Discuss why you want to be a social worker. What personal, academic, volunteer and/or work experiences have influenced this choice? If you have worked in other fields, please discuss the reasons for this change.
Helping people, is why most people say they would like to be a Social Worker and quite frankly its starting to sound a little cliché. However, it is something that I have always been passionate about. As a young woman, I dreamed of opening a nonprofit facility for young people in need. I never accomplished that goal nevertheless, I did find other ways to help people like, when I started my career in 1998. Back then, I traveled to Upstate NY Prison Facilities to provide HIV education as well as, HIV Counseling and Testing to inmates. …show more content…
For example, I worked with a client who had 5 children, was HIV positive and not receiving medical care. She refused to work with any other Case Manager in the past and was resistant to any type of services. I made my first home visit with her and was shocked by the condition her home was. There were young adult children who were not working or attending school along with, teenage high school drop outs. There were also small children living in the home who suffered from Asthma. This was concerning because the home smelled like cigarette and Marijuana smoke. Furthermore, there were two pit balls in the living in the apartment. The client who I will call C. Rivera was resisted to help in the beginning. She missed all of her scheduled medical appointments and was not taking medication. Her appearance was so slim that it was alarming. None of these things deterred me, I was persistent with Ms. Rivera. I continued to make home visits and continued to engage her. Finally, Ms. Rivera begins to trust me and realize that I only had her wellbeing in mind and was non-judgmental. Once she came to that realization she allowed me to schedule a medical appointment for her and accompany her to that appointment. She also allowed me to assist her children. I assisted her teenage daughter with applying for a G. E. D …show more content…
First, I am currently working with people who have a history of chronic homelessness. Through my work, I have come to realize that in most cases people who have a history of chronic homelessness have also been diagnosed with a mental illness. Additionally, the issue of mental illness affects me on a professional and personal level. This is because my clients have all been diagnosed with a mental health disorder. My uncle has struggled with Paranoid Schizophrenia for most of his life, as well. That being said, my second concern is, that we are not treating the underlining issue that has contributed to the homeless problem in New
Helping people, is why most people say they would like to be a Social Worker and quite frankly its starting to sound a little cliché. However, it is something that I have always been passionate about. As a young woman, I dreamed of opening a nonprofit facility for young people in need. I never accomplished that goal nevertheless, I did find other ways to help people like, when I started my career in 1998. Back then, I traveled to Upstate NY Prison Facilities to provide HIV education as well as, HIV Counseling and Testing to inmates. …show more content…
For example, I worked with a client who had 5 children, was HIV positive and not receiving medical care. She refused to work with any other Case Manager in the past and was resistant to any type of services. I made my first home visit with her and was shocked by the condition her home was. There were young adult children who were not working or attending school along with, teenage high school drop outs. There were also small children living in the home who suffered from Asthma. This was concerning because the home smelled like cigarette and Marijuana smoke. Furthermore, there were two pit balls in the living in the apartment. The client who I will call C. Rivera was resisted to help in the beginning. She missed all of her scheduled medical appointments and was not taking medication. Her appearance was so slim that it was alarming. None of these things deterred me, I was persistent with Ms. Rivera. I continued to make home visits and continued to engage her. Finally, Ms. Rivera begins to trust me and realize that I only had her wellbeing in mind and was non-judgmental. Once she came to that realization she allowed me to schedule a medical appointment for her and accompany her to that appointment. She also allowed me to assist her children. I assisted her teenage daughter with applying for a G. E. D …show more content…
First, I am currently working with people who have a history of chronic homelessness. Through my work, I have come to realize that in most cases people who have a history of chronic homelessness have also been diagnosed with a mental illness. Additionally, the issue of mental illness affects me on a professional and personal level. This is because my clients have all been diagnosed with a mental health disorder. My uncle has struggled with Paranoid Schizophrenia for most of his life, as well. That being said, my second concern is, that we are not treating the underlining issue that has contributed to the homeless problem in New