Homelessness occurs when limited resources cover only a small portion of the necessities that are essential to survive in today’s society. Many people who experience homelessness find it difficult to pay for health care, education, food, and clothing. However, housing is the expense that absorbs most people’s income; therefore, for many, it is the necessity that is most commonly relinquished. While facilitating people into a life of self-sufficiency, human service workers need to utilize specific interpersonal skills and possess the personal and professional qualities that are necessary to successfully work with this population. Interpersonal skills are abilities that are utilized every day to effectively communicate and interact with
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Empathy is one of the most important characteristics of social workers and a personal quality that helps clients feel as though their situation is relatable on some level. The vast majority of people experiencing homelessness are in a state of crisis and emotional distress. As a result, they often experience loss of self-esteem and self-identity they may have owned prior to homelessness (Dykeman, 2011, p. 33). This type of crisis means social workers must be able to offer a caring, understanding approach to service delivery. Another personal quality that is just as important as one’s empathy is one’s ability to be objective. When working with this population, one must maintain the ability to remain impartial instead of allowing their personal feelings to override their ability to make informed decisions regarding the client’s circumstances. Ultimately, it is the duty of the social worker to remove personal biases and tend to the social needs of the client (Dykeman, 2011, p. …show more content…
A strength-based approach means being able to emphasize the client’s positive qualities such as abilities, knowledge and objectives the client may already own and use them toward helping the client transition into self-sufficiency effectively (McClam & Woodside, 2012, p. 12). It is important to utilize this approach because it focuses on the positive attributes of the client which in turn, causes them to see strengths they may never have known they had. Furthermore, it opens the gateway to seeing potential options they may have been unaware of
Empathy is one of the most important characteristics of social workers and a personal quality that helps clients feel as though their situation is relatable on some level. The vast majority of people experiencing homelessness are in a state of crisis and emotional distress. As a result, they often experience loss of self-esteem and self-identity they may have owned prior to homelessness (Dykeman, 2011, p. 33). This type of crisis means social workers must be able to offer a caring, understanding approach to service delivery. Another personal quality that is just as important as one’s empathy is one’s ability to be objective. When working with this population, one must maintain the ability to remain impartial instead of allowing their personal feelings to override their ability to make informed decisions regarding the client’s circumstances. Ultimately, it is the duty of the social worker to remove personal biases and tend to the social needs of the client (Dykeman, 2011, p. …show more content…
A strength-based approach means being able to emphasize the client’s positive qualities such as abilities, knowledge and objectives the client may already own and use them toward helping the client transition into self-sufficiency effectively (McClam & Woodside, 2012, p. 12). It is important to utilize this approach because it focuses on the positive attributes of the client which in turn, causes them to see strengths they may never have known they had. Furthermore, it opens the gateway to seeing potential options they may have been unaware of