What Is The Role Of A Support Worker?
The role of a support worker is to look after and provide care to people in need to cater to their overall well-being.
A support worker aims to enable individuals to live as independently as possible. In some cases, support workers have to provide personal care to those who cannot do it themselves.
The role can include:
- Preparing meals
- Administer medication
- Provide personal care
- Be a support system
- Take individuals to doctors/hospital appointment
- Help them to access the community; in some cases, you will need to have a license to drive a company car.
- Do laundry
- Other domestic duties
Why Are Support Workers Necessary
Some people do not have their immediate families around them to provide the care they need. In contrast, providing around the clock care for a loved one can be taxing on your wellbeing as well. A large majority of care provided in the UK alone is by family and friends.
Furthermore, it is important that each supported individual has access to adequate care in the correct setting.
Depending on the needs of each individual, some require 24/7 care, which can only be provided in some institutions, or support workers can work in individuals home setting.
Everyone is entitled to live the best quality of life possible, and the role of a support worker is to aid just that.
Without the help of support workers, many will not have access to the care they may need, or if they do have access, it may not be close to their home.
In my opinion, the work support workers do go above and beyond. Yet, in most cases, we are not paid adequately along with many other health professionals, but that’s a whole different matter.
Why I Decided To Work As A Support Worker Again
In 2018, I worked as a support worker in a residential home supporting four males with mental health and learning disabilities.
The residential home meant that all the men lived there, were 3 residents shared a communal kitchen, bathroom and other common areas. At the same time, one male had his own apartment attached to the main house.
The men’s age ranged from 28-61. All were semi-independent; they were able to bathe themselves and take their medication.
However, staff cooked their meals and did other domestic duties around the house.
Although I enjoyed working there and got along with the individuals, management was a bit of a shambles.
Working was taking over and I was putting my mental wellbeing on the back burner.
On my last day, I received news that I was accepted to complete my master’s degree, which I was excited about.
Working with adults was cool but I wanted to work with a different age group.
So, after several jobs, a pandemic (which is still here, boo) and my masters’ degree, I decided to give support worker another go.
My First Week As A Support Worker Helping Young People
On my first day of my new job, I walked up to my place of work nice and early as you do. I was dressed as if I was working in an office, formal and all!
I met the supported individual and we clicked which I was happy about as I was nervous that we wouldnt bond but we did!
The first half of the day was good but then the young person was triggered and an incident occured.
At first, I felt stressed but I remembered my reason as to why I am doing this job; to get young people ready for adulthood and to be the best version of themselves possible.
Working in care, you have to remember that not everyday will be the same.
Day 2
We took an unexpected trip to Brighton! To the Beach, we went! The young person had never been there so it was her first time and she enjoyed herself! We had a good time, and it was nice to get out of the house. The young person took a liking to me, which I was relieved about.
Day 3
My shift was 12-9 pm. I made sure that I came prepared with my food and summoned all the energy I had left as I went to the gym in the early hours of the day. Supringsly, the day went quickly and it was chill for the most part. We played board games, truth or dare (the pg version) and did several quizzes, which I sucked at for the most part. Keeping the young person entertained was what we were focused on.
Day 4
This day was my first night shift; 9 pm-9 am. Before my shift, I found it difficult to sleep during the day. I like to sleep, don’t get me wrong, but when I wasn’t working all, I would sleep throughout the day, which impacted my mood and sleep quality during the night.
When I first arrived, the young person was on her phone, and we watched TikTox videos together. Shortly after, the young person took their medication and went to sleep around 11pm so I had time to focus on my online training.
I focused and got some training completed on my laptop as the young person slept throughout the night, which was great.
I like it compared to the other residential home because there are at least two staff members during the night shift. I felt much more comfortable.
Take away
As I go into my first full week, I need to make sure I plan properly. I need to ensure that I cater to my needs first. I can deal with the long days as I have worked 8 am-10 pm before, but now, I know my boundaries and what I am not comfortable doing.
I hope to ensure that I plan my meals ahead of time instead of leaving them until the last minute; I will ensure I go to bed at a respectable time, and most importantly, I’ll schedule a time to work out as that is my self-care.
Wish me luck!
Thanks for reading, stay safe and take care.
XO
You have given a great overview of what it’s like to be a young person’s support worker, this will be really helpful to others considering similar job roles
Good to hear. Thank you for reading!
This was really informative, thank you for sharing your story and the important work that you are doing.
Thank you for taking the time to read my post!