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Facilitator

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Facilitators are the heart of Lory’s Place without them Lory’s Place could not operate. The following are guidelines or expectations of facilitators.

Purpose:
The overall purpose of the Facilitator is “to make easier”. The facilitator embraces the Lory’s Place peer support group model that emphasizes the individual’s innate capacity to seek and to find resolution to and reconciliation with life’s painful realities. The facilitator trusts in the individual’s unique process of adjustment, growth and timing. The facilitator understands the peer support process and recognizes they are not acting in a role as a counselor. A facilitator companions, As Dr. Alan Wolfelt states “companioning is about being present to another person’s pain; it is not about taking away the pain.”

At all times the facilitator has the participant’s best interest at heart and knows he/she must commit to the following guidelines to truly be impactful as a helping presence.

Guidelines/Expectations:

1. Facilitators complete a 24 hour training period.

2. Facilitators commit to facilitating one year and devote 6 hours a month to Lory’s Place.

3. Consistent attendance is essential to the trust established at Lory’s Place. Facilitators will agree to find their own replacement and inform the Lory’s Place office of the substitution. If a replacement is not found by the facilitator, this will be considered as an absence. More than three absences are considered excessive and will be handled on an individual basis.

4. Facilitators are expected to demonstrate a working knowledge of the Lory’s Place Volunteer Facilitator Manual.

5. Facilitators of both children and adult groups are responsible to Lory’s Place Program Director and/or Family Services Coordinator.

6. Facilitators respect confidentiality except in cases of suicide ideation, child abuse, chemical dependency on the part of a child or adolescent, or harm by one child to the next. All concerns regarding safety issues are reported immediately to the Family Services Coordinator/or Program Director.

7. Facilitators attend both pre and post meetings on time, as they know this is a critical piece in their ability to best help families, as well as their own
self-care.

8. Facilitators are not to establish personal/intimate relationships with
participants during or after program services.

9. Facilitators are to note and discuss individual children’s needs with the Program Director and/or Family Services Coordinator.


10. Facilitators are to direct parental questions and concerns regarding their child to
the Program Director or Family Services Coordinator.

11. Facilitators should log the time spent at Lory’s Place on the sign-in sheet at
the front door.

12. Facilitators must be with the participants they have been assigned to during
the evening, so that no participant is ever without an adult.

13. Facilitators are responsible for their children cleaning up prior to closing. If
the space has not been returned to its original state the facilitator will clean the space after post meeting.

14. Facilitators are to hold to time limits.

15 . All materials brought by a facilitator to share with the group must be
reviewed by Lory’s Place Staff.

16. Facilitators are to implement the “Safety Guidelines.”

17. Facilitators implement the “Essential Skills of Facilitating” effectively.

18. Facilitators establish a climate of trust and safety.

19. Facilitators demonstrate caring, respect and understanding for all persons.

20. Facilitators deal with barriers to communication.

21. Facilitators are directly involved in the group process by sharing concisely their personal thoughts, feelings and impressions of what is happening in the group.

22. Facilitators are aware of their own biases and do not inflict their opinions and values upon participants and other facilitators.

23. Facilitators understand the importance of closing and will give two weeks notice of their departure.

24. Facilitators are the best models and ask for help when they need it.

I agree to the above guidelines and understand that each one is an important part of my responsibility in being an effective facilitator. I agree that if I am unable to follow the above guidelines ultimately I am impacting the healing process of a family. Therefore, I understand that at any time the Lory’s Place Staff identifies my lack of follow through or commitment to any of the above guidelines I may be asked to resign my facilitator responsibilities at Lory’s Place.