Who’s New in the Crew: Shelter
Introduction
Just like the seasons, La Puente is going through some changes. There are new faces in some of the programs and familiar faces in new positions. These individuals share their La Puente origin story and how they ended up working their current programs. This section is going to include the latest position updates at the La Puente Shelter.
Who Is Callie?
Callie Adams is a woman of many talents and many responsibilities. Originally from Alamosa, Callie was introduced to La Puente by her family. Callie wears many hats, being the Director of Crisis Prevention and, as of recently, the Director of the Emergency Shelter. At the La Puente Emergency Shelter, Callie supervises volunteers and clients. At Crisis, Callie oversees the case managers who assist those experiencing or at risk of homelessness. At Crisis Prevention–through financial assistance from grants, private donations, and case management– these individuals gain the tools to reach their goals. These two programs work hand in hand to improve the people’s situation and aim to provide stability while they search for their next steps.
Callie’s desire to do more meaningful work and assist those in her own community drew her to La Puente. She values community relationships and enjoys any chance that she gets to collaborate with others. Although it’s hard for her to choose only one upcoming event to look forward to, she is excited about Christmas and the different holiday events La Puente hosts.
Callie has a plethora of AmeriCorps members that she supervises. Before working with La Puente, Callie did not have prior experience in case management. When new AmeriCorps members come, they learn how to manage different cases, which can be difficult. Therefore, a short-term goal for her is to refine the process to make learning case management easier for the rotating AmeriCorps. In the long term, she wants to work toward providing better support for those who need access to a low-barrier shelter.
As mentioned earlier, Callie is a talented woman. She is a brilliant drawer and painter; her current AmeriCorps members have expressed how great her pieces are. She recently painted the cover for the most recent La Puente newsletter. Her words of wisdom for working with those experiencing homelessness or crisis:
“Be ready to not take anything personally and move forward with each interaction as if it is the first interaction. This does not mean to put yourself in danger but those in crisis do not always come to case management in the best head space and a lot of grace is required to be able to make headway in this job. I’m not always perfect at this but La Puente is making some real headway in caring for the mental health of its staff.”
Contact
Callie Adams, Director of Crisis Prevention and Emergency Shelter: [email protected]