Personal Reflection On The Good Neighbours Club

This assignment is a personal reflection regarding my professional practice in a social work agency called The Good Neighbours’ Club (GNC) . The Club is located at 170 Jarvis Street in downtown Toronto. This is my first reflection log of my learning experience at the Good Neighbours’ Club. GNC was established in 1933 to respond to the needs of elderly, unemployed and homeless men. The founder of GNC believed that older men ought to have access to resources that ensure the basics for a dignified life. Today, GNC is essentially a drop-in centre for homeless, marginalized, and oppressed men. The only criterion the men must meet to be eligible for club membership is that they are at least 50 years of age or older. My first day of professional practice at the Club gave me a real wake-up call. Most of the Club members I met appeared to be disinterested or unwilling to even say hello to me and would not make eye contact as I walked through the club. Although, I introduced myself in a friendly manner as a new volunteer social worker, the reaction I received suggested that my presence was not welcome. It seemed to me that earning the trust of these men was going to be more difficult than I had

However one conversation I had with a social worker from another agency was disturbing. Wanting to be helpful, she cautioned me not to give too much support to these homeless men because “They will never change.” Her remark triggered me because as an alcoholic who had checked in for help many times before I stopped drinking, I had heard professionals say the same words about me. I responded to her in anger but later in the day I had to acknowledge that I was more sensitive about this issue than I had thought. Her words brought back my own feelings of worthlessness and hopelessness from my past and reminded me of the oppression the men would experience when a worker has certain