Getting Back to the Roots of Social Work

The La Crosse Area Family Collaborative officially launched back in September.

Source: “http://www.wxow.com/story/30736637/2015/12/13/la-crosse-area-family-collaborative-adds-social-workers-to-neighborhoods”

La Crosse, WI is putting social workers into community neighborhoods as community resources. In my work with minorities and people who need assistance locating beneficial services in the community, this a a great thing to see. It is so challenging sometimes to see how many people do not know that resources in the community exist and specifically for their specific needs.

Most of the people I went to school with are now in private agencies that do not necessarily fulfill the roots of social work and address community needs. I find it very rewarding to be able to volunteer my time to community groups that address economic support, and hunger, and mental health services. I am glad that people are bringing social work back in to areas of the profession that have all but vanished. Such is the case with medical patient advocates. I wanted to be a patient advocate at a children’s hospital because I was a long-term patient in a hospital and there were not enough advocates for the needs of children and their families. When I graduated with my MSW, patient advocate jobs were virtually eliminated. Now you see patient advocates as phone operators in insurance company customer service centers.

You empower people when you allow them to tell their story. Then you provide them the tools to change. It is their choice in how they respond to being given the info and the tools they need but when they know where to go and how to acquire it, you have empowered them to improve their situation.