Hearing from the Team: Carina, Triple P Parent Educator
We want you to get to know the people who make what Cope does possible. Every month we will be highlighting a different staff member and hearing what they do to further Cope’s mission, and the skills/attributes that enable them to thrive in their environment. This month we will be highlighting Carina Vasquez, one of our Triple P parent educators.
We asked Carina to describe what she does for Cope in her own words, and she states
Carina (left) and fellow team members at Child Abuse Prevention Month Kick Off event in 2019.
“My role at Cope is to support parents with their parenting goals, to listen to them and guide them. I introduce Triple P strategies that they can implement with the children they are raising, that includes building a positive relationship with their children. I also help parents discover what feeds their spirits, and what they need to do to take care of themselves”
Her favorite thing about Cope is realizing the impact she creates on the families she works with. Carina writes,
“My favorite thing about working with families/parents is when they realize the positive changes they have made in their lives, and that they have the power to make those changes and maintain those changes”
Being a Triple P parent educator requires a certain set of skills that enable a person to have a positive impact in the lives of those they teach. For Carina these skills include having “training and certifications in various levels of Triple P”. Carina also appreciates that her “personal skills support the work that I do. I’m compassionate, a good listener and I value and respect every parent that I work with”. As a parent educator, these are the tools that allow Carina to flourish, and create a positive evolution on the lives of those around her.
Carina participating in a team building exercise at our staff retreat.
One example of the ways in which Carina impacts families comes from a parent who was able to implement the stress coping strategies Carina taught them. “I recently had a parent share with me that with the support of coping with stress strategies that she was able to change the story she tells herself from an unhelpful thinking that did not serve her, to a helpful way of looking at her son's behavior, and her response to his behavior. This was a very powerful statement because when she changed her perspective, it changed the way she responded to her child. She said, ‘yes, it's difficult but not impossible’”. These success stories are what makes Carina’s job worthwhile.
As a parent educator, self care becomes just as important as the work Carina does in the classroom. It is extremely important to Carina to properly care for herself so that she can better care for others.
“I eat healthy, I try my best to eat locally and seasonally. I have daily practices of meditation, yoga, walking, hiking or cycling, but everyday I get some movement in. I also have a daily practice of gratitude. I feed my spirit every day”
We are extremely grateful for Carina and the work she does for our families. Her passion for Cope’s mission is contagious, and inspires everyone around her. It takes a very special person to do the work that she does, and we are thankful to have her in our corner.