Coming into this course there were certain elements of the course content that I have experienced in the past, or are ongoing experiences, that I have had the opportunity to further reflect on with the aid of the course readings and in-class discussions; there were some elements I did not know about or had not really thought about in this practical way before this course and have added to my social work toolbox; and there were some elements that I already knew of and furthered and/or clarified my knowledge and understanding throughout the semester. I have used these three components to explore how my perceptions of involuntary clients and my practice in this area have evolved because of this course.
A. Elements of the course content that I …show more content…
My experiences with this has occurred while working with the Centre de Réadaptation de l 'Ouest de Montréal (CROM) and at the Immigrant Workers Center (IWC). At CROM I had a family who required educational support services that exceeded what CROM could offer but could be found through their local CLSC. I sent the client over to the CLSC with the appropriate forms filled out and a contact person; she was rejected and told that the service was not available for her. She came back to me with this information; I followed up with the CLSC social worker who told me that the client had to register with them first. After I explained that the family had registered with that particular CLSC nearly three years a go and that particular social worker referred the family to us for services and the file had her name on it, the social worker told me that the family was my problem now. I explained that it does not work that way. CROM offers a number of services but it is up to the CLSC to fill the gaps so I was sending the family back for a particular services that I know they offer. …show more content…
There are many forces – institutional, economic, political, ideological, and historical- that continue to be obstacles to the achievement of a truly empowering practice” (p. 365). I have been in Quebec for nearly 4-years and in my experiences in Montreal, as a McGill student, as a social worker, and as a volunteer in my community, we are coached to believe that advocacy is an integral function of social work. However, the remnants of the history of Quebec (political, economical, religious, language wars, and health care policies) are our greatest barriers to putting this knowledge and learning into practice. Even within my current placement at the IWC, where we work as community activists, our advocacy role is limited to how and when the supervisor tells us we can participate, with whom, how, and for how long; advocacy without free will is not true
A. Elements of the course content that I …show more content…
My experiences with this has occurred while working with the Centre de Réadaptation de l 'Ouest de Montréal (CROM) and at the Immigrant Workers Center (IWC). At CROM I had a family who required educational support services that exceeded what CROM could offer but could be found through their local CLSC. I sent the client over to the CLSC with the appropriate forms filled out and a contact person; she was rejected and told that the service was not available for her. She came back to me with this information; I followed up with the CLSC social worker who told me that the client had to register with them first. After I explained that the family had registered with that particular CLSC nearly three years a go and that particular social worker referred the family to us for services and the file had her name on it, the social worker told me that the family was my problem now. I explained that it does not work that way. CROM offers a number of services but it is up to the CLSC to fill the gaps so I was sending the family back for a particular services that I know they offer. …show more content…
There are many forces – institutional, economic, political, ideological, and historical- that continue to be obstacles to the achievement of a truly empowering practice” (p. 365). I have been in Quebec for nearly 4-years and in my experiences in Montreal, as a McGill student, as a social worker, and as a volunteer in my community, we are coached to believe that advocacy is an integral function of social work. However, the remnants of the history of Quebec (political, economical, religious, language wars, and health care policies) are our greatest barriers to putting this knowledge and learning into practice. Even within my current placement at the IWC, where we work as community activists, our advocacy role is limited to how and when the supervisor tells us we can participate, with whom, how, and for how long; advocacy without free will is not true