Why Do Social Workers Need To Advocate

The practice of social work has evolved from three major movements, The Charity Organizations, Settlement Houses, and Child Saving Movements. “Charity organization societies were developed by philanthropists to regulate the use of charitable agencies by the poor” (pg. 52). This society was organized to assist the needy, but also to ensure that they only received help from one charity. There is a stigma that people should not be helped too much or they will become reliant on the assistance of the government. Our role as a social worker is to make sure that people are getting as much assistance as they need. Some people have no choice and do have to rely on

In this paper, the role of a social worker will be addressed. A Human Service professional has, in its hands, the responsibilities in the life of the clients and families they meet. The tremendous and arduous responsibilities they take on include, but are not limited to, the well-being and care of people and their communities. Such roles can be helping others manage the care of a family member, assisting individuals experiencing problems with family relations and conflicts, dealing with changes that come with growing old, aiding those suffering mental illness and or those individuals struggling with addictions. Briefly

Social work is a profession in which the lives of individuals and groups of people are positively affected through the efforts of professionals that seek to make a difference in their lives. The profession can be best understood through a spectrum. In one end, social work professionals can focus their efforts by directly assisting an individual to help improve his or her functioning and development. In the other end, social work professionals may emphasize their efforts in making changes in the global community seeking social justice. The approach on how to improve the conditions of an individual or a group of people is supported by a multifaceted, yet holistic perspective.

Clients, especially in the poorer and more vulnerable settings that social workers work in, are often unaware of their rights and the actions that they need to adopt in order to lead a healthier, safer life. This is where advocacy comes in where social workers make clients aware of their rights, responsibilities, and more 'enlightened' and healthier forms of conduct. In my case, this is Planned Parenthood where I teach a mother who already has many children how to prevent herself from having more; or I may teach an adolescent the rudiments of sex education and hand her contraceptives.

Advocacy is essential to a social worker career. They advocate frequently for others, who feel like their voices are not being heard; therefore, advocating is used to promote change in people lives. Advocacy help individuals, groups, or communities by contributing empowerment to those who need a change in their environment. Social workers normally advocate for people who live in impoverished communities, children’s or people with disabilities. Most of the time, people living in impoverished communities are disadvantaged because of limited resources. Children because they have no voice and may not be aware of unfairness. Also, in my opinion, people with disabilities do not get heard because of the stigma that is attached to a person with a disability.

According to the National Association for Social Workers (NASW), the social work profession was founded in social change (Advocacy, n.d.). They explain that throughout the profession’s history, social workers have sought to ensure that all people have equal access to the resources and opportunities that allow them to meet their basic needs (Advocacy, n.d.). In Paul Loeb’s book, Soul of a Citizen, throughout his own words and the words of others, he is able to express the significance that individuals, social workers, can have on others.

I find that being an upcoming BSW it is essential for social workers to advocate for our clients and how to do that comes in many ways. Many times, a person thinks they are not capable of making a difference because they are just one person. In

Social workers unlike before are now agents of social control maintaining the social systems. Due to the arise of social change, this new requirement has them taking on something with little to do with their actual job of being an advocate of people in need. They now find themselves in surveillance mode over society instead of working to actually support the people through an active role. In turn, they now have to have a general awareness towards situations they didn’t have to have a concern about. A social worker’s role has always been an active role working with service users, but also within this agent of social control they have a lot more responsibility resulting in a lot of casework for themselves.

In Social Work Speaks, I decided to look at the policy dealing with alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. I chose this policy, as I, myself do believe that alcohol, tobacco and other drugs are a major problem in today’s society. This paper will go into detail of this policy and whether I disagree or agree with it. Do my personal values play a role in my decision and if I would make any revisions to the current policy.

As a social worker it is our duty to look at the community and determine if everyone’s needs are being met if that is not the case then we need to step in and promote change. As Kirst-Ashman & Hull, Jr. stated, “Core value themes in social work include the fundamental right of people to have their basic needs met, to make their own choices, and to maintain their human dignity” (2015). By advocating for those in need, we are promoting social justice and change for oppressed individuals in our community.

I was in grade 10 when I thought of becoming a social worker. As social worker practitioner the fields that interest me to work in is domestic violence and child abuse because I want to make change to the society. Also Mahatma Gandhi was my major inspiration through this quote “Be the change that you wish to see in the world”. Than an idea came to me, why not involve my contribution to the wide variety of communities. My communication with school counsellors and social workers has impacted my choice of desiring to study social work. I realised that if I have had a chance of seeing a social worker when I was young, things would have been much easier and less stressful. I want to provide opportunities that I did not encounter to other people. This essay will reflect my past experience, motivation and why I want to be a social worker, values, beliefs and theory of practice.

Social workers promote clients’ socially responsible self-determination. Likewise, social workers seek to enhance clients’ capacity and opportunity to change and to address their own needs (NASW, 2018). However, social workers face many dilemmas when trying serve, communities, individuals or groups. For instance, the social worker in example dilemma number two, who was running a small non-profit organization serving adults and adolescents experiencing homelessness received a phone call from the Mayor because he was upset due Town Hall Meetings being disrupted by the group the social worker was facilitating.

The next connection that I made was that we can relate social workers and advocates together. Both social workers and advocates are trying to fight for the enhancement of human well-­being that will help meet the basic human rights and needs of all people. Many social workers and advocates believe that it’s important for all humans to know their rights, because those rights can help provide them their basic needs for life. Those rights include shelter, food, and water. From working with Legal Aid on this project, I was able to witness that some of the DPSS workers were not fully committed to their duty in bettering the lives of applicants/participants who are in need of their basic human rights.

Social Work’s core philosophy and values are centered around social justice and social well-being. Oppression, injustice, discrimination, and violence are antithetical to the social work profession. Social Work believes in strength-based approaches and the person-in-environment perspective to cater the needs and welfare of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society at large. Generally, the target populations for social work are vulnerable, marginalized, and oppressed people; however, social workers provide services to people with a wide range of problems, such as poverty, addiction, mental illness, etc. to empower them to meet their own needs. Historically, the social work profession started its operation by providing neighborhood

This essay discusses what key roles and tasks social workers undertake working with service users. Furthermore explaining the ways in which social work is distinctive from other professions. Another essential point that will be illustrated is the knowledge, skills and values that a social worker needs to apply to be effective in their work. Finally the problems that can lead to a social worker becoming unprofessionally involved with service users and carers.