Working at Christmas - Ewan Greenwood's Story - Children's Residential Care

While many of us are enjoying a few days off during the festive season, spare a thought for those who will be on duty during the 12 days of Christmas, helping make this time special for others on their own, taking care of the vulnerable and ensuring our roads are safe to travel on, to name but a few. From all aspects of caring, whether that be residential, home or social care to the pier masters, tugs crews and ferry workers to the on-call highway officers, roads operatives and garage mechanics, they all play a vital role in making sure the Council’s services continue over the festive period.

Here is Ewan Greenwood's story.

‘The main thing the children and young people in Orkney’s residential care service are hoping for at Christmas, is that I’m not the one cooking their Christmas dinner,’ laughs Ewan Greenwood, a Senior Social Care Worker with Orkney Islands Council’s Children and Families Team.

Ewan has spent many years working with children and young people in residential care, the last nine of those here in Orkney – working alongside staff teams at facilities in Kirkwall and St Margaret’s Hope.  This year – like many before it – he’ll be spending his Christmas Day with the children and young people that he helps care for throughout the year.

"Christmas in children’s residential facilities are in so many ways very similar to a typical family Christmas elsewhere.  Preparations for the big day  get underway in late September.  We start planning out with the children and young people elements like presents, food and decorations.  We keep everyone involved – and make sure that for the younger children we’re doing all the key things like writing a letter to Santa and taking a trip to the local Post Office to make sure it reaches him in time.

“On Christmas Day itself, like with any family, we might have a wide age range living in the facilities – and so we do try and make the day the best we can for everyone. We’ll play games with the younger children, whereas the young adults may want to do their own thing – and that’s fine. Many of our young people will take the opportunity to spend time with family members too.

“There’s sugar overloads and sibling rivalry aplenty – but before you know it, the day is over.”

Ewan explained that the day can very quickly turn on its head too.

“The added pressures of Christmas means that emergency accommodation can in fact be needed over the festive period and so we have to be braced for that too – both in terms of perhaps rearranging some of our service provision, but also in terms of caring for a young person who is  going to be hurting at the worst possible time.”

Ewan’s experience of Christmas, in his years of working with children and young people, is that many can find that time of year difficult.

“Most of us will have precious memories of our childhood Christmases. 

“Sadly, over the years, I’ve worked with many young people for whom that experience is quite different – and some have had horrendous times. The backgrounds they have come from can mean they don’t feel like they are deserving of a ‘good Christmas’  and so they can tend to shut off from it a little. 

“Over the years I – and the staff I’ve worked with – have had some bumpy rides. We just have to strap ourselves in and remain upbeat for our young people – they’ve had enough sadness and anxiety in their lives as it is and we just want to give them that special day they so deserve.”