Weekly Journal #12

Monday, July 25,, 2016I developed the staff agenda for the Service Coordinator meeting for Tuesday. I got
recommendations from other staff members about potential topics for the meeting.
I gathered the information from staff and from my regional housing manager about
the topics. Some topics I had to research and also had to organize the information
to find the most pertinent information so I could stay within the time allotted for the
meeting.

Tuesday, July 26, 2016I held the staff meeting for the Service Coordinators at 11am. I had 8 items of
importance to the Service Coordinator position. I tried to make the meeting
interactive. I do not like talking for 45 minutes straight with others sitting in silence.
I feel that most people are not actively listening for that amount of time. It is too
long for most people to actually pay attention and absorb the information. There
were changes made to the program which were announced in Chicago at our
company conference which needed to be addressed. It is the last meeting I will
hold during my internship. I did thank my coworkers for being supportive and giving
words of positivity. Their positive attitudes and words helped me during this
process. I have had some minor conflicts with some co-workers during this process
and was able to talk through them and repair the working relationship. I was a little
emotional at the end of the meeting from all the praise from my supervisor as well
as my co-workers. I ended the meeting by scheduling the August meeting for my
supervisor for August 30.

Wednesday, July 27, 2016Today I had to work on the things my supervisor listed for me to do (administrative
work). I had to contact the director of senior services to inquire about the CEUs
that were supposed to earn while in Chicago. I also had to research some products
and techniques we could use onsite to help with bedbugs since many properties
have had a bedbug issue in the past few months. I sent that information to the
team. I also had to contact HUD to see how our CEUs are to be counted and if they
need to be from a specific place.
I also met with my property manager to discuss the results of the resident surveys.
It was difficult to discuss the negative issues from the survey since they
predominantly concerned her and her disposition toward the residents. She did not
want to believe what I said and was not easy to talk to. I do not see her changing
her behavior or attitude since she seems to think that she did nothing or does
nothing wrong. I feel for my residents that they have to deal with someone who is
very snobby at times and is extremely short and snappy. She is not understanding
about the mental and emotional state of the elderly. It made me realize that some

of the reason I am unhappy with my position is due in part to her attitude and that I
have to put out so many fires that she creates.

Thursday, July 28, 2016

I started working on the abstract that I have to type with the overall results from the
resident surveys. I also need to write a narrative for each property concerning all
the positive and negative comments and how each will or have been addressed. I
also have to write a plan of action for those properties who did not reach 70%
returned surveys. Suggestions were made during the meetings with the property
managers and the suggestions will be part of the plan of action for the 2017
resident surveys. VOA has committed themselves to listening to the residents and
making necessary changes to accommodate the residents.
This task is more tedious than I previously assumed it would be. I have also realized
that it is extremely difficult to work consistently since I am technically on duty
with my Service Coordination position and I still have to assist residents with their
needs. I put up a stop sign on my door and close it, but no one seems to respect it,
not even my co-workers. I have spoken to them before and explained I need the
quiet time to work on projects that are assigned during my internship, but I feel my
request have been ignored and others do not care since they do not have much
work to do.