INTERNSHIP AT FAMILY PROMISE OF ALBANY COUNTY
Spring 2020
I finished my internship at Family Promise of Albany County in May of 2020. Family Promise is a non-profit organization that aids low-income and homeless families in reaching independence. My goal at the internship was to help the office become more bilingual. I did this by trying to make every important document in the office into a Spanish document. I also helped in fundraisers and supply drives to assist in funding for Family Promise.
During my time with Family Promise, I worked on two main projects. The first project was helping with Trattoria Promesa. In this I helped with making calls to business to donate to the auction. Then I worked on the program for the dinner and making sure the Italian made sense. I also helped with setting up the dinner, assisting in the auction, and cleaning up after the dinner was over. My project over the course of the semester was to take everything on the google drive and change it to Spanish. This was a long, painstaking process, but it turned out great. In the end I was able to make every document that needed to be in Spanish into Spanish. This will aid in the entry of new families into the program who may be more comfortable with Spanish than English or don’t speak English at all.
CONNECTION TO THE FAMILY LIFE EDUCATION CONTENT AREAS
Families and Individuals in Societal Contexts
This is the focus of Family Promise and a huge part of my internship. The main goal of Family Promise is to provide non-traditional shelter to homeless families. The homeless families are the societal context in this way and Family Promise is what helps them to learn the skills they need to improve themselves and the situation they are in. I was able to learn more about the importance of these families and know what resources they needed to help them rise out of their situation.
Professional Ethics and Practice
During my time at Family Promise I had to learn to be on time and be professional. I also had to be confidential in what I did and the things I learned about the families. I had to communicate with others in a professional way and be sensitive to the distinct needs of the families I worked with.
Parent Education and Guidance
Family Promise provides and connects many people with educational opportunities in the community. One of the biggest documents I had to translate was called the Community Resource Page. In this, I was able to put into Spanish various community resources for the Spanish speaking population. This will allow for more families to take advantage of what the community has to offer, no matter what language they speak.
Human Growth and Development Across the Lifespan
Homelessness can influence everyone in the family, especially children. At Family Promise it was essential for children to get the highest quality of care. That is why our day center was full of toys and books and the staff was encouraged to get to know the families. This allowed me to understand more how the family develops and the important bonds in family ties.
Family Resource Management
We were encouraged to hand out flyers and give items in the hygiene pantry to struggling families. This allowed me to learn the importance of Family Resource Management and how breaking the cycle through organization and learning can help families to succeed. Family Promise attempts to break the cycle of poverty and help families rise to a higher level.