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The importance of social workers
The importance of social workers
Intersectionality
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Engagement/Understanding (Competency 6).
Youth homelessness is a global social issue that is rapidly increasing. Shelton & Bond (2017) divulged how accurate data on the prevalence of youth homelessness in the United States are significantly lacking. It could be due to the challenges of collecting data and variance in definitions of what constitutes homelessness for youth. Often times there are multiple levels of oppression evident amongst vulnerable individuals. Homeless transgendered youth are susceptible to intersectionality. As stated in Competency 6, it is imperative for the ethical profession of Social Work, to be engaged and understanding of the multitude of social issues that impact individuals. Thus, Social Workers are expected to be agents of change, and it is an professional responsibility to challenge unjust policies, systems, and ideologies on the behalf of marginalized, oppressed, and vulnerable populations.
Shelton & Bond (2017) reiterates how the data on the prevalence of
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The perspectives from transgender youth is critically missing in many discussion, research, intervention and implementation strategies. Transgender youth, are misunderstood, misrepresented and excluded from conversations, decision making, and policy execution when in actuality they should be involved. Shelton & Bond (2017) elucidates that although there is a growing body of research that examines LGBTQ youth homelessness, gaps in knowledge about the specific experiences of transgender and gender-expansive homeless youth remain. Studies focus largely on transgender youth in the context of the methods and measures in studies. Hence, including transgender youth within research on sexual minorities, rather than allowing them a distinct category of inquiry, can replicate the common misreading of transgender people as
Although The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act is a program that guarantees education for the homeless youth population, many homeless do not receive the proper services they need because they are not aware of available resources (Heinze & Jozefowicz-Simbeni, 2009). Many homeless youths do not have a safe place to stay during the night or do not have any family or friends to rely on for support. In addition, approximately 7% of youth members in the United States are left without a home because of high dependence on an addictive substance or because they have been diagnosed with a mental health disorder (Heinze & Jozefowicz-Simbeni, 2009). Services that could provide shelter for the youth are often underused. Research in homeless youth
Ideas of community, social progress, and culture are an ever-evolving social work issue. How do we as social workers choose to approach needs of groups and communities at the macro level? In order to grasp an understanding of true helping systems it is important for one to have a range of knowledge to justly participate within the formal helping structures an models that comprise of the social work field. In attempt to create our identity as active justice based social workers it is essential for one to conceptualize the framework of intersectionality. According to Kirsten-Ashmen, “Intersectionality involves the idea that people are complex and can belong to multiple, overlapping diverse groups “The intersectional perspective acknowledge the breath of the human experience, instead of conceptualizing social relationships and identities separately in terms of either race or class or gender or age or sexual orientation”; rather an intersectional approach focuses on the “interactional affects” of belonging to multiple groups (p. 48).” In order to remain committed to intersectionality I will apply theories and models to a progressing community in the city of Boston. A critical analysis of the strengths and weakness within each theory related to the specific community will be discussed. I will expose the intersecting layers, allowing for identity development through the lens of the macro social worker. I will begin by discussing my experience through the research process with my team members. After giving a detailed description of the project we can further explore the empowerment theory and systems theory to better explain the development of Dudley Street. The two theories are able to give an understanding of Roxbury’s forward progre...
Youth become homeless for a number of reasons, including: family violence and neglect, rejection due to sexual orientation or gender identity, the overwhelmed child welfare system and extreme poverty. These youth almost always have experienced unimaginable abuse and trauma, in their homes, their communities, and on the street. It is the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RHYA)-funded services and programs that help to rectify the deep injustices that homeless youth experience on a daily basis.
Giffords, E., Alonso, C., & Bell, R. (2007). A Transitional Living Program for Homeless Adolescents: A Case Study. Child & Youth Care Forum, 36(4), 141-151. doi:10.1007/s10566-007-9036-0.
Abuse and neglect are one of the top three leading causes of youth homelessness. “Studies show 70 percent of homeless youth have suffered some form of physical, sexual or emotional abuse”
The simple definition of oppression is the cruel and unfair treatment of an individual or group of people. Oppression can be systemic, meaning it is deliberate, and designed to marginalize a section of people by forever keeping on the outside of society. One such group of people who have been historically and continue to be oppressed are the homeless. According to Johnstone, Jetten, Dingle, Parsell, and Walter (2015), homeless men, women and children are denied basic civil rights even though they are members of society solely because they do not reside in a “home”. The homeless are a vulnerable and victimized population as they experience personal and economic hardship as well as discrimination and exclusion because of their housing status.
When examining the issues with homelessness and in particular youth homelessness one may use Empowerment Theory as well as Political Economy Theory to seek answers to definitive questions. Questions such as are homeless youth empowered? Do they have access to wealth? What about their access to information or their reputation in society? They are not in any decision making positions, they lack a high status, and policies that are created which can affect them rarely take their input into account as they are also unable to vote. They are often on their own with few connections that can help to change their situation. Both a city and a larger state system are struggling to identify with this population and in turn often do not provide the appropriate level of assistance. By social empowerment and understanding the dynamics of political economy theory one can help guide the city and state levels to address the issue of youth homelessness.
The youth homelessness population is increasing because of the many challenges that these children or teens face in everyday life; It also continues getting larger every year because of the many youth who are getting into dangerous situations that force them to be homeless or thru their own choosing. One third of the homeless population is between the ages of 16-24, which is incredibly young and it is the prime years for an adolescent or young adu...
Homeless situations are a concern because there are a number of homeless children in the United States and continues to rise (McDaniel, 2012). Homeless people struggle to survive because they live in housing that is not livable or does not have a home and therefore, they live in cardboard boxes, in the alley, or wherever they can find shelter. In reality, this affects the ability for a
Gattis and Larson suggest, “interested parties could benefit from an improved understanding of the mental health needs of homeless adolescents. This knowledge could be used to identify youths at risk of becoming homeless and to provide appropriate services to those currently homeless” (p. 87). In short, education and knowledge regarding the homelessness in itself can do wonders. The homeless face many hardships including depression, anxiety, PTSD, discrimination, and suicidal thoughts. These are just a few things that homeless people face that the general population don’t take into consideration on a first glance or thought. Intervention and world of mouth will also help, because this is a topic society doesn’t necessary publicize, we don’t know much about it. If this is publicized in a positive way, the motivation and self-esteem from homeless people will also rise. The increase of access to insurance would also help prevent this. In order to get treated for any mental illness they have, they need insurance. With active treatment for a mental illness, this will heighten the likelihood of obtaining a reliable job. Which in turn, will essentially help prevent the homeless from being
Getting an education is essential to becoming a good social worker. Social workers need cultural competency in working with every type of population including people of different ethnicities, race, gender, sexually identity, sexual orientation and socioeconomic status. We also need enough education in order to advocate and be comfortable advocating for our clients. Our LGBT clients go through obstacles that straight people will never have to go to such as fighting for the right to marry, getting picked on in school and trying to prove to people that their sexual orientation is a real thing. The following paragraphs include how articles about the lack of social work education have affected my views about my education and my career.
Based off the attention from modern media, youth homelessness has been on an unfortunate upslope in the United States within the past decade. Various factors tie into why this issue is becoming more prominent such as low income households being unable to afford children, LGBT youth rejection, and domestic abuse leading to children leaving home. Now, vagrancy has a severely negative impact on the development of young people as it inhibits them from developing academically, socially, and mentally and can also expose them to diseases and potentially various types of abuse, such as sexual and substance abuse. This is an issue that should be addressed, for the rising generations are America’s future, and so investing in the overall well-being of the
Another reason I am interested in social work because it allows me to be an advocate. This is something that I took seriously on a personal level in high school. Growing up in rural Southeastern Idaho, many LGBT members of m...
A part of a social worker’s task is to enhance the life of an individual through advocacy, educating, and engagement. Positive influence is benefited through the engagement of the client such as building rapport with the individual. By doing this, the social worker develops trusting ground for the individual delivering the message. Engagement is reported to be an establishment of a professional relationship with a client (Langer & Lietz, 2014). If the process of engagement is not established through security of the client, then therapy cannot begin (Bowlby, 1988). This process is the first encounter you have with the social worker.
Many of these youths are victims of parental abuse, substance abuse, and have mental and/or physical health problems (Cochran et al 2002). Nearly 60% of homeless youth left home because of family conflict, 48.5% left home because of difficulty with a family member, and 14.3% left because of conflict with a family member over sexual orientation. LGBT youths experienced higher rates of physical victimization than their non-LGBT counterparts. LGBT youths had an average of 7.4 more perpetrators of sexual victimization than non-LGBT counterparts and LGBT youths have a higher rate of depressive symptoms. "[LGBT] homeless adolescents experience not only the vulnerabilities, daily difficulties, and survival challenges of living on the street but also the discrimination faced by [LGBT] youth in general," (Cochran et al 2002) meaning, in comparison to their non-LGBT counterparts, homeless LGBT youths have to face the struggles the go along with being homeless but also the struggles of being part of the LGBT community added onto that. In order to cope with the stress that goes hand in hand with this, many turn to substance abuse. When LGBT youth come to terms with their orientation or identity in context with their family, friends, or peers, they are "facing risks of isolation, rejection, and sometimes victimization by others" (Cochran et al 2002). When coming to terms with this while homeless, there are no such networks for potential support available to these youths. Cochran et al (2002) discussed further how homelessness is something that should be prevented as much as possible for LGBT youth. It was recommended that families involved go to therapy to help them come to terms with and accept their child. They also stated that community health programs should recognize that these youth are at higher risks and should assist them, and that overall there