Knowing Your Limits

In the helping profession, it can be easy to become burnt out if you are not careful. My field placement can be intense and chaotic, and if you do not know your limits, you may find yourself not being so empathic as you would like. One lesson I have learned over the past month is that there will be different outside stressors impacting your days at work and at home throughout your life. Understanding what you need to keep moving forward is vital.
For myself, I need friends around me for psychological, interpersonal encouragement. I do not do well when I go home and am isolated from others. I also need to be physically active and relaxed. When I sit around, I feel lazy and unproductive. Exercise also boosts endorphins! These are great to have when you work with people and their problems all day.
Because my field work can be so intense, I have seen how much I can handle each day. I subconsciously serve my friends in a social worker sense when I go home at night, and this can be a strain after working doing the same with strangers all day. Some may choose to work in less intense environments; some may decide to do that "helping" job part time. What are your limits?

My Race?

This post can take two different directions. One, what race you would describe yourself to be ethnically; and two, what race you are running in life.

How would you describe your race? This is a question we ask every consumer while we complete our intake form. Today a woman responded to me by saying "human". So true, yet so politically incorrect. Sometimes it frustrates me that I have to ask everyone this question, when we serve each of them with the same empathy and funding regulations. Why does it really matter? Why do we need to know their race? Do we really need to track what ethnicities are coming in? Yes, it is interesting to watch the demographics, but is it really necessary?

Now in terms of running that race in life.... What is my passion? What do I want to do? Who do I want to serve? Am I being true to myself in my daily activities? Balance in responsibilities and relaxation is important, and it is easy to become overloaded as a social worker trying to help everyone with whom they are working. Where am I looking for my race training? Who is/are my cheerleaders? How can I cheer others on in their life races?

Children

This week I have encountered a couple situations where I was talking to a (single) mom over the phone and I could hear multiple children in the background screaming and claiming for the mom's attention. Even as I was the person on the other side of the phone, I could feel the stress and pressure these women must have been feeling. It is so hard to hear and concentrate on the thing you're trying to work on when you have others fighting for your attention and direction.

One of the services that often becomes necessary for consumers at my field placement is childcare. Another issue that arises with that need is finances. The people we work with are low or no income, and have difficulty accesssing services to help them pursue work, affordable housing, etc. Too often we overlook the many challenges they face in their daily life and we should encourage them in the efforts we see them making while coming to us for assistance.

Social Justice

What is social justice? In one of my graduate classes, we have been discussing how we define social justice and what issues we are specifically motivated to work on. If we were to describe social justice in one word it could be:

• humane


• respect


• equity


• equality


• redistribution


• transformative


• access


• etc.

At my field placement the other day, a few of us talked about how "extreme" we might go to be equally accessible to all people. One issue that we focused on was if a person was unable to read. Would we put up a red sign to say we were closed and a green one to say we were open? Are we right to assume that everyone can read numbers (times of service)?

I think that in all of this it is important for us to look at who our target group is and make changes based on those demographics as well as what suggestions those people may have. As social workers, we want to help people, but we also need to be reminded that community-based ideas may work better in the long run than pushing our personal agendas.

Blueprint to End Homelessness...?

So, my field placement is a part of a community where we have a "blueprint to end homelessness". You have no idea how difficult it is to actually implement. People become homeless everyday. As we talk about eliminating the word "shelter" from our vocabulary, I wonder what individuals and families are going to do when they need a place to stay and we have shelter for them. Yes, we want to help people establish more sustainable living situations, but it is not an easy fix. What can be done to empower people and decrease homelessness without taking away the services? I believe that part of this coalition to end homelessness is the desire to stop the cycle of poverty that we see in our communities. We want to truly help, not rescue people in their crises. "Rescuing" helps short-term, but does not take into consideration what other factors are ultimately impacting the situation. Long-term sustainability is key. While offering a financial amount to prevent eviction is needed, it may not always keep the consumer from falling back into that same dilemma again.

Where is the Love?

As social workers we talk a great deal about helping people. However, we all can also say that each of us has encountered at least one angry consumer when we told them we could not help them with their specific need. While it is important to abide by your agency's stipulations, I believe it can be easy to push people away when their situation does not match up properly with what you offer. Where is the love in that? Sometimes we feel burnt out with all of the people with crises flying at us. Deep down we want to help, but taking that extra step to advocate for a need that we don't advertize can be challenging. I ask myself at times like these if I am looking at that person as another intake form or a real, struggling individual. Is my empathy forced or transparent? Looking at social services in general, are we truly putting ourselves out there to serve people? Or are pushing our own agenda? Is it structured to be accessible to those in need? Where is the love?

Chronic Homelessness

This week I met with a consumer who has been homeless for many years. He comes to our agency continually seeking assistance for moving in to a home, bus tokens, etc. It was difficult for me working with this man as I wasn't sure if he was telling me the truth about his situation, or even if he was completely "with it" cognitively. He talked about how his money and ID kept getting stolen, and he could not provide any sort of documentation about income even though he talked about it. He gets angry very quickly, even if you are simply reflecting feelings with him and trying to summarize what he is asking. I learned very rapidly that I needed to directly address what he was asking for and not focus so much on empathizing like we typically do.

Once I closed the counseling session with this individual, I took a step back and realized that I had never really believed that anyone could be chronically homeless. It's not a pretty idea! I would rather prefer to think that the services in place help to eliminate that kind of lifestyle. Unfortunately, it is a painful reality. Many people are unable to secure a sustainable living environment due to mental, physical, or financial reasons. What can be done to help these people?

What's Going On?

It breaks my heart that an 18 year old would be pregnant and looking for shelter. I talked to a girl in this situation on the phone today who sounded so unsure of what she needed to do. I can just imagine the thoughts going through her head. "How did this happen? What am I going to do? What's going on?" No matter what age you are, having a housing crisis is stressful and overwhelming. Just the same, I have an extra burden for those 21 and younger as life is just beginning for them. They're still learning how to live and what they value. It doesn't seem fair.

But, is life really fair? Is it supposed to be?

What's the End Goal?

Today I had a discussion with my supervisor about ethics and social justice. We have heard talk about how we should "work ourselves out of a job" as social workers, and wonder if we really take that seriously as professionals. For instance, homelessness is a huge issue that is yet to be resolved. Are we truly trying to help consumers get out of that situation, or are we using a blanket solution approach?
Looking at the various funding and qualifying stipulations agencies I have to work with, it seems that a great deal of power for these human service needs is in the hands of legislators. An issue with this is that there are varying opinions and definitions of what social justice is. Different political parties will have opposing views of what policy should look like as well. In advocating for our issues, are we being effective? Are we listening to what others are saying? REALLY listening?
It is also interesting to consider how consumers' personal motivation, sense of responsibility, etc. plays a part in how effective our service to them is. Even if the perfect solution to homelessness (or whatever else the issue may be) is found and implemented, the end result is largely dependent on their attitude and actions.

I need empathy too!

I love working with people. I really do. But sometimes it's just too much. As the saying goes; when it rains, it pours. This weekend I found that I was up to my ears in listening to the problems of those around me and didn't know where to turn to get some empathy for my own stresses. Where's the social worker for the social workers?
My internship is great at doing empathy with consumers. They also stress the importance of us processing with one another so that we don't hold on to frustrating/straining situations. The hard thing is what to do when we need to process personal life stresses. Especially when you seem to be the one that your friends turn to when they need a listening ear! Hopefully it's a two-way street with at least one of those friends... and how much of your personal life is professionally appropriate to share with co-workers/supervisors?

Youth and Values

Lately I have been impacted by encounters I've had working with women facing homelessness/eviction. It breaks my heart to see girls 18-21 with at least one child and not enough support to live successfully. I am so glad to see that those women know that they can seek assistance for housing from my agency, but sometimes it is very hard for me to relate to them and their situations. There are times I wonder what their family situations were as they were growing up that influenced the decisions they made. What do they value? What did their family value?
It really hit me hard this week when I was working with a girl whose situation doesn't fit our funding requirements. I had to tell her that we couldn't help her and tried to brainstorm other options with her. I think I made her cry. Why is it like this?

Is it Rescuing or Helping?

As paperwork and funding policies are changing, we all have to learn/relearn how to go about working with the consumers and their crises. It used to be that if they provided proper documentation, etc. we would help inviduals with up to a certain amount, and families such and such. Now the way it is working, we are having to go deeper with people and find out if their situations are really sustainable. Are we rescuing them from that one particular crisis or are we truly helping them in the long run as they face the future? I am personally finding it difficult to deal with people in this way because some of them may be working really hard to do what they can to prevent eviction from their homes, but it isn't enough for us to financially assist them. We are basically put in a position to judge whether their situation is worth helping to improve. If life was perfect, we say we would help everyone. But if you go deeper and consider the potential consequences, would we? Do you want to help someone who is going to stay in the rut they are in due to their personal life choices? Hopefully this new method of working with consumers will help us to truly empower people and hand them the reins of changing their future.

Week Two

This week in field I got to meet with some consumers in person, answer phones, and do follow up surveys. The experience that sticks out to me took place on Monday, when I was meeting people directly.

This case dealt with a woman who had all of the paperwork she needed and was ready for us to do our part in helping her financially. Through my dialogue with her I learned that we had already assisted her in getting to the point of sustaining her housing by suggesting she call legal aid. We encourage consumers to make goals such as finding/holding on to work, developing positive relationships with landlords, etc. She's also seeking grief counseling on her own initiative. As I was working with her in signing the remaining forms, I mentioned to her that I may be going about it more slowly because I want to make sure that everything is taken care of. She was so kind and said, "all I know is that a really nice lady in gray helped me". (I was wearing a gray sweater).

It continues to amaze me how positive people can be when they are facing crises. Many of the people I see at my internship are like this, and there is also a good portion of people who are more negative in their interactions and response to the trials they face. I know where my strength and encouragement comes from, and sometimes I wonder if I should "wonder" more with people about their values.

Week One

After my first semester of graduate social work field work last semester, I decided that I wanted to better keep track of the experiences and lessons I have. This term I am going to try doing that through blogging. (I guess I'm on a blogging kick right now. lol)

Last week I had an interesting encounter on the bus as I was on my way home from class. Due to seeing seats in the back and wanting to leave room in the front for others, I ended up sitting in the back. When I got back there a man (who later told me he was 48) said Happy New Year to me and I returned the greeting. I had my earbuds on, listening to my music, and assumed that he would let me sit and enjoy that during my ride. But, no.
This man proceeded to tell me about how he had a really nice house and two cars and all he needed was a woman. I just nod politely and continue to listen to my music. He goes on to talk about how his wife wanted a Mustang and he got it for her - at this point he starts to tear up - and then she died in her sleep from internal bleeding. He was very emotional and had to stop a couple times due to his tears. Before it was time for me to get off the bus he tells me that the guy I marry will take care of me. I was just like "thank you". This whole time he kept saying how all he needed in a woman was to take care of the house while he worked. As he talked to me I kept thinking about how he seemed to be searching for fulfillment in life and thought that a woman would give that feeling of wholeness. I guess all he needed on that bus ride was someone to listen. Thank you empathy training from internship last semester!