Building connections, advocating for others, and helping people navigate life’s most difficult moments.
With more than eight years of experience across a variety of social work settings and populations, PGS Care Manager Caroline Prescott brings the kind of person-centered approach to guardianship that makes a lasting impact. From working with individuals experiencing homelessness to supporting adults with mental health and substance challenges, and now older adults under guardianship, the heart of Caroline’s work has always been connection.
“There are so many people that slip through the cracks,” Caroline says.
Caroline knew early on that she wanted to work in a helping profession. Inspired by her aunt, a social worker who became paralyzed as a teenager yet went on to accomplish incredible things, she declared a major in social work and earned her undergraduate degree from Providence College. Along the way, she gained hands-on experience through internships that exposed her to some of our most vulnerable populations.
One of Caroline’s earliest internships was with House of Hope, a Rhode Island nonprofit serving the homeless community. Through outreach efforts, she spent mornings and evenings walking the streets of Providence with her colleagues, checking in with people, connecting them to services, and providing support wherever she could.
“We were doing on-the-fly case management,” she recalls.
One initiative she’s especially proud to have been a part of was Shower to Empower, a mobile outreach program that converted a trailer into a fully functioning shower facility complete with nursing services, volunteer barbers, and case management services. What started as a single mobile unit has since expanded into multiple units serving communities throughout Rhode Island.
Caroline later worked in a residential treatment serving adults with moderate to severe substance use and mental health challenges. After completing her master’s degree from Boston University, she spent several years working in the dual-diagnosis field and even took a role in utilization review at a psychiatric hospital, gaining valuable insight into how healthcare systems and insurance processes work.
Working with the elderly community and guardianship was new territory when the opportunity to join PGS arose.
What drew Caroline to the organization was its person-centered approach and the opportunity to advocate for people who often have no one else to do so. Having lost her grandmother to Alzheimer’s disease, she also felt a personal connection to supporting some of the most vulnerable members of our communities.
“I just know that they really need someone in their corner,” Caroline says. “At PGS, we’re very involved in our clients’ lives, so that’s what really stood out to me about this opportunity.”
So far in her role as Care Manager, Caroline has already had experiences that have left a lasting impression. She mentions one client in particular whose dementia had progressed to the point where verbal communication was no longer possible.
“If we’re not communicating by words, we sit together and she’ll hold my hand. She loves blowing kisses. Just having my presence there makes a difference.”
Seeing how much a simple visit can brighten someone’s day, and knowing that someone truly cares, is what continues to motivate her work. And on the difficult days, Caroline says guardianship requires one essential quality:
“Patience.”
She notes how important it is to be flexible when supporting people whose needs, health, and circumstances can change quickly.
“Things may not go smoothly, especially within our healthcare system,” she says. “We can’t push people to do things they’re not ready for, but we don’t give up on them.”
Along with attending appointments, navigating complex healthcare systems, communicating with care teams, and building meaningful relationships with clients, Caroline also prioritizes the small details that can easily be overlooked. When a client’s nails are getting too long or a need goes unaddressed, she speaks up on their behalf. To Caroline, those details matter.
Caroline’s passion for caring for others extends into her personal life as well. An avid animal lover, she enjoys spending time with her dog and has explored ways animal-assisted therapy could one day become part of her work.
At the heart of it all, Caroline says the work comes back to advocacy and connection.
“So many people don’t have anyone to advocate for them, and at PGS, we really do work on advocating for the person and meeting them where they are.”