The place that I chose to do my internship hours is Lutheran Social Service (LSS) Community Care. This organization is located in the area of Long Beach, which is mainly typified by gangs, poverty and unemployment. L.S.S. is a faith based organization and they believe in celebrating the love of Christ for all people through acts of service. LSS is a non-profit social service agency that was stablished in 1946 as part of the Lutheran Service in America (LSA) network. L.S.S. relies heavily on grands and donation form other. Throughout Southern California L.S.S. has reached out to care for the poor, the underserved, and the powerless, regardless of race, religion or sexual orientation. LSS currently has over fifty different program and services …show more content…
Lutheran Social Service at Long Beach Community Care Center serves over 14,000 people each month through a comprehensive emergency assistance program which provides basic immediate needs such as food, clothing, hygiene items, and blankets. My responsibilities at the L.S.S were to do case work and case management with clients requesting services at the L.S.S., as well of client intake. At the point of client intake I assess the client total situation and then appropriate programs or services were offered within the agency or by referral to additional resources in the community. Those served were empowered to resolve their problems and develop long-term solutions to their problems. My duties were overseen by Wendy Rubio who is the Program Coordinator for L.S.S. at Long Beach center. I also assist with maintaining update agency resources and other related duties as …show more content…
Likewise, I also learned the ability to communicate effectively and sensitively with a variety of cultures and background. During my interaction with clients I encounter many clients that were very thankful to know that there is a helping hand available for them that they can count on. Many of the clients I encounter were even tearing-up because L.S.S was able to provide them with the services they much needed to alleviate their currently living situation. For instance, I help this woman who was very much in struggling to make ends-meet. She is currently disabled due to a back surgery hat left her walking to rely on a cane. She came in to L.S.S. for assistance with food and personal hygiene items. However during the intake process I was able to assist her with appropriate programs and services that were offered within the agency, and also by referring her to additional resources in the community. Seen her crying, her expression, her feeling of gratitude and thanking me and the agency for the much need it help provided to her was very overwhelming for me. It was hard not to cry in reaction to her story. But that moment I try not to immerse myself in a client's life story or situation because I was taught that it can become emotionally exhausted for those in
Cultural Competence Understanding culture is an important aspect of being a social worker; this does not mean learning common cultural traits is of great significance to the social work profession. “Consider the second-generation Japanese-American social worker whose practice consists of Mexican-American and African-American families. Memorizing national traits or cultural rituals would be interesting and informative, but ultimately these would be an inaccurate basis on which to “know” these particular families” (Dorfman, 1996, p. 33). When understanding cultural competence, it is important to learn from the client about their culture in order to serve them in the most helpful and efficient way possible. There is a major drawback to memorizing information, and that is, this information will not give you a real understanding of who your client is and what life experiences they have personally faced.
My family, the cultural group and society I belong to has had an effect on who I am so when I have a client, I need look at all those things with my client as well. I have realized the importance of family in who people are. This work has made me aware of the diversity that my country has and a country we should not at one culture has been more superior than another.
My field placement is Social Adult Day center, which is under the network of Hamilton Madison House—a settlement house located in Lower Manhattan. This organization was designed to assist seniors who have physical movement problems or cognitive impairment in learning positive ways to manage their emotional and physical challenges. Specifically, services provided include nutritious meals, cognitive and recreational activities that promote intellectual stimulation and strengthen verbal skills, educational classes such as paper folding and computer. What’s more, bi-lingual as well as bi-cultural social workers dedicatedly work in the organization to offer case management for seniors, building up rapport and trustful relationships, helping them solve issues related to benefits and entitlement and so forth.
One of the things I have learned in my courses is that a helper or social worker can’t help everyone that they encounter. It would be a wonderful thing to do but it doesn’t always work out that way. I know that wanting to help people is important but I also know that it’s important for the client to do their part when it comes to helping and if the client doesn’t want help then I have to accept that and hope that they will want help one day but I also can’t let it stop me from moving onto the next hopeful person who needs help.
A pre-practicum internship can be an extremely beneficial off campus endeavor that one can experience prior to the actual internship. The central rationale of pre-practicum is to add meaning to the educational undertakings of the student. Consequently, it facilitates tangible practices that embolden the association of theory and method. Pre-practicum affords an experiential gathering opportunity for students to relate ideas, information, and services gained in real situations to classroom discussion. It also allows students to assess the personal suitability of a prospective career choice and to develop an awareness of community services, economic underpinnings,
My motivation to be a social worker initially came up by my aunt. Since childhood, I realized that my aunt, a Macanese, was a deaf. Even though our conversation relied on a pen and pieces of paper, we had tight relationship. Unfortunately, my aunt split from his husband spontaneously due to my uncle’s adultery. After that, aunt lost her interest in everything, even making communication with their children. She persistently felt anxious and got hallucination lately. When I was in high school, my aunt was diagnosed as suffering from depression, a seriously one. For quite a long period, my mother stayed at Macau to accompany with my aunt. At that time, I wrote many letters to her on the grounds that I believed words could deliver positive energy. Subsequently, my letters seemed to cut ice with my aunt. She told me that reading my letters could ease her anxiety and enhanced her to stay positive in a day.
I have gained great insight into the roles of services that help people going through a crisis. I work as part of primary working team and my role is to help the primary worker and the associate worker in coming up with a treatment plan for our allocated patient. I regularly attend multi-disciplinary care review meetings where we decide and carry out present care needs, plans, and wishes and identify future input and support, goals and any desired future outcomes for our service users. I work with the other members of staff and outside agencies to promote empowerment, individuality, rights as enshrined by the law, personal responsibilities, self-identity and self-esteem. I work as part of a team including an occupational therapist that puts care plans and assessments into action to help people with basic life skills.
It taught me to be resilient, driven, empathetic towards people facing any challenge, also made me a great listener and a creative problem solver. When I came to the United States, I encountered major cultural and language shock. I barely knew any English nevertheless with hard work and great determination; I was able to significantly improve my English within the first year. I refused to let language barrier come between my dreams, which was and still is becoming a social worker. I continue to set new goals for myself and work hard to achieve them. Growing up in the foster care system will also help me understand the youth and family I will be serving. I believe the crucial qualities I gained through my experience equip me for the social work
I interned as a court advocate and attended court hearings while also working one on one with the client. I felt that this was the real test to see if the passion I’ve always had for helping others could now be applied in the social work profession. After the first month at Haven I was excited because I had finally found a job that I could actually see myself pursuing as a career. Not only has Haven taught me how to implement social policies and work with a variety of clients, but it also has changed me as a person. One of the things I was greatly affected by was trauma stewardship. I would find myself worrying constantly if I did everything correctly, but also replaying the cases in my head. I never really thought about self-care for myself while also helping others. This experience taught me that you have to be really self-aware of your feelings and take care of yourself. Attending weekly debriefing sessions at Haven has helped me greatly. My experience with Haven has also helped me with not only being a better professional but also has allowed me to be more aware of what I’m feeling; something I know that will be paramount when I enter the social work
Learning this competency made me think about what makes a good human service professional and how I measured up. It caused me to look at my life and my experiences and realize how different things could have been for me if I were to have received certain services growing up. I have also learned from my class that all kinds of people from all walks of life, can find a place they are needed in human services.
While volunteering there, I was placed in a local long-term care home for the elderly. This experience was highly beneficial. Working along side, nurses, care aids and other health care professionals was my first view inside the “system”. Volunteering at the Care Home, did not necessarily make up my mind on the field of social work but solidified my desire to work in the field of human services. I learnt from this experience at the hospital how profound my compassion for others truly was. It was not until my first year of college, that I started to volunteer with an organization that I am still with today and absolutely adore volunteering with. That organization is the Vernon Women’s Transition House in Vernon BC. I started off by filling in for employees who met in weekly meetings. While on the floor, I met many women who were in a place of ‘in-between’ and safety. This experience was eye opening. After a brief stay out-of-town, I returned to Vernon and again volunteered with the transition house – this time in another program: Support to Young Parents. This is an incredible housing program where young mothers who have fled abuse (potentially without the resources or parenting skills they truly need) can live long term. This apartment consists of 6 units, with the 7th unit converted into a resource and common space. The program
My strengths definitely stem from my passion about helping others and social work. Becoming a mother and overcoming tough challenges is also a strength of mines. That experience made me stronger and shaped who I am today. I definitely intend to encourage my clients that anything is possible and you can do anything that you set your mind to do. Being around my family and the obstacles that we have overcome has definitely gave me a broader perspective of life and the situations that current that can impacts us in many ways. As a social worker it is important to listen, communicate, build rapport with boundaries with our clients in order to be an effective social worker. Being a social worker requires certain core skills. Many of these I learn during my education and internships, others I have learned from different areas of my life. You are required to orient yourself to the ethical codes for social work in order to provide top-notch services to the people you treat in therapy. You may also find it helpful to understand common elements of good therapy. Certainly there are many different skills and traits that you help you succeed as a social worker. Some of the main skills that will help you in the counseling profession include,
Sharing personal thoughts with the clients helps to set up positive relationships with the clients. Since I’m a generalist social worker in the making I thought that it was important to do a short interview on a person from a different culture in order to better understand that everyone doesn’t come from the same background/culture. It is so important to find and accept your own strengths and areas for growth. Understanding our own cultural history and identity is a prerequisite for culturally sensitive social work. Sophia an Hispanic girl from Spain who came from a different background then I did. She grew up in Spain where she was raised and learned to speak Spanish. She moved to America when she 16 years of age and at that moment she noticed that her life begin to change. She had to learn how to speak a new language all over again. Sophia said that it took her about three years to be able to speak English though she had been speaking Spanish her whole life. She grew up with a family who was really close together and had very strong values and beliefs. Her family was not very friendly, and they didn’t just trust people right off the back. If you weren’t part of the family, then you had to gain trust and that was just that. Unlike when she first moved to US she had to grow to be friendly to those around her at school cause that’s not what she was used
My experience at Youth Outlook has been beneficial when it comes to understanding and implementing what I am learning at Aurora University. Over the last four months at the agency. I have worked with young people who are part of the LGBTQ community who are a large part of my learning experience. Working with these young people has helped me understand vulnerable populations and what is needed to help them overcome the many barriers they face within the school system, community and in their home environments.
My reasoning behind deciding to pursue a career in social work stems from my seemingly innate desire to see others succeed in fulfilling their potential. Although it feels somewhat of a cliché, my passion and desire for the field of social work originates from a genuine desire to make a positive difference in people’s lives. The one thing I have always known I'd like to do with my life is to help people. I'm applying for a job shadowing a social worker because essentially making a difference in people's lives is the most important aspect of a future career for me, than any other. This is certainly an area I would like to gain more knowledge of.