Week 7
This week GAIN had their office retreat. Since the organization is coming up on its twentieth anniversary, several of the activities over the day related to looking back to see what GAIN has achieved, and looking forward to see what GAIN will do in the future.
The retreat kicked off with a video sharing the impact GAIN had on three women. One of the women received a U-Visa, which allowed her to leave her abusive partner without fear of being deported. Since receiving her U-visa status, she got her green card and saved up enough money to buy herself a house. Another of the women used her status in the US to go to college, and the other woman’s high school- aged children were able to come to the US as her derivatives and pursue opportunities here. Buying a house, pursuing higher education, and providing a better future for your children are all part of the American dream, but are difficult, if not impossible, for immigrants to achieve without some kind of permanent status. The video was a good reminder of the opportunities available to immigrants on the other side of the immigration process. Even though the immigration process can be an inscrutable slog sometimes, in the end, the people who get through it will be able to have a better life here in the US, and they will be able to provide better lives for their families.
The Center for Victims of Torture (CVT) provided a training session on the effects of helping others who have suffered trauma. It was interesting to see how the CVT treated burnout and other secondary responses to trauma as natural consequences of the work that they and other helping professionals do. The CVT did not pathologize these responses or treat them as indicators that it might be time to think about changing fields, but instead recognized them as part of the job. The CVT also provided ideas for how to manage burnout in order to be able to continue to provide assistance to others. I think attorneys in other fields might benefit from approaching burnout and stress the same way.
The retreat also featured some surprise attendees - ducklings!
On a slightly different note, this weekend I finally went to the Georgia Aquarium, and it was amazing! It was really crowded, and the number of young kids made it a little chaotic, but everyone was friendly and polite, especially when it came to taking pictures. I went through the whale shark tunnel twice and I probably could have sat in front of the big shark and ray exhibit all day. One thing I really appreciated about the aquarium was the way they designed the interactive spaces with the animals’ well-being in mind. For example, the stingray touch tank was set up so that the animals can stay on one side of a ledge away from guests if they don’t want to be touched, but the guests can still see them. Overall, it was a fantastic experience and a great way to end the week.
The whale shark exhibit is the aquarium's icon for a reason.