My name is Gail Hamilton. I am a Training and Outreach Assistant (TOA). I have worked with the METC as a facilitator for 13 years and in January 2025 started the position of TOA. I have worked in the homecare division in both the private and public arenas for 20 years as a member and over 35 years in my lifetime. My favorite part of working with the METC is meeting others who are in the healthcare field. When you do homecare, this is not a typical brick and mortar position where you can meet others that are our co-workers. So with the METC we get to change that. We get to interact with others and assist them in adding to their skills. It is an amazing feeling to watch when a caregiver learns something that they can carry forward, the excitement to gain more soon follows. My favorite training is Strengthening Communications Skills because it is something that we can all use not just with consumers/clients but our own personal relationships too, and I have.
I have 2 sayings that I live by. One is “I may not be where I want to be, but I am not where I was”. The other is a scripture, Psalm 56: 3; What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. As someone who was unhoused when I became a member, I am extremely concerned about food deprivation in our communities. For the last 15 years I have been the coordinator for a food ministry through my church that is self-sustaining. We provide a basket full of the fixing’s for a full Thanksgiving meal. We partner with the school district around where my church is located. Over the past 15 years we have distributed nearly 1,000 baskets of food.
I have been a CNA for 38 years and believe that serving others is necessary and the best way of spreading the love. We never know when we will need help. I am a mom of 5, grandparent of 11, 12th on the way and 1 great-grandchild. My husband and I will be married 29 years in June.