sadness that we are surrounded with to be agents of change and a safe place for our guests to come and be greeted with warmth, hope, and love? The answer, I truly believe, is self care.

Self care has been such an important part of my process of being a social worker. How can we be expected to take care of other people in a helping profession if we are not taking care of ourselves? It is so important that we make sure that we are doing things that allow us time to rest – whatever that may look like for us, and it’s going to look different for everyone. Whether it’s reading, writing, exercise, listening to music, going to therapy, or simply being quiet, we need to make sure that we are practicing self care in order to be our best selves.

As a team, the OAC staff are reading a book by Wayne Muller called, “Sabbath:  Finding Rest, Renewal, and Delight in our Busy Lives”. The book explains how important it is to take time for ourselves, while also giving examples of some ways to practice self care. Some of the examples he gives include: preparing a meal with family,  practicing silence and just “being” in your environment, lighting candles and read a book, or taking a weekend to unplug from everything and spend time with ones you love. If we are able to try to incorporate one of these practices into our daily lives and allow ourselves the emotional and mental rest we need then we can do a better job of being the light in someone else’s life.