On May 20th, 2014, Gil Allen took over the position of Team Leader for Comprehensive Care, and officially became the DDRC’s newest team leader. Although it’s only been a few weeks, he was happy to share his thoughts with us, as well why he decided to jump in to this new position!
How long have you been with the DDRC?
Just a couple months short of a year. I started last August as a CRW (Community Resource Worker) for the PACE Team, and officially took over as team leader for Comprehensive Care on May 20th of this year.
What made you want to work here?
A couple of different things. I went to school to study disability theory; I’m heavily interested in the academic side of it. From a more personal side, I have a very close cousin who is a client with the Calgary SCOPE Society, so I have been interested in disability services for most of my life.
Why did you want to become a Team Leader?
I wanted to have more of an impact for more people. As a CRW, I was only able to support two to four people at a time. As a team leader, I hope to be able to help a lot more.
Can you share a recent client success story for the Comprehensive Care?
Matching a client who has been long looking for a worker with someone. It really made his and his dad’s days.
If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would that be?
One food for the rest of my life… that’s hard. I’ll have to go with Saskatoon berries. I spent a couple of summers working on a Saskatoon berry farm and they were some of my favourite times, so the berries (on their own, in syrup, or in baked goods) remind me of that.