Supportive Services & Staff Training
What are Supportive Services?
Our sites offer more than shelter; they are transformative spaces where individuals can rebuild their lives in a supportive community. It is not just the structures, but also the approach that make CVC’s shelter successful: centering the experiences of people experiencing homelessness, hiring staff with lived experience, and building community support. Our Supportive Services team is composed of qualified individuals who have unique lived experiences, exemplifying the transformative power of recovery and the positive outcomes that come from peer-led support.
CVC’s Supportive Services program includes our experienced Peer Support and Case Management team. Peer Support provides on-site mental health and substance misuse services and mentoring. Case management connects community members to partnering health providers, housing and benefit navigation, access to vital documents, emergency services, and post-housing support. Additionally, we work with certified and trained mental health counselors and therapists to ensure our community members are receiving the care needed to pursue a variety of housing, education, employment, and personal goals.
Impact
Over 2,200 supportive services activities facilitated January - May 2024
includes housing navigation, healthcare referrals, individualized peer support, and case management
“With all the stress of being unhoused and everything else, it feels good to have this kind of support here…”
-CVC Community Member
Staff Training
At CVC, we understand the significance of hiring individuals with shared experience of those we serve and who may be in recovery to provide support, empathy, and understanding to our participants. However, we also acknowledge that staff can benefit from a higher level of support to address burnout, vicarious trauma, and compassion fatigue due to the demanding nature of the work. CVC newest program area prioritizes the importance of staff training as well as providing professional development and a leadership pipeline with a specific focus on equity.
Supportive Services Staff
Jenny Hill
Program Training Manager
Jenny is dedicated to a life of service. Her journey healing from the impacts of trauma, homelessness, and systems involvement was fostered by reading books, community gardening, and creativity. Her professional experience in healthcare supporting people with life altering conditions and injuries included health education and advocacy. Combined with her lived expertise, she realized her strengths in facilitating the learning and growth of others with similar experiences. Working with the community to develop programs that are person-driven to live a self-directed life is her purpose. She is an “arthritis warrior’ and disability justice activist. She’s happiest with her dogs in the mountains, growing her garden, and playing with paint in her studio.
Ashley Johnson
Sr Manager of Supportive Services
More info coming soon!