Reflections from New Facilitators

At ROW we often have social work practicum students working in our REAP program. As the summer semester comes to a close, we asked our current students to share with you their reflections on learning to facilitate REAP. Here they are:

As new social work practicum students at Redevelopment Opportunities for Women (ROW), we have had the privilege of becoming ROW’s newest REAP facilitators in St. Louis. Because we are completing a two semester practicum at ROW, we were able to participate in the extensive training required for REAP facilitation. Although we are still learning, we have greatly benefited from the experiences and training we have thus far received. Even though we hope to have increased financial education and awareness in our sessions, we cannot fully express our gratitude for the understanding we gained from the women served.

Throughout the course of our first semester at ROW, we prepared to facilitate by shadowing current REAP facilitators, attending training workshops, and studying the facilitators’ curriculum. During this time, we realized how little we understood about certain financial issues such as credit and how difficult financial systems are to navigate without informed support. We were also able to recognize our own privilege in easily accessing said informed support, while realizing how easily incorrect information circulates through any community.

Although we were both apprehensive about facilitating our first classes, we had the support of ROW staff and therefore felt confident about our first experiences. Discussions of power and control as well as privilege and oppression proved to be especially powerful, as we witnessed women begin to understand how these structures played a large role in their individual lives. From the first few sessions, we found ourselves surprised with participants’ consistent involvement in the power line activity, an interactive exercise in which women explore privilege and oppression through race, gender, sexual orientation, age and so on. We find this activity breaks the ice and fosters a more close-knit environment.

Throughout the course, participants, with varying degrees of financial knowledge, explore challenges such as thinking about Cost of Living Plans instead of budgets, the complicated system of credit as well as banking and investing. For instance, while one woman may know a great deal about predatory lending, she may know very little about banking institutions. REAP is a unique program because it combines safety planning for women who have experienced intimate partner violence with financial education. The necessity of this type of program becomes increasingly apparent in every class through participants’ questions and concerns.

Each class poses a different set of challenges for us as new facilitators. Some are simple logistical problems such as lack of chalk or white boards and other supplies at different sites. However, the diverse range of sites also changes the dynamics of the group and create broader challenges. For example, ROW, shelters and other outreach sites each have unique environments, which prompt facilitators to tailor their classes accordingly. Other challenges include correcting prejudicial language without judgment as well as redirecting conversations back to the topic at hand.

All in all, this experience has been and continues to be both insightful and humbling. As previously stated, we have learned a great deal from the women participating in our classes. For this we are especially grateful.