Approach to rules and discipline
The approach to rules and discipline at Eva’s Phoenix is very different from many other agencies. In most shelters the first thing that staff impress upon their clients are the rules of the place – to which clients often respond by finding out exactly which rules they can get away with breaking. In contrast, the staff of Eva’s Phoenix tries to emphasize personal judgment.
Creating an environment that emphasizes judgment and responsibility
There are a few clear rules that come from being part of the City of Toronto’s shelter system (e.g. no smoking, no drinking, no drugs, a nightly curfew). With the exception of these, there are very few actions (usually limited to safety issues) that would get someone immediately discharged from Eva’s Phoenix. Staff try to get residents to take responsibility for their behaviours, and to link them to consequences that have meaning and value for them (e.g. linking positive behaviour to the ability to participate in a mentorship program). If a resident demonstrates consistently that he or she is unable to accept the responsibilities that come with living with the community at Eva’s Phoenix, then staff will help the youth to come to a point where he/she can live according to his/her own rules (in other words, to move out).
An environment based on responsibility and judgment is challenging to attain. Youth will push the boundaries, and sometimes they will fail. But this is how they learn. Staff working in this kind of environment also need to have the discretion to use their judgment to intervene in situations as they see fit, based on the circumstances at the time. This is much more challenging than just enforcing rules, but ultimately yields much better results. This sort of environment is much more like the “real world” than having someone tell you what to do and what not to do every step of the way. For more on:
