Reflection Paper On Advocacy

Homelessness has been an issue of much dispute throughout time, regardless of whether it is in present day Portland, Maine or in the ancient city of Rome, Italy. People have been trying to aid the wanderers for a very long time, but clearly, have never found a good solution to the problem. People are sick and tired of walking out of their door in the morning and finding a vagrant, still reeking of alcohol which they purchased with a good Samaritan’s donation, on their stoop. The people fortunate enough to have a home and a good job should not have to suffer when they walk down the street past hobos begging for a few dollars. It is not fair that the wealthy have to interact with the dregs of society on a

The “Grand Challenges for Social Work” are important because they promote: the well-being of people and families, a strong social fabric, and a just society that fights exclusion and marginalization, creating a sense of belonging, promoting trust, and offers pathways for social and economic progress (“American Academy of Social Work & Social Welfare”, 2017). The 12 Grand Challenges help continue the transformation of society through social work. As a social worker, you are put able to make changes in the lives of those who need help, and the presented issue needs help. As stated in the Preamble of the Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers, “The primary mission of the social work profession is to enhance human well-being

Enforcement of “quality of life” ordinances related to public activities and hygiene (e.g. public urination) when no public facilities are available to people without housing.

The NASW Standards for Cultural Competence addresses the standard of empowerment and advocacy, which I find both reassuring and admirable, because, as a social worker becomes more culturally aware of their clients, they need to have the desire to ensure equality for all of them. From the text, social workers become specialists in understanding the effects of demeaning social policies against their clients, where they find the medium between aiding in producing positive change without imposing their own beliefs. Mastery of this standard requires the cohesion between a social worker and client to seek minimal changes in social policies to prove that advocacy imposes change before shifting towards revolutionizes social policies and laws.

The goal of a social worker is to help others in tackling whatever problems they are currently facing and pairing them with the appropriate resources needed so that they can lead a productive and healthy life. A social worker lives by a strong value system that is referred to as social justice. According to the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), “Social justice is the view that everyone deserves equal economic, political, and social rights and opportunities,” (2015, para. 2). Paul Loeb, author of the book Soul of a Citizen, writes moving stories of ordinary people who inspire others to want to be better citizens. This paper will be a reflection on how the book made me feel, the affect it has had on my formation as a social worker, any experiences I have had in social justice advocacy and what vision I have of myself as a social justice social worker.

Homelessness seems to constantly trigger debates among our society. It has since caused a complex social problem between U.S. citizens and multiple cities worldwide. Cities across the nation have passed a law that criminalizes the act of feeding the homeless, has restricted simple acts of compassion, and have required the purchase of permits to utilize public areas. According to Robbie Couch,” The outlet reports that, incredibly, at least 33 municipal bans on publicly handing out food have been enacted across the U.S. between January 2013 and April 2014, reflecting a sharp increase in communities with such restrictions…. This past February, Columbia S.C., began requiring groups of 25 people or more to purchase permits allowing them to utilize the city’s parks.” I know many will probably agree and say something along the lines of “By restricting the feeding of the homeless, it would motivate more homeless individual to get off the streets”. Houston Mayor Annise Parker stated, “Making it easier for someone to stay on the street is not humane”. Feeding bans are allowing an increase in chronic hunger, allowing stereotypes that are ill-treating those who are experiencing homelessness and allowing homeless individual’s mental, physical, and emotional health to weaken as time progresses.

Before beginning the Master of Social Work program at Laurier I figured I had a strong understanding of what social work was. However, I quickly learned that I had only scratched the surface. I knew oppression existed, but I never understood the depth of it. I now know that I was afraid of it. It was easy for me to stay silent, because it was such a comfortable position to be in. Doing nothing meant I had nothing to lose and everything to gain. This was influenced by the privilege I had.

front-line workers always address the limitations surrounding fair treatments or adequate resources as a component of advocating for social work’s professional identity. If we assume that the intern accepted a position at a welfare agency, then, he will be obligated to adhere to agency policy. Thus, he must provide services to those who meet requirements despite his personal beliefs, but he should not allow agency procedures to interfere with his ethical practice of respecting the dignity and worth of people given any social condition. However, it is his personal values that are incompatible with respecting the dignity and worth of

In our world today, many individuals are faced dealing with oppression, exploitation, social exclusion, and injustice. As a result, this makes it hard for those same individuals to prosper. It leaves them powerless, hopeless, and at a disadvantage. It’s said, “These individuals generate a sense of blame, distrust, alienation, vulnerability, and disenfranchisement” (Dubois, Miley, & O’Melia, 2015, p. 83). It is up to social workers to empower these individuals, give them a sense of hope and bring forth their strengths that society fails to uplift.

There are homeless people all over the streets nowadays. With the job marketing going the way it’s going the growth of the homeless is becoming larger. There are all ages of the homeless and most of them are trying to find a job. I believe that the government should help get the homeless off the streets, that way it would be better for everyone, no more begging for money on the corners the homeless could find a way for them to. The government could open shops, help provide work in the community for the homeless, and provide shelter at night.

Politicians are great with their words, they'll have you agreeing with them, when you should be disagreeing.

For years now, people have been standing at street corners proclaiming their struggles on a worn out piece of cardboard. These people, known as panhandlers, are typically holding the homemade signs splashed with statements like: “homeless need help,” “hungry- need food,” and “my kids are hungry- please help.” Panhandlers then choose heavily populated streets where they hope to solicit the most money in the least amount of time and ultimately,

As students in the social work program, we believe in fighting for social justice. In doing so, we must be cognizant of the oppression that fighting for social

Reality set in when I hit the streets of the most impoverished neighborhoods of New York. My eyes were opened to the realities of the justice system. Privilege, poverty, oppression, race, and power struggles became themes that I encountered daily. Aspiring to be a social worker, I realized that my job title didn’t fit the description and that my hands were tied. I could help people, but there were so many other things to consider. I was there to enforce the law and do it tactically. Sometimes, with no time to have any other form of

Ellickson (1996) states, “Chronic street nuances, occurs when a person regularly behaves in a public space in a way that annoys- but no more than annoys- most users, and persist in doing so over a protracted time” (p. 1169). Homeless men and women, including panhandler’s fit’s right into this category. They have a daily routine that brings disorder to our public environment. Though they are not criminals, they don’t belong in our public parks. According to Rowe and Wolch (1990), many of these individuals suffer from mental illnesses, psychical handicaps, substance abuse problems, etc. Among the