STUDENT REPLIES

STUDENT REPLY #1 Kenisha Parker

There was so much history about social work in this week’s reading. It was very interesting to learn that unemployment insurance, disability pay, worker compensation, and social security were all brought to the forefront because of social workers. (Social Work History) (2023) Social Work History (socialworkers.org) Links to an external site. I have always been aware of the people who were less fortunate than I and I always wanted to do more to help them overcome the issues that caused them to need assistance. The social work population I want to focus on is the elderly and children, who I feel are some of the most vulnerable and overlooked in our society. The laws that were designed to help the children and elderly also hurt them. I can remember when my grandmother, who was retired and living on a fixed income, needed assistance with food. She received $10.00 a month in food stamps. Everyone knows that is impossible to live off that amount. It is so true in the saying that history repeats itself. The recent pandemic food lines reminded me of the soup lines from The Great Depression era. Each group within our political system has made some strides with different issues, but there is still a long way to go. We should visit our past and focus on keeping what worked back then, just updating it. We need more Hull Houses and communities to combat homelessness in our county. Our current economy is also making it hard for people just to make ends meet. As one of the richest countries in the world, we have a lot to learn about the meaning of social work, and how to stop history from repeating again and again. The way some of the children are treated in the system is a social injustice. Advocating is just as important as social justice. I want to advocate for the children specifically in the foster care system. Their lives are hard enough to have to experience the feeling of lack. My goal for this population is to create more programs that will help fill in the gaps or lack. For instance, to create a program for seniors to have like a surrogate grandchild or family. There are so many seniors who have lost families due to death or other things and just need companionship. I could go on and on about all the programs that I would like to get started. Social workers think in terms of a responsibility both to improve conditions for clients and to advance opportunities for other people facing similar struggles and problems. (p 58) Cox, L. E., Tice, C. J., & Long, D. D. (2019).

Reference

National Association of Social Workers (NASW). (2021).

Cox, L. E., Tice, C. J., & Long, D. D. (2019). Introduction to social work: An advocacy-based profession (2nd ed.). SAGE Publications, Inc.

STUDENT REPLY #2 Jessica Franks

The population of whom I would want to work with is the Mental Health Population. After dealing closely and personally with my own experience of dealing with a loved one who deals with Mental Health, wanted to dig deeper into Mental Health itself. As dealing with Mental Health professionally and personally, The History of Social Work references my population most in needing someone to advocate for them when people are unable to advocate for themselves.

After reading Advocacy in Social Work, Mental Health and Advocacy go hand and hand. People who are unable to make decisions for themselves have loved ones who are able to take on the caregiver role and ensure that their needs are being met. Depending on the person’s diagnosis/disability, that caregiver will need to know, what medications they are taking, how those medications make them feel, the frequency, who is the Doctor and do they listen to their concerns.

The Mission of Social Work aligns with the Goals of being an advocate for those who are unable to advocate for themselves and their families. The goal for me is to make sure that people are aware of the resources out here and make sure that adults or children are aware because they may have a disability and may be ashamed of the stigma that comes with having a diagnosis, that it is plenty of resources out here for them. As I work with children and Families, I am an advocate for children who are in foster care, especially when it comes to children who have diagnoses. I am always asking questions and looking up the medications that the doctors may offer. My job is to ensure that children and adults are aware of their diagnoses, and triggers and being able to manage being able to manage their mental health.