Program Leader, Men'S Shed Program
Melbourne, Australia
Having completed a 200-hour work placement as part of my Diploma of Community Services and Case Management with the men's program, I continued to volunteer with the program for another 4 years.I was given the opportunity to lead the program after successfully applying for the role of program leader in 2017, and did so with passion and enjoyment.Key roles included running the weekly program by opening and closing the facilities, while facilitating the program throughout the day. The key feature of the men's program was a shared lunch which would be cooked by myself, and the meal preparation would be done by the clients with supervision when necessary. This unique take on a men's shed program helped to build clients interpersonal skills and confidence, along with basic cooking skills and knowledge around healthy eating. The location of the program was in a public housing community, with many clients benefiting greatly from learning new skills around cooking and meal preparation which could be taken home and shared with family and friends around the community.I would often need to engage in multiple tasks at once, with communication and relationship building being a core component of running such programs, especially with attendance sometimes greater than 12-13 clients on any given day. Referrals and information around support services would sometimes be given by myself when clients would seek such information, along with recommendations for services in the area and advice for seeking such services.