Q&A: Tavasha McDade, Engagement Specialist, Third Street Men's Shelter
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“I get to make somebody’s day a little bit brighter. When clients move out they get really excited...that’s the rewarding part–making sure that clients get to their goal.”
With a casual confidence, down to earth personality and a disarming smile, Tavasha McDade is renewing lives and reclaiming hope one relationship at a time. A Next Step Internship Program (NSIP) graduate, she uses her skills as an Engagement Specialist at Third Street Men’s Shelter to help her clients move out of shelter and into homes of their own. When roles in her previous career in TV and film production began drying up due to the pandemic, she found Project Renewal’s job training program on Google and never looked back. What began as a simple search for a stable job grew into a passion for helping others reach their goals of long term stability.
Tavasha is very clear that she is successful in her work because she does it in community. Always growing, she is genuinely enthused to learn from clients and colleagues how to be better at her job, even when that means navigating conflict. She says being in NSIP taught her to practice patience with herself and others, which serves her well when the job gets tough.
We sat down with Tavasha to talk about working at Project Renewal, sustainable self care practices, and the multidimensionality of being black. As she spoke frankly about how to enjoy the simple things, both inside and outside of work, we were definitely taking notes for our own lives. Maybe you will too.
What do you do at Project Renewal?
I’m an Engagement Specialist at Project Renewal. I’ve been here for 17 months. I came from the Next Step program. I was an intern here at Third Street first and then I started working as a Residential Aid (RA). From there I got promoted to Lead RA and then to my current role. I am a liaison between case managers and their clients, making sure that clients get to their appointments, and I also manage my own caseload. I know a lot of clients from my time as an RA so I already have a rapport with them.
Sometimes clients don’t have this or they don’t have that, IDs, birth certificates and other important documents they need to be prepared to move out. We make sure we have everything for them–sometimes that means getting some things from immigration or documents from another state or country. Our main goal as a team is to make sure clients get to the point where they can move out of shelter and be very self-sufficient.
What is the best part of your job?
I get to make somebody’s day a little bit brighter because you don’t know what they’re going through. When they move out they get really excited! Some of them are older gentlemen who never had their own apartment or who did have their own apartment but they got kicked out. We have some clients that get a beautiful apartment and stay [there] for years. You have some clients that come back [to shelter] unfortunately. But that’s the rewarding part–making sure that clients get to their goal and showing them they can do it.
How do you sustain your work at Project Renewal?
It’s a very rewarding job but sometimes it does get stressful. I make sure I put myself first, even if it’s the smallest things. Like getting my nails done and when my hair grows out a little bit more, getting my hair braided. Putting my phone on do not disturb. Buying a candle or a Starbucks cup just because I think it’s pretty. Or taking myself out for ramen at lunch. I also cook for myself. I don’t even have to eat it, just making it makes me happy. Just chopping it up, getting the ingredients, seasoning it, making it your own. And I want to take cooking classes so I can learn how to master that.
What are some of your other passions outside of social work?
Photography! A couple years back I had a gallery in Harlem showcase my work.
I love anime–I got 3 anime tattoos. I’m getting more! I’m a big movie person. I love music and musicals. I would like to learn more about the different strains of cannabis and how to grow your own. Also fashion because I grew up in it. My mom, my aunties, and my uncles–they were always dripped out in designer so that put me on to liking fashion. I want to try my hand at making my own clothes, embroidery and sewing.
“I’m very eclectic when it comes to my likes and loves. I’m not just a one dimensional black girl. We always get put in this box. There are so many aspects of blackness that people don’t get to talk about.”
Is there anything else you want to share about your work at Project Renewal?
I work with a great team. They’re patient with me and they’re kind with me. I’m surrounded by a lot of intelligent people from many different backgrounds–that’s really a big thing for me. It pushes me to be a better professional because I see how they are. And I get to work with these people everyday…I’m surrounded by greatness.
