Rooted in Resiliency, hosted by the Housing Counseling Action Committee and Temple University’s Non-Credit and Continuing Education department, was the first retreat of its kind in the Philadelphia area. 

Burnout is an increasing problem in American workplaces. Nearly three in four Americans experience moderate to extremely high stress at work, according to the most recent Aflac WorkForces Report. For first responders, caregivers and others in similar roles, the concern is even greater.  

That’s why the Housing Counseling Action Committee (HCAC)—a group of nearly two dozen agencies that supports the housing counseling community—and Temple University’s Non-Credit and Continuing Education department came together to host Rooted in Resiliency, the first retreat for housing counselors in the Philadelphia area. 

On May 8, several dozen housing counselors and support staff gathered at Temple University Ambler for the retreat, with activities including a Clifton-Strengths workshop, guided meditation, succulent planting and a tour of the Ambler Arboretum—all designed to help them regain their equilibrium. 

The retreat stemmed from the partnership between HCAC—a coalition of the Philadelphia housing counseling network—and the Real Estate Institute (REI), which is part of Temple’s Non-Credit and Continuing Education department. HCAC is led by Kenneth Bigos, executive director of the Affordable Housing Centers of Pennsylvania (AHCOPA) and Abraham Reyes Pardo, vice president of the Office of Housing and Diversion Services at the Urban League of Greater Philadelphia.  

AHCOPA, the Urban League and REI have found common ground supporting educational opportunities around housing, including developing a new curriculum to train real estate appraisers. Philly5000, a campaign that includes the Urban League, offered scholarships for housing counselors to take REI’s appraisal course and this sparked Pardo’s interest in involving them in other Temple programs. “It is amazing to have an organization as recognized as Temple able to provide the type of support that other nonprofit organizations, like the Urban League, need,” he said. "It's been refreshing in many ways to connect with one group that can help us fill all these gaps.” 

Housing counselors assist homeowners, working with them to improve their housing conditions and meet their financial needs. It’s a varied role and often a demanding one. “Housing counselors are the front line for a lot of housing-related issues that we hear about in the news and other spaces. They're often working with people who are going through crises, or people who are experiencing frustration in trying to achieve some specific goal,” Pardo said. “They will play part psychologist, part teacher, part counselor (in the full sense of counselor), part mortgage loan officer, while trying to hear and understand what the goals of their clients are, and help them get from A to B.” 

Housing counselors feel it’s their responsibility to ensure their clients receive assistance; if help isn’t available quickly enough, or at all, they might feel they have failed.  “Concerns of burnout among the staff, and compassion fatigue, are severe,” Bigos said. “We felt it was necessary to have the housing counseling retreat to help the staff members look at strategies for de-escalation and building emotional intelligence. [They needed] a break from their day-to-day activities to replenish themselves,” he said. “We cannot pour from empty jars.” 

Temple’s Non-Credit and Continuing Education department made Pardo and Bigos’ vision a reality. “We knew something like this needed to be done, but we just didn't know how to do it. They were very instrumental in helping us put it together, and they guided us throughout the process in a way that made sense for us,” Pardo said. Housing counselors work, and in many cases live, in the city and Bigos and Pardo wanted the respite that time spent in nature would provide. Temple Ambler, with its arboretum, greenhouse and team building facilities, was an ideal location. “[We said], ‘Yes, yes, yes, we need to touch dirt. We need a place where we can hear the birds singing and see trees and see nature,” Bigos said. 

The retreat was designed to promote a sense of calm. Kimberly Rogers, deputy director at AHCOPA, appreciated this. “This isn't the typical craziness of the day-to-day, but a space in which you can breathe, reflect, pour back into yourself and allow nature to pour back into you,” she said. The programs not only showed attendees that it was alright for housing counselors to rest and recuperate, they also demonstrated that doing so would improve their ability to help clients. Housing counselors frequently lack the time to process how their experiences at work affect them. “You can be going, going, going and not even realize how tired you are and how much of the wick has been burnt down,” Rogers said. At the retreat, she enjoyed the guided meditation and being able to slow down. “It was a very sobering reality that it is okay to take time to do what is needed to be able to show self-compassion and care for yourself so that you can care for others,” she said. 

Comments Bigos and Pardo have received from attendees have been positive. Many have said they feel they learned practices they can use in their daily lives. And some have expressed interest in the retreat becoming an annual event. “They feel empowered, they feel valued as far as the work they do,” Bigos said.  

For Rogers, the experience has also reminded her that empathy is at the root of what housing counselors do. “We don't choose this work because it’s the most lucrative career,” she said. “We do it because we care deeply about people and the communities we serve. That compassion is our greatest strength. It’s our superpower.”

—Edirin Oputu