I had the opportunity to spend my service learning hours with an amazing young lady by the name of Paige. Paige is 25 years old and has a twin brother and a younger brother who she recently lost to suicide. She came into this world prematurely, 3 months before her due date and weighed 1 pound 12 ounces. From birth Paige had complications she almost lost her life and required open heart surgery at 3 days old. Throughout her life she has needed 19 surgeries on her legs, back and arms. Paige has Cerebral Palsy. Paige is a very quiet person, she prefers to keep to herself and does not care much for conversation. I have noticed throughout the years that when first meeting Paige people tend to take this offensive but she gets intimidated and …show more content…
overwhelmed which causes her to shut down and stop talking. She comes from a small town, has few friends, and spends the majority of her time in her small room. She does not get many opportunities to socialize and do the things she really enjoys doing. Paige loves the grocery store Winco and asks to go there everytime she comes to visit me. She gets to load up on all her favorite candy because her mom isn’t around to say no. Target and Bath and Body Works are her two favorite stores to shop at so we went shopping at both after we were done at Winco. One of her most favorite places to go that we haven’t been to in a while is a place called Kitty City. It is located in the Humane Society of Utah. She loves visiting the cats there so we go sit in the rooms where she can play with them, pet them, and brush them. She grins ear to ear the entire time. I think this is my favorite place to take her. She doesn’t have to worry about being stared at or having to talk if she chooses not to, she can just enjoy the cats and have a little break from it all. We had the chance to go eat at Olive Garden, she loves the food there but doesn’t get to go often. My sister and I fit in a quick trip to a get her a cell phone, she was a little hesitant to get one because her left hand tightens up and she isn’t able to use it well. I reassured her that if it doesn’t work out we can try something else until we find what works for her. This was her first cell phone, I hope it all works out for her as it was meant more for independance not frustration. Our very last adventure was seeing the Minions movie, she had been wanting to see it sense the first day it came out but had no one to go with so I got to accompany her. The smile on her face was huge. I cherish the time I have with paige and in order to take her to the places she enjoys I have to face some of my own fears.
Seeing the smile on her face and the happiness in her voice makes my battles worth it. She wore a smile so big I think her cheeks probably hurt! She has not have much to smile about lately so it was exciting and special to me to have this time with her. I enjoyed seeing her get out of her house and experiencing life. While at the Kitty City she expressed an interest in volunteering at shelter, so we talked to a staff member and got some information for her to take home and think about. As our time came to an end we had to say our goodbyes but before we part ways her brother brings me a bag telling me it was from Paige before they drive away. She had bought me a thank you gift and I had no idea that she had. It was an unnecessary yet very sweet gesture. Some of the concepts I learned while spending time with Paige is that people with disabilities are amazing. They have so much to offer and teach others if they were just allowed to. Society needs to realize that people with disabilities feel the same, think the same, and have the same needs and desires as people without disabilities. However, until society gets over its fears we must educate and bring an awareness to the abilities that people with disabilities have to offer. Paige and I have already planned our next girls weekend and I have a little surprise in store for
her.
The theory used for this case study was effective, because it was able to get P to recognise that change need to occur so the support that she received would be effective. Reflecting on action the outcome of the assessment and intervention that was applied to P’s case I used supervision and to discuss concerns I had regarding this family with my PS. Supervision helped me establish my concerns and areas I required further support in application to theory in evidence based practice ‘blind self’.
Kirst-Ashman, K. K., & Hull, G. H., Jr. (2012). Understanding generalist practice (6th ed.). Belmont, CA:
“All of us are born for a reason, but all of us don’t discover why. Success has nothing to do with what you gain in life or accomplish for yourself. It’s what you do for others,” said Danny Thomas, founder of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. That concept inspires people daily to do better for others. Some people are so passionate about helping others that they make a career out of it. Family social work is one of the most well-known jobs for helping people. Being a family social worker provides not only self-satisfaction through helping others, but also helps many families overcome their problems.
I contacted the Department of Social Services in Wilson, North Carolina to set up an interview with Riley Hottovy, who is an Alternative Services Social Worker with a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW). The building was fairly easy to locate, and it was not far from Barton, on Gold Street. It is a large brown and tan building with a generous sized parking lot and walkway up to the building. I walked up to the front desk with a notebook and pencil in hand. I explained to the woman working behind the desk that I had an appointment with Mr. Hottovy, and we talked a moment about the reason for the visit (she noticed I was carrying a notebook and guessed I was a student). She then took my information and asked me to have a seat while she called Mr. Hottovy.
Working with others and improving own learning and performance are highly essential skills in social work. In this essay I will reflect on how well I have developed these two skills and what I need to do to improve them.
Today, many single mothers are dependent on the welfare system, and low wage employment as a source of earnings to help support their families. It is very hard for some of these mothers to survive and make ends meet within this critical element. Some of these mothers do not only depend on assistance from welfare to feed their families, and the income that they receive from the government is usually not enough to support their basic needs and their family’s needs. Some mothers also have sick children and Medicaid that they receive does not cover all their health expenses.
Research is a necessity when it comes to providing services. Social Workers need it to be able to determine their clients ' needs, to see what resources/services they have access to and if their client doesn 't have much access where can they get it. Research is also used to see how effective an intervention is and whether it would be a right fit for their clients. It provides social service agents with ways to identify problems within their clients, communities, organizations, and the government. Also it helps them to create ways to aid in effective change. It is very beneficial when a social worker needs to "assess the needs and resources of people in their environments, evaluate the effectiveness of social work services in meeting people
This experience showed me that sometimes the children you least expect are the ones that need the most help. When my group first walked into the center a girl came up to me and gave me a big hug. I thought this was going to be the child that I would spend the most time with and have become my buddy. As the week progressed, I realized she did this with every group that came into volunteer. She was this kind to every stranger that volunteered. I also talked with another girl that was in a horrible accident when she was younger. She was quieter than most of the other children in the facility. She had scars on her face, and was not good at sports or other physical activities like everyone else. This girl reminded me of myself. I have a scar on my face from when I was younger also. It makes me sad that I did not take the time to get to know her as much as I should have. I did not realize she was my God sighting until it was the last day for us to be at this location. I wish I could meet with her again and see how she is doing. On the last day, as our group was leaving for the last time, I told this girl that she was beautiful no matter what anyone said and I gave her a bracelet of mine. Her face lit up and she gave me a hug. This is something I will never forget. I enjoyed working with these
Over the course of the semester, I have learned a variety of many things regarding social work. These things vary from learning how to help oneself to understanding how to help others. Not only were the textbooks very useful, but also the materials that furthered this textbook learning. The in class presentation, activities, and guest speakers gave us insight and a different perspective on the material we were learning. I feel like this course has given me a good foundation and prepared me as a future social worker (1).
families, and communities to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social workers are change agents and because of that, they aim to help people develop their skills and abilities to use resources provided to them to strengthen and improve their lives and communities to resolve problems. One of the main goal of social workers is to improve the well-being and lives of the most vulnerable populations, fight against poverty, unemployment, domestic violence and the underserviced population by emphasizing on the person-in-environment and social justice model. The social work profession, considerers the individuals’ internal and external struggles, while working with the individuals to examine their relationships, family, work environment, community, and other things that might impact them and identify ways to help address problems and challenges.
The article that stuck out to me the most from this week’s readings was Naming Privilege in a Justice-Centered Social Work Practice. My main career goal is to work in an adult psychiatric or crisis ward in a hospital, so the experiences discussed in the reading seemed to speak to me more than I imagined readings on diversity would. I feel like part of being a social worker is to be empathetic and helpful to all people, even when we are aware that a client may line up with a bias that we understand we hold. The way the student in the article spoke about the man who came into the ER appalled me. A social worker should not hold judgment, and actively discriminate against, their client. I understand that no one is perfect, and venting about the
The end of the semester has arrived and with it comes time for reflection. This semester has had many ups and downs. However, one thing is for sure: it was a fantastic first semester of college.
The first time I ever picked up the Bible I remember reading about Adam and Eve. They were the first humans ever created by God. They were in nature “pure”. God told Adam before Eve was created that he was not to eat of the tree of good and evil. After that, God warned that in the day he did eat of that tree man would surely die. After Eve was created Satan changed into a serpent to tempt her. He told her that God had lied to her. He said that she wouldn't die, in fact, she would become like God. She would know everything, just as God does. Eve allowed herself to be deceived. After she took that bite she sealed the fate of all mankind. However we were not doomed yet. Even after being kicked out of the garden we still had God on our side. He gave us Jesus Christ. Who went through so much pain and torment in order to save us for the mistake Adam and Eve made. I know so much pain and suffering in the world and I wonder where it originated. How do I escape from the sin of the world and be safe. The answer came in the healing and powerful words of the bible. My pastor read me my favorite scripture of the bible a long time ago. I will never forget it. “And the LORD God said, [It is] not good that the man should be alone; I will make him and help meet for him.” (Genesis; chapter two). I wondered was alone in my struggle. I had figured that I would be fighting alone. God would never leave or forsake us. I learned this the hard way.
The social work profession is defined as “a practice-based profession and an academic discipline that promotes social change and development, social cohesion, and the empowerment and liberation of people (ISFW, ‘Global Definition of Social Work’, 2016).” The definition may be true about the profession but it is more in depth than just that. To me, the profession’s primary focus is to help others through life as much as we can while letting them make their own choices and guiding them. In society, social workers are utilized in many different nonprofit and government roles. They serve the community in many different ways from monitoring parent visits to helping people through mental illnesses. Human beings are so complex and things that happen
I have always grown up in a more ‘normal’ setting and seeing people with disabilities was something that was rare to me. When I was younger, my thoughts on people with disabilities were that they could only be physically seen, nothing else (mentally, intellectually, etc.). As I reached middle school, I realized how broad the world is and how many ways people were affected by disabilities. Some of them led a more normal life and some have a harder time adjusting. Just seeing and reading how so many are affected and how harder it is for them really opened up my mind and allowed me to have a wider perception of how broad things are in the world.