Social Service Reflective Essay

When applying to the social work program I knew that it would be a rigorous curriculum. I also knew that I had to also mentally prepared myself for the demands of the program. Over the past year, now I have been so challenged in school and have learned so much from the MSW program. When finishing my first year of grad school I felt confident and excited about entering my second year. I was even excited about starting to do therapy despite of knowing it would not be easy. Therefore, I knew that I would just have to try my best to put into practice my therapeutic skills. My passion has always been working with children and families, therefore, felt so thrilled to start this new journey as I knew I could possibly make a difference in someone’s

Relocating into a senior care facilities can be a frightening experience for the aging population. Getting familiar with new surroundings, new organization structure, and new people that can cause anxiety to rise. For a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer individual, this experience can be traumatic. The fear of harassment, hostility, and neglect by healthcare providers and caretakers can keep LGBTQ people from seeking care until their health begins to critically decline. LGBTQ cultural competency training is highly recommended for healthcare professionals and social service organizations. The greatest barrier that prevents quality health care for LGBTQ people is the lack of competence among the healthcare professionals.

Neveah is currently placed at a Residential Treatment Center (RTC) due to her mental health history. Additionally, Neveah’s treatment is covered by private medical insurance. Neveah’s father has insurance through his place of employment that covers mental health services, which allows her to be placed at the center. Neveah completes online school at the center, but will transition to her previous public school after treatment. Education and school policies will affect Neveah as she transitions back to a public school. Lastly, Neveah is involved in a Pentecostal institution. Her father and stepmother identify as Pentecostal and seek guidance as well as mental health services from the institution. Neveah would benefit from engagement with an LGBT youth support group. The support group may provide Neveah with acceptance and support regarding her sexual orientation. Currently, she is not receiving this acceptance from her father and stepmother and this is an important aspect of her developmental

The journey towards the attainment of the Bachelor of the social work degree has been an enlightening and educational experience, as the individual is exposed to the realities of many social and political issues in the society. As a student, I ventured into the degree, with minimal insight as to how the degree can influence and shape the way I perceive the social world, and the way I relate these matters to myself. However, throughout my endeavour, which encompasses years of theoretical studies, and two intensive placements at two drastically different organisations, I believe I have accumulated the bare minimal knowledge to possess a solid foundation about the unfairness and inequality that people in disadvantaged conditions face. Social workers are predominantly found in welfare organisations which Howe (as cited in Limber, 2015) suggested largely influences the practice, direction and values of the social worker, and impacts on their ability to act autonomously (Lymbery, 2015). During my placements, there was a dominant theme that frequently stood out and enticed my attention. This was the accepted practice of focusing on the individual’s problem, as opposed to the social problems that existed and the lack of acknowledgement about the social restrictions of the human agency that limited self-determination. The realization that organisations were managed this way was important in ensuring that I made a proactive effort to understand and untangle the reasons behind such

The researchers explained that LGBT community faces stress because of the negative experience they receive to obtain services such as day care, homecare and care giving services. Researchers found that “long-term-care residents and staff, 89 percent of respondents believed that staff would discriminate against an LGBT resident and 53 percent believed that staff would abuse or neglect a resident because the resident identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender” (Moone, Croghan, and Olson, 2016). The researchers found that key factors to work with the LBGT population specifically the elder population are to become more welcoming to the population. Also the practitioner must become knowledgeable about the LGBT culture. Moone, Croghan and Olson states, “Building knowledge is an important first step in understanding the unique needs of LGBT older adults in order to provide person-centered and culturally competent care and services. Training allows the practitioner an opportunity to explore basic experiences of and beliefs held in the LGBT community, as well as to trace historical precedents that led to LGBT older adults’ fears of mistreatment by service providers”(2016, p74). The researcher suggests that providers should acknowledge the LGBT elders in paper work and policies. Moone, Croghan and Olson states, “Include LGBT topics or clients in newsletters, Offer LGBT-related resources to clients or families, Update assessment forms to include LGBT welcoming language, Post non-discrimination policies that specifically include sexual orientation and gender identity, Provide sensitivity training on LGBT aging to staff, volunteers, and leadership, Advertise in LGBT periodicals or publications ,Include LGBT people in marketing material, Develop LGBT-specific materials from your

LGBTQ Identities and Struggles: How to Serve Members of the LGBTQ Population in Substance Abuse and Family Treatment

For many individuals in the LGBTQ+ community, finding healthcare professionals who understand their identities and are receptive to their needs can be difficult. Many in the community feel that they have difficulties finding a practice that will respect their identity and provide them with effective and reliable care. For those specifically in the transgender community, these difficulties can increase exponentially, as many doctors are not properly trained to address the specific health needs that transgender individuals can often require. By his senior year, recent Keene State College graduate Kennedy Redden had noticed that both the staff of his school’s health center and the nearby Planned Parenthood had a distinct lack of knowledge about the needs of transgender students. Because of this, Kennedy decided to write a Transgender Health Manual for the school to use in the general education of its healthcare professionals as his senior capstone piece in Community Health.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, LGBT people need culturally competent medical care and prevention services (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2014). After viewing the video “Old Age is No Place for Sissies” I evaluated how I would care for this population as a nurse. Providing culturally competent care to this population is vital. A person should not avoid receiving preventive care and care for life threatening conditions due to a fear of discrimination, violence or stigma (Levitt, 2015).

The Atlanta Harm Reduction Coalition interests me because of its mission to improve the overall health and wellbeing of marginalized communities. Personally, I consider the resources needed to maintain good health and wellbeing a basic human right. My passion and interest for working in the health care field in future is based in this believe. One of the major issues that plagued my community at home is the deficiency of education members marginalized have about health issues. Though my main interest is in mental health issues, I also value the importance of educating adults in the prevention, diagnoses, and treatment of: substance use, HIV/AIDS, STIs, viral Hepatitis, and other communicable diseases. Preventative medicine and healthcare is

Discrimination adds to the daily struggles faced by the growing number of people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States – people who are predominantly poor and disproportionately African American or Latino. Every agency’s biggest problems facing their clients involve meeting basic needs – coping with poverty, hunger, illiteracy, inadequate medical care, lack of transportation, and homelessness. In addition to those basic needs issues, people with HIV face a series of critical civil rights problems. Individuals living with HIV/AIDS need to know their rights and need the resources to advocate for themselves when their rights are threatened. They also need national legal organizations like the ACLU AIDS Project to enforce their civil rights and civil

Sexual and social stigmas largely affect the health of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) population. While many reports from the Institute of Medicine, Healthy People 2020 and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality recognize a need to improve the quality of health care, barriers still remain. LGBT patients face legal discrimination, especially with insurance, a lack of social programs, and limited access to providers competent in LGBT health care. Although the Affordable Care Act increased access to care for LGBT patients, unless these patients feel understood by providers and develop trust in the system, they are not likely to utilize care. Healthcare providers need to recognize how these vulnerabilities, as well as persistent racism and stigma linked to sexual orientation and gender identity, make the healthcare needs of LGBT patients more challenging than the general population. Healthcare providers also need to promote cultural competence within this population and broaden their clinical lens to include health promotion, in addition to addressing concerns mentioned above within the population. Additionally, medical and nursing schools need to ensure that future providers are adequately educated by including information about this population in the curriculum.

For this paper, I have chosen to interview Veda Dyne. I chose to interview her because I have heard about her story from my friends and I wanted to get to know her a little better. Veda just recently openly joined the LBGT+ community. She is different from me because of her sexual orientation, but also her family life. She grew up in a completely different setting than I did, and I found that very interesting. Not only that, she has overcome some very tough situations throughout her life that most 19 year olds have never had to go through. She is a very strong person, and I’m proud to say I got to find out her whole life story.

Growing up as a member of the LGBT+ community, I recognize the drastic lack of support we have in place for this community. By earning my PhD in clinical psychology and minoring in small business, within approximately 15-20 years, when I am 33-38, I plan to open my own practice and will specialize in helping this at-risk youth population. I have a 5 year gap to really plan and make sure I have a solid plan and foundation for my practice, I don’t want to rush into

Community service is very important. Not only is it a that is present to everyone, it is also present personally to you. I had not noticed this until an event so horrendous had to occur. When I was only in fourth grade, Hurricane Sandy swept across the East coast and truly opened my eyes. My whole house and belongings were destroyed, and I had to look at others for help. In this time of need, it truly shocked me by how much people were willing to help you and work with you to get you through these frightening times. Maria Gatta, on the same topic, always valued the topic of community service. She dedicated herself to always try and help others. And, I as came to realize, the help of others truly does make huge differences in everyone’s

Today there is a great need for social service organizations. The population of a lot of cities and countries has grown, creating the need for more shelters, soup kitchens, and so on. Most of these organizations are church based and community founded. Then there are others that are funded by federal and state government.