Ben Sigrist named Supportive Services Manager of Clare Apartments — July 5, 2022

Ben Sigrist comes to us with 13 years of experience in supportive housing. Let’s learn a bit more about him!

Can you tell us what initially attracted you to working with Clare Housing?

Many years ago I had actually volunteered at Clare Housing at the NE location. It was through a small group at Mercy Vineyard church about 10 or so years ago. So I was familiar with the agency in general and the population that Clare Housing serves. I thought that the mission is impactful and very much needed in the community. Having a purpose to what I dedicate my time and efforts to is something that I have found to be very important and a large part of why I have stayed in the nonprofit world for as long as I have. In addition, I had worked in supportive housing for 13 years through Tasks Unlimited. Although there are differences in the focus and population, there were a lot of similarities from my prior work experience which made the change to Clare Housing easier. 

I also happen to be on the same national board called the Coalition for Community Living as Pheobe Trepp.  That Board encouraged the use of what is called the Fairweather Model and is closely tied to my prior employer. The CCL is also tied to my prior supervisor of many years Ashley Trepp. Ashley and Phoebe Trepp happen to be sisters through marriage. 

What personal values are you looking forward to bringing to this new role?

In general, I believe that my ability to meet people where they are at in life and build rapport through genuinely wanting to get to know them has helped me in this line of work with supportive housing. It has helped me be a resource for individuals living with mental illness and chemical addiction. I intend to apply that approach to my role as the SSM at Clare Apartments. 

I value creatively helping people reach their potential and approaching everyone as people, not just as a staff to a resident. The role differentiation is important, don’t get me wrong. But by getting to know people by caring about what is happening in their lives versus only gathering content to complete documentation gives you a much better understanding about what is important to them. And it will help you recognize small changes to their behavior or how they are spending their free time. By paying attention you are more able to catch on to changes that can be indicative to other issues they might be facing. It is in those proactive interactions I can recognize the small changes. Mutual respect and meaningful dialogue can really help a staff to client professional relationship thrive.  

Tell us a fun or surprising fact about you, or about what you like to do in your free time!

I am a husband to a wife much smarter than I am, a father to two energetic boys and generally I live a fulfilling life as a homebody. I love to see my children experience new things and enjoy the simple things in life many of us adults take for granted. My family, along with the constant home improvement projects keeps me pretty busy. I also love the Minnesota life and being able to get away by escaping to a lake for a while to fish, kayak or just enjoy the wildlife. When not able to venture elsewhere, I embrace my inner nerd by reading, watching nerdy things or playing video games that appeal to still being able to escape the real world, albeit figuratively.