National Hispanic Heritage Month -- Model Hispanic not exactly |
This is provided here for the open record in case of any intentions of malfeasance by certain staff and residents here such as in their "internal network"
Question and Answer (subject to correction)
1. Length of Stay 5 years
2. I am satisfied with my case management services.
Strongly Disagree / Do not receive. Here are some concerns that I am fearful of relaying directly to the caseworker as she can be very defensive and even lose her temper.
a) The new case manager is providing us forms to fill out leaving it in our mailbox. Often the first line she fills out our name in her own handwriting. At the bottom, she already signs her title and signature before we have even filled out the form. Her handwriting is very officious but if its in our mailbox can't she just attach a neatly typed note of request? No need to write our name on the form for us in her own handwriting as if we were in pre-school rather than adults, and I rather not have her signature either.
b) Recently she changed the financial reporting form to customize it and even personalize it, writing on the form our name and signing her signature and placing it in the mailbox expecting us to fill it out. In the past I had submitted this because there was no line for social worker "signature of approval." It's a breach of confidentiality to require us to disclose how we spend our monthly income in detail. It's assigning her a "fiduciary-type guardianship" if we hand her our financial disclosure to "authorize."
The presumption is it is as if she is seeking to gain or insinuate she has "legal guardianship" over us. This is against the law and I will not do this. Not even the government offices require us to do this or try to force us to do this, so it is extremely offensive and manipulative.
c) In fact, this caseworker has no license as a social worker (LSW) or social worker specialist; even then we have the option to seek casework outside the house. In the past the contention is that we must use the caseworker in the house. There are no qualified LSWs among the house staff and this is evident in how they often try to overstep their boundaries or encourage each other to trivialize us; in how they joke and gossip about us as soon as we step out of the office; in how they practice favoritism.
d) This favoritism can be natural in that the staff and residents are here on a long-term basis; however there are rumors that the caseworker is having special relationships with some of the women here. Given that some residents are already from troubled backgrounds and cannot seem to break the cycle in trafficking, this is quite harmful to be involved or facilitating special relationships. Furthermore, there is evidence in the past that this led to "internal networks" with residents spying, texting, or recording the activities or whereabouts of other residents, in effect monitoring for staff or unknown outsiders.
e) The caseworker has from the very start tried to "improve the social atmosphere" of the house by creating "month of" decorations, flyers, activity sheets, etc as if it were a classroom. While she has toned it down, the majority of the "model" of the month is generally of a particular political cast. This has the tendency to foster political prejudices which abrogate the D.C. Human Rights Law. She acts more like a "Democratic Political Operative" pressuring us to think certain ways than anything else.
f) The case worker if she is agitated by any response we provide to an email will march up the stairs, knock on door, and try to provoke an argument, escalating it however. So this is why we do not respond to her email as she is too excitable and has such little consideration for people's space and feelings.
Otherwise the caseworker is dependent upon her mood, and she likes to bait non-blacks and do more talking than listening, can be quite opinionated and is empowered to behave impulsively towards us, such as provoking an argument, knocking on our door, and trying to start an argument.
3. I understand what is expected of me in this program.
Agree.
4. I understand what is expected of me according to my lease or rental agreement.
Neutral / Agree
a) They recently modified the agreement, and we have various agreements in the house such as program guidelines, handbook, old lease agreement, new lease agreement, and sometimes or rather often, forms are given to us that are dated from one year or another from some years ago. But anyway the program rules are generally pretty clear, even if the rules exist only on paper. Ms. Steph is very willing to provide us a new copy of the Rules anytime we need a new photocopy. She will also help explain stuff to us if we don't understand what is written or enlarge something that is hard to see.
5. I know how to file a complaint about the program if I have one.
Agree.
6. I understand the process for requesting reasonable accommodation within the program.
Strongly Disagree.
a) Because of the bureaucratic or secondary agenda of some of the staff, I am not sure they really try very hard to keep themselves informed and abreast of all the types of disabilities that people face. In fact for instance, October is Disability Awareness Month, and also there is Mental Health Month, and so on, but these are not noticed by the caseworker. She is very aware of risk categories such as historically disadvantaged person of color (African-American), but not necessarily appreciative of different cultural backgrounds except from a superficial consumerist sense. She does not seem to have much awareness of the intersectionality of, or complexity of, or compounding effects of, which may be just as well since it may just be interpreted from an exploitative overlay of cornering clients into a sense of dependency and reliance, rather than a genuine sense of empowerment and faith-sharing.
b) The caseworker (who is not licensed) is using ways and means to exert legal power over us, trying to insinuate that she is our legal guardian, which can give them (the staff or Catholic Charities) even more clandestine means to control our lives and finances without our consent. This is illegal! We have many different categories of disabled people here, but many of us are fully independent and functional. That the caseworker is trying her best to blurr abrograte our independence and financial independence using a "trail of paperwork" is illegal and evokes the strongest sense of distrust.
7. I know how to request language translation and interpretation services within the program if or when needed.
Strongly agree.
a) I tested this out with the dc.gov translation services once, and it worked fine. They now have at least one sign in Spanish on each of the fire exist doors. In fact, each door has about (4) signs on them in different colors in case we are confused about how to exist the house.
8. I am provided with resources and referrals that best meet my needs and help me achieve my goals.
Agree.
a) Over the year, I have gotten to know the caseworker a little bit better, and she does seem to try to keep informed on local resources and provide copies of that on the table. She is even allowing residents to also share their resource flyer if it is of general interest. Also they are trying to arrange guest consultants to the house who are offering some inspiring life skills, such as in art-work.
9. I am satisfied with the condition and cleanliness of the site I am staying and receiving services at.
Disagree.
a) The administrative supervisor for this area did a super job providing a full Air Conditioner repair for the second floor. Now there is an electrical powered siphon pump sucking the water out of the leaky drip pan; not sure why it had to require electricity, but apparently it is connected with a moisture gauge.
b) As far as cleanliness goes, it is a pretty dicey issue, as I have personally had to clean up all kinds of messes whether in the bathroom, kitchen, dining room, or TV room in the basement. I just do this because otherwise it will take a much longer time before anyone does it. Especially if it's a critical issue, such as someone using the garbage can for a toilet, such as doing a number two in the laundry room. Even with the professional cleaners coming here twice a week, there are people who are purposely slovenly.
People should not take advantage of other people and assume that just because someone is assigned to a chore, that they can just presume that they can leave a mess and the chore person cleans up after them.
10. I am satisfied with the meals provided at the site I am staying and receiving services at.
None provided.
11. I feel safe at the site I am staying and receiving services at.
Disagree.
a) (repeat from above) There are internal trust issues because of what we mentioned before, whether or not the staff are involved, that some women have issues with medications or self-medicating. Yet the presumption is often that "we are all just clients." This allows conflicts to build until there are loud arguments and physical fights. Often this happens on the weekends or during times when staff are not here, and even at night as some people here are regular night-owls.
b) "Hello" option. Some of the people treat this greeting as if it were a spell of recognition and acknowledgment for a soon to be conducted transaction. Since I am not into that kind of transactional analysis, all I can say is I should be free to practice the right to not say "Hello." There are several gals here who understand what I am talking about. Once you say "Hello" to the transactional type, it feels just like a prelude to business as if the same "Hello" is being used on the outside soliciting, so there is a reason why I might not want to respond or may respond by making the sign of the cross.
c) There are people who don't bother locking the door behind them at all. So other people keep having to lock the door for them especially weekends and at night. It's usually the same type of people who are busy with stuff at night.
d) Residents on medications or self-medicating should receive counseling options. When arguments fester, the staff may not be able to prevent themselves from interfering. This apparently happened with the caseworker, which can present as unseemly. However the program assistant is pretty fair, even though she has at times been very unfriendly. She does keep a clear wall of separation between herself and the various residents here, which actually is admirable. This is why staff should not become involved with the clients personally or fostering a special relationship.
e) One of my "extra chores" which I undertake while working in the therapeutic gardening is tidying up the premises and picking up garbage. It is very sad that some people are sitting on the steps outside at night and leaving all kinds of cigarrette butts in front of the hall, and in the gardening landscape, and even dumping the ashcan contents on the therapeutic herbs occasionally. However I understand that gardening in a transitional environment will have its risks, and I have tried to interest some of the gals here in gardening with limited success. Anyway my consistent extra work outside does sort of trigger their willingness to not litter so much; even if some of the staff sort of laugh off my efforts.
12. My case manager and other program staff treat me with respect.
Disagree
a) The program staff, yes, I would say it is generally with civility, but not the case worker. Very few clients like to be on the first floor during the day, as they can use that as an opportunity to "bait the client" or be provocative if they are in a bored or bad mood. Since the times are very hard, some people are not willing to subject themselves to additional stress or unnecessary intrusive conversation. The Caseworker still has a tendency to treat us as if we are her "guinea pigs" since she apparently has great thick folders about each of us, yet must draw all her conclusions about us based on her bureaucratic sleuthing about our health, income, support network, resources, stamina, acuity, and all that. They are very nosy generally speaking and the fact that they may be sharing the information and speculating about our lives and relaying that information with these dark sociopathic types makes it uncomfortable to want to communicate too much. She does not have alot of what one would consider much religious perspective in life but that is just my opinion.
13. I feel comfortable voicing my needs and concerns to my case manager or other program staff.
Disagree / Strongly Disagree
a) I do not feel comfortable with the case manager or staff generally speaking, however, there are adminstrative higher-ups who are very responsive and have even exhibited empathy, which given the socioeconomic dynamics, really gives us a lot of hope for Catholic Charities. In fact, I do try to pray for all the staff, and form helpful relationships that minimize or alter my perceptions and concerns. For instance, I discovered from the smell exactly who was using the garbage can for a toilet in the basement, and I carefully confronted her while also being very engaging and accepting. I even shared with her a few tips on healthy eating. The staff would have a hard time addressing that anyway.
14. My case manager is easy to reach and responds to my needs in a timely manner.
Neutral.
a) My outside case manager is pretty easy to reach and has always been very kind. Here, the case manager is easy to reach as long as she is in her office on the weekdays. She is generally pretty friendly seeming, and I have even stopped by and chatted with her a few times without an appointment.
15. Meetings with my case manager are informative and productive.
Disagree. The case manager likes to gossip and make a big deal about small stuff however she can; this is why we do not trust her and do our best to stay away from her. And she then even tries to come and knock on our door to start some kind of something, anything, to get us excited, because it augments her sense of power and authority. Insofar as that is her only goal, power over us, it is downright wicked. However she is so inconsiderate she thinks nothing about harassing us as part of her job.
Disagree.
a) This is not general purview of the case manager. However the other staff are really doing super when it comes to maintenance requests and trying to match with the right kind of repair people. Ms. Stephanie has really been on the ball, and so has Ms. Jeannette, and I really appreciate that.