The FHFP Family ends the year with a fruitful bang. The staff and residents were privileged to attend several trainings, conferences, and other events equipped them with knowledge they can use to fight OSEC.
As the year ends, we would like to acknowledge and thank our supporters, partners, sponsors, and everyone that journeyed with us this 2019. We are truly blessed to be in a supportive and encouraging environment.
A CALL TO TRAUMA STEWARDSHIP CONFERENCE
The physical and psychological demands from the workers in the anti-human trafficking, abuse, and slavery (AHTAS) fields, especially those in the frontlines, continue to increase over the years. With this, there is an increasing need to understand their plight, recognize their challenges, and build their capacities to avoid infliction of ‘wounds’ on their well-being such as burnout and vicarious trauma.
"Trauma stewardship is really a need especially in child caring organizations like us. Personally, this is like a wake-up call for me that other than the needs of the clients we are serving, it is also a must to respond to the needs of the staff who are consistently experiencing the stresses in the shelter.” – Joh
“As the saying goes 'you cannot give what you do not have', caretakers must recognize their limitations and capacity in helping others. It has not only informed the participants of the presence of vicarious trauma, but they were also able to experience trauma stewardship through the sessions conducted. The activity has made the organizations also realize the power of working in the ministry as one body by drawing strengths from each other.” – Steph
The staff were able to take away several lessons that they can apply on their work and personal lives to build more on their capacities and skills. These lessons will help them face challenges from their work and provide better services to their clients.
AKO PARA SA BATA: INSPIRED TEENS
One of the emerging issues at this day and age is Generational Gap. The young and old population have different ways of perceiving situations which is a result of the dissimilarity of the total environment that each generation grew up with. This in turn causes the clash between behavioral patterns and mental framework which puts unity at a compromise.
The Ako Para Sa Bata: INSPIRED Teens Conference was aimed at understanding the challenges and vulnerabilities that the youth faces in today’s society. Three of the FHFP staff, Shellamae, Joh, and Steph, attended the conference and were able to attend separate sessions.
The Safe Environment session helped in understanding the risks that comes with the unattended usage of electronic devices of children. The responses to the high vulnerability of children on the internet were discussed, as well as how parents and caregivers can avoid the risks and danger that children are exposed to. Moreover, the importance of maintaining an interpersonal relationship between the youth and the parents was highlighted as a response to the increasing dependence of the youth to electronic devices. It is essential for parents and caregivers to make children feel that their psychosocial needs are heard and recognized to lessen the effect of generation gap.
Another session was on Norms and Values – The Rainbow Connection: Examining Normsand Attitudes Towards Gender Roles and Gender Diversity. This session was focused on consent, love, and respect among teens, and mental health. It was recognized that social media is a big contributing factor in shaping and influencing the beliefs and attitudes of the youth. The relationship between mental health and social media was discussed and how teens are highly vulnerable to constructs developed by social media. Joh recognized that quality time with the family/friends and proper recognition of feelings of the youth are paramount to maintaining a healthy state of their mental well-being.
The conference was able to help the FHFP staff better understand some of the challenges that the youth faces and how they can appropriately respond to them. Their learnings will help them in dealing and relating with problems faced by the residents and create a better, more open environment for the shelter.
TRAUMA INFORMED PSYCHOSOCIAL PROCESSING TRAINING
Last November 27 – 29, 2019, one of the FHFP social workers attended the Trauma Informed Psychosocial Processing (TIPP) Training that was focused Trauma Education, Coping and Relaxation, Trauma Processing and Triggers, and Safety Skills.
They were oriented on how children behave and make decisions, and how traumatic situations affect their brain functions. Children with traumatic experiences may be able to erase the memory of the event but their body may retain triggers from that experience. It was highlighted that TIPP can help trauma-induced children understand themselves and become more mindful of their emotions and actions as they grow up. TIPP utilizes coping and relaxation techniques which can help regulate the child’s feelings and actions, and help him/her develop coping and safety skills that will help them in their everyday living.
TEAM BUILDING ACTIVITY
ALL IN ONE – It is an essential part of any organization to keep a harmonious relationship with one another to better improve teamwork, foster progress and collaboration, and overall create a comfortable and productive environment.
The Fresh Hope Family had their team building activity last December 7-8, 2019 in Juness Resort, Morong, Bataan. The event was headed by Advocate for Personal Excellence (APEX) team who implemented several activities that were centered on the theme: ALL IN ONE (Soul, Body, and Spirit), embodying a wholistic approach to transformation and development.
The team started the event with a joint devotion to be enlightened and to remember to put God in the center of everything they do. After the devotion, the staff and girls split into different sessions. The staff were engaged in activities that helped them learn more about their selves such as taking the DISC Personality Test and determining their biblically based Parenting Styles. Meanwhile, the residents were immersed in activities that focused on improving teamwork and giving appreciation to the staff.
After the sessions, the team had a heartful dinner. Instead of the usual get together, the team made it more special when the residents read letters to the staff and expressed their gratitude towards them. It was definitely an emotional moment for the whole team as they felt the sense of family and had the assurance that they were being supported and encouraged every step of their journey. More importantly, this event made the team realize that they can transform their lives as long as they are ‘All in One’.
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