Falonia LaMar – Supervisor Spotlight

Last we heard from Falonia LaMar in our employee spotlight posts, she was a counselor at Casa Di Vita. Since then, she was promoted to senior counselor at Unity House. Now, she’s currently serving as site supervisor of Sundram Manor, where she has been since May.

Sundram Manor, our community residence in Niagara Falls for men, has seen an abundance of changes since Falonia’s arrival. Most recently, the program was featured in a garden walk in the city of Niagara Falls thanks to Falonia’s new connection with the Memorial Parkway Block club. She attended a few of the block club’s meetings and this started a fantastic connection. “Some of our residents started volunteering with the block club because they needed help with planting flowers for the elderly and helping clean lawns,” she said. Now, Sundram’s connection with their block club is prolific. “The block club constantly calls us looking for volunteers,” said Falonia. “They want our support.”

Encouragement and empowerment are helpful tools in Falonia’s skillset. She truly takes the model of Trauma-Informed Care to heart. This works well because she notices how effective it is in treatment. “When people feel empowered, they want to do more.” She noted that Sundram Manor residents “want to give back to the community.” She and her team have noticed that their residents are now fully engaged in both their treatment and their nearby community. “You can tell they like to be here,” Falonia said. “Our residents just jump right in.”

Falonia is especially grateful for the support she receives from her team at Sundram. She appreciates “their openness and their willingness to change.” Her team has responded well to her leadership style. “They care a lot and work hard,” Falonia said. “They know that I want them to be the best.”

At the end of the day, Falonia strongly believes that she’s in the right field. “I genuinely know that I was created to do this,” she expressed. Thankfully, her new challenges at Sundram have renewed her conviction. “I didn’t even know all of the skills I had until I got here.” She has accomplished much in three months and she’s very excited for the future. “I don’t look at this as my job, I look at it as the reason I was born.”