Tell us about the Resident Services program and what it looks like to be a coordinator in this type of community. 

Resident services coordinators host activities among the residents and provide needed resources, like educational events in the community. After being in this community for a little over a year, the needs I've seen are more social and emotional. What I have done to assist residents is to focus more on activities and events versus resources, to help meet those social and emotional needs.

Can you give us an example of what that looks like in your community?

We just recently started doing an event called Positivity Day. It originally started with a focus on doing it once a month, but it just took off. The residents just took to it, so, we immediately changed it to a weekly event.  For each resident, Positivity Day is about learning about themselves, who they are, and about their gifts, their talents, and their strengths. 

Every week, we watch an educational or inspirational video together, and I give the residents a packet that directly relates to the video. The packet is really what made Positivity Day take off. We give them steps to getting their life together, simple steps for them to follow to live the best life they can live. And then there is a personality test that they can take.

What kind of impact has that had on residents in the community? What was the response?

There are residents in the community who have never taken a personality test before. This allows them to learn a little bit about who they really are, their gifts, talents, and strengths, and how to align themselves to utilize those gifts and strengths. It just resonated in the community. It was something that was needed. It was overdue. The women grabbed a hold of it and just started utilizing the pointers. 

It has given the community hope. It has empowered them. As a community, collectively and individually, it's so good when we come together to do something positive.

How do you leverage community partnerships to bring resources in and help make events like Positivity Day happen?

I've been in the community for a little over a year, and we've had multiple organizations come in and do workshops and presentations. We've been able to establish over 40 partnerships.

It sounds like you're not just hosting events, but you're providing helpful tools and resources to equip residents. You're coaching them toward their goals.

Yes! One of the things that I share with our residents is that every day produces an opportunity to begin to turn any situation around. They just need to know that there's someone there who cares for them and can give them a little guidance.

Someone who can give them some encouragement and tell them, "You can do this. You really can live the life that you want to be living. You've just got to figure out what you want to do. Make up your mind you're going to do this thing. Do your research on what it's going to take to make it happen."

And then you have to take the steps and make it happen, get out there and make that life happen for yourself. 

Want to learn more about our Resident Services program? Visit our website for more details on our service offerings. 

This interview was pulled from Episode 118 of the Apartment Life Leadership Podcast and lightly edited for clarity. For more coordinator stories and interviews, you can follow along at apartmentlife.org/podcast. Follow @aptlife for updates on new episodes and upcoming content! If you enjoy listening, leave us a review on Apple or Spotify. We can't wait to hear from you and hope this podcast serves as a helpful resource.