Personal Narrative: Haven House Internship

This internship has been quite a roller coaster for me. I interned at Haven House, located in Hammond, Indiana. Haven House is an emergency shelter and provider of services for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. One of their purposes was to speak for the women who are silenced. My experience at Haven House was enjoyable and challenging at the same time. There was plenty of pressuring moments where I was confused and some situations were harder than the others. I learned so much from the staff, my supervisors, fellow interns, and even the clients. Haven House will always mean something to me, personally. My family’s background is dysfunctional. My father abused my mother for about 22 years. I was extremely close to my mother …show more content…
One of the first challenges I experienced was disrespectful callers. I never let it bother me because I could understand their frustration and stress with being homeless or in their current situation. There was one specific caller that was rude throughout the entire screening process. The second I answered the phone, she began yelling at me. At first, she refused to give me information. I had explained that this was a screening process and in order for us to assist her, I must have the information. She angrily agreed and continued to shout through the phone. Once I referred her to other shelters, she cursed me out and told me that she did not want to the other homes. I informed her there was nothing else we can do, she immediately hung up. The screening must have took 15 to 20 minutes. It was such a temper-testing experience. The second challenge I experienced was a provoking client inside the home. She was trying to intimidate the employees, interns, and other clients. I sat in her intake and she was being rude as soon as I stepped inside the room. After a little while, she asked me to exit the room because I was biting my nails. I do admit, I have a bad habit of biting my nails but I did not know that some clients get angry because they think a nail-biter is biting because they are entertained. I left my supervisor that I was not entertained at all, it was simply a habit. She understood and told me to disregard the client but keep that in mind. The final challenge I experienced was my first client. My first client did not see me as an equal to the employees. She didn’t come to inform me of anything. She was apathetic towards me and a little before she left, she notified the case worker advocate that she did not see a point in speaking to me because I’m not important. It made me feel inferior but I could not show it. Instead, I informed my supervisor and told me that there will be plenty of clients with an