By Jenny King

I was asked recently what was most difficult about adjusting to my position as a caseworker here in Family Advocacy. My response was learning to just sit and talk with people. In my previous job, I always had lots to accomplish and not enough time to finish. I had to multi-task. And I had to please many different people. And, although I still have many tasks to accomplish, what I’ve learned is most important to the participants I work with is that I listen. After a few home visits, I learned that a home visit may be intended to just get some paperwork done or deliver some supplies, but it often ends up being a time of story-telling and learning about one another. I’ve learned that so much of my job is that---to build relationships. Yes, it’s to help people. Yes, it’s to meet the needs of our participants. But often what’s most needed is someone who cares and will listen. And these are lessons that we all need to learn….in any job….that often we need to catch ourselves before we rush off to the next task--to stop, slow down….and listen.

Jenny is a long-term volunteer in CAP's Family Advocacy program. She lives in Rockcastle Volunteer House.