Manon Hunt

There are seven different shelters for undocumented migrants in Amsterdam funded by the government and are care coordinated by HVO. The shelters provide in house care, guidance and support. I have had the pleasure of working in four of the different shelters to gain a wide range experience and now I have been deployed permanently to the location with clients that have the highest needs in terms of mental health and physical health problems. The scope of the job is broad. Some of the different aspects of the work include:

• Developing and maintaining strong relationships with clients
• Evaluating clients social, emotional and psychological needs to create treatment plans.
• Administering medication
• Participation in interdisciplinary team meetings to coordinate care for clients
• De-escalating stressful situations
• Participating in a research project about clients experiences living in the shelters as being part of either the LGBTQ community or living alongside members

Lister provided two different shelters to Ukrainian refugees. One of the residences was aimed at families and children and the other was for clients with mental health and addiction problems. I worked in a small team of six. Different aspects of the job would include:

• Interviewed clients, families, to assess situations, limitations and issues and implement services to address needs
• Care planning
• Psycho-social support
• Facility management
• Delegating tasks to volunteers

I worked in a different Lister location one day a week for more work experience. This location is also a residential facility and it housed people with severe mental health problems, this included people with PTSD, schizophrenia, addictions and cluster B personality disorders. Aspects of the job included:

• Activity coordinating such as cooking classes
• Excursions with residents
• Psycho-social support
• Report writing

In my final year of studies I gained work experience in two government health organizations, one of them was an outpatient service specializing in Maternal Mental Health. My work experience was with a wide range of practitioners including psychologists, nurses, doctors, psychiatrists and Social workers. Duties included:

• Participated in on-the-job training, working closely with supervisors and coworkers and asking appropriate questions.
• Conducting comprehensive assessments
• Care planning
• Case presentations
• Multidisciplinary weekly team meetings

The second government health organization was an outpatient service working with 15-25 year olds experiencing first time psychosis. Duties included:

• Outpatient home visits providing support
• Advocating for rights of clients in difficult living environments
• Weekly activity groups with clients

My third year internship I had the privilege of working alongside Dame Catherine Healy a Sex Worker rights activist who worked towards the decriminalization of sex work in New Zealand, and is the founder of the New Zealand Prostitutes Collective. This gave me the opportunity to gain work experience in a unique environment with a diverse population. Duties included:

• Policy writing
• Providing on-going support to sex workers
• Outpatient and patient drop in services

Prior to and during my years of full time study I worked on and off I worked as a private household nanny for several different families. The ages of the children in my care ranged from new born neonate twins to children age 12. My work would generally be sole charge and for some jobs mothers help. Some of the duties included:

• Taught children everyday skills and language
• Fun science experiments
• Established lasting, professional connections with families and children by encouraging open communication and delivering positive feedback
• Facilitated relationships with children and parents by developing caring and structured home environments
• Helped children complete homework assignments and school projects

Little School is a private early childhood education centre with a focus on age appropriate literacy and numeracy skills as well as the highest level of care for children between 2-5. Duties included:

• Leading group time with games, reading and song and dance
• Running art and craft activities
• Outdoor games
• Math games