Celebrating Lansdowne Support Worker Mariam

Mariam is one of the Support Workers at Lansdowne Children’s Centre, working with child and youth clients and helping them develop their communication and social skills.

She was inspired to take on the role because of her “natural love for kids and helping people. I’m generally drawn to roles that help people feel supported, cared for, and understood.”

Working with children and youth who have communication, physical and/ or developmental differences “has shown me the power of patience,” Mariam said, developing her abilities to be more adaptable and to “care for people the way I want to be cared for.”

Patience is a cornerstone skill for the work she does.

“I’ve learned something over time – it’s not you going through stuff; they’re the one going through stuff. You’re there to guide them, to be with them, to be calm and patient with them,” she said.

Effective communication is also vital; it needs to be informed by empathy.

“Talk with them just the way you want to be spoken to,”

Mariam advised.

When working with children and youth, it’s important to not be too rigid.

“You also need to be able to adapt with them, be flexible. Like I said, you’re there to guide and support them.”

Mariam finds her work very rewarding. It’s hard for her to narrow down what her favourite part of the job is, because she loves being around the kids, doing the activities and games with them, going on outings to the park, etc., “I just love everything!”

Sometimes the interactions with a client can look small from the outside, but have a huge impact on the support worker.

Mariam shared about one client she worked with, who didn’t have strong communication skills, but loved cars.

One day as they walked to the park hand-in-hand, she asked him what kinds of cars were passing by, and he named the different makes.

“When we got to the park, we played; we had a good time with other support workers and friends, and when it was time to go back home, he reached out for my hand,” Mariam said. “It really touched me, because I didn’t have to prompt him before he did that; it was really nice and beautiful.”

After they got back to the Lansdowne building and throughout the rest of the day, the client would randomly call her by name, and when she answered, he would smile at her. “I just feel like there was this level of trust that he had in me,” Mariam said, adding, “I will never forget that moment.”

While there are many different facets to being a support worker, Mariam said the three words that best describe her journey would be purposeful, patience, and rewarding.

“I would say purposeful, because

every interaction with your client matters, from the beginning to the end.”

She again emphasized how patience is vital, and that it grows with experience.

“It’s not just a one-time thing. It requires time; it requires that understanding.”

Knowing your work has purpose, and being patient enough to see it through means you get to experience just how rewarding it is, Mariam said.

“The smallest progress in a child – seeing that progress in a child just makes everything worth it,” she said. “You might not see it as immediate; it’s a gradual process.”

Mariam shared a story about a child she was supporting who struggled to be in larger groups. He would come into the Lansdowne building, but would stay in the lobby. 

Eventually, after building trust with him and showing him that he was safe and supported, Mariam was able to encourage him to go into the room where the other kids were for a few minutes.

“To me, it’s a progress; it’s an accomplishment, because he never used to do that before, he was always shying away from friends. But that day, I was happy,” she said. While the moment feels magical, it’s even more special because of all the hard work that helped make it happen.

The accomplishments found in support work isn’t always apparent to others looking in from the outside.

“Being a support worker is beyond just supervising your clients; it’s beyond just going to work and then following the schedule,” Mariam said.

“It’s about making connection … making them feel understood, making them feel cared for, making them feel like kings and queens.”

Clients need to know they can trust you, Mariam said; they need to know you’re there to support them and guide them by “making them feel seen, making them feel heard, making them feel understood.”

A song that resonates with Mariam when she thinks about her work is ‘This is Me,’ from the movie The Greatest Showman.

“It just celebrates individuality; it celebrates confidence. It just makes them feel valued. As humans, we all want to be valued,” she said, adding that the kids and youth she works with “want to be accepted just the way they are.”

Mariam noted that at any time, a person could be struggling with something they’re not talking about, but that’s why it’s so important to always see the humanity in others.

“We all deserve love, and we all deserve to be celebrated,” Mariam said.

“So just show love, show kindness, and be genuine with it.” 

If you're interested in working for Lansdowne Children's Centre, visit www.lansdownecentre.ca/workwithus to see our current employment opportunities.