The Real Deal About Social Work
In this day and age, a lot of problems plague our society. From poverty, injustice, and inequality, it is inevitable to think that maybe there is no hope. However, we are very fortunate because there are real-life superheroes who aid us in trying to solve these problems. And we are here to tell you about the extraordinary people who continuously help make our world a better place one step at a time. But, who exactly are they?
Of course, they are none other than social workers!
But what exactly is social work? According to the International Federation of Social Workers, it is a "practice-based profession and an academic discipline that promotes social change and development, social cohesion, and the empowerment and liberation of people." In other words, it is an actual career that aims to help people realize their own potentials and help improve their quality of life by either being completely hands-on in their daily routines or helping with the administrative aspect of implementing activities.
What It Takes To Be A Social Worker
Even if a good number of people want to pursue social work, some have their doubts because there is a common stereotype that being a social worker is not a real profession or that there are not much rewards in the profession. Contrary to that stereotype, being a social worker is actually as professional as any career can get. In fact, according to Republic Act No. 4373. entitled "An Act to Regulate the Practice of Social Work and the Operation of Social Work Agencies in the Philippines", to become a registered social worker, one must pass a written examination given by the Board and must comply with these requirements as stated in the act:
(a) He or she is a citizen of the Philippines;
(b) He or she is at least twenty-one years of age;
(c) He or she is in good health and is of good moral character;
(d) He or she has received a diploma as holder of a bachelor's degree in social work from an institution, college or university duly accredited and legally constituted; and
(e) He or she has completed a minimum period of one thousand case hours of practical training in an established social work agency under the direct supervision of a fully trained and qualified social worker.
Social Work Is Multi-Faceted
Contrary to popular belief, they don't all have the same tasks to accomplish and places to be assigned. Some of them may be assigned to hospitals, schools, community centers, mental health institutions, and even corrections because the way they operate is a case-to-case basis. In fact, some social workers work in a micro or one-to-one environment, where their field of expertise is practiced on individual clients. Some in mezzo environments where they deal with families and small communities, and some in macro environments where they mainly take care of matters in the large scale. Due to this, you might as well consider social workers as actors in a play because they have so many roles to play in their job. Below are the said roles:
1. Educator
Though some social workers become literal teachers in the name of social work, majority of all social workers become educators when they make their clients aware of which steps to take, how to handle certain problems, and inform them of their rights as citizens of this country. For instance, if a child that is being abused by his stepfather afraid to speak up because she feels as if she is powerless against her father, the social worker can inform her and her family that she can legally go to certain agencies of the government for help as it is her right as a human being to ask for justice.
2. Advocates
As a social worker seeing truly what happens behind closed doors in every marginalized community, one tends to start advocating for the same advocacies some of their clients are supporting. For example, the Children's Cancer Foundation continues to speak up for children with cancer and continues to lobby with politicians to promulgate medical laws that are of help to cancer patients.
3. Administrators
Since social workers are known to be very hands-on and interactive when it comes to their day-to-day sessions with their clients, another side to their job is becoming organizers as they take care of the administrative tasks such as preparing all the materials for a certain activity, arranging the chronological order of events for the day, and even collaborating with several volunteers to further increase the meaningfulness of their programs.
4. Facilitators
Usually our idea of social workers, they also become facilitators where they become the "hosts" of a certain event, guiding the clients and spearheading the flow of the program. Usually, they are the ones that answer all the queries of the participants and caters to the organizational aspect of their programs.
5. Brokers
As they simply cannot intervene with special cases and cases in general, they become the people who refer people to other professionals to treat them the way they need to be treated. This usually happens in case management, where the social worker gauges what kind of professional is most suited to operate with the case. Some professionals potentially referred by a social worker are lawyers, psychologists, guidance counselors, and even public law enforcement employees.
It's all about the core values.
Now that we have explored what one needs to do to and which roles to play in order to become a social worker, it is imperative to realize that the field of social work celebrates the joy of helping and the spirit of sharing sustainable means of living for the benefit of marginalized communities. With that being said, the following are some basic core values that continue to permeate this profession and inspire the social workers to continue doing what they are doing:
1. Service
Being a social worker means putting the needs of others above your own. The main point of involving yourself with social work means addressing social problems and expecting nothing in return. You let the reward of a job well done and a life fixed give you happiness the monetary assistance lacks. Especially here in the Philippines, social work isn't seen as seriously as other professions and that can be grueling on one's life. However, the joy of being able to help and contribute to the well-being of others is what makes it worthwhile.
2. Social Justice
Social work is a call for people to involve themselves in a positive social change. In this world, there is a lot of diversity (education, race, sexuality, and social status are among others). With this diversity comes oppression because of the misunderstanding that some people are more privileged than others. This is a direct contrast to the belief of social workers that everyone is equal and deserving of rights, thus the strive for social justice. Furthermore, this emphasizes the attitude of a social worker to be accepting of people and have no prejudice against those who are different from them. For example, if a social worker is very religious and conservative and their client turns out to be transgender, they must be able to look past that and accept who they are because it is their duty to make sure that people who aren't able to stand up for themselves are represented properly.
2. Competence
Social workers naturally aim to increase their skills and knowledge and put their newfound learning into practice. They gather the experiences they have in different cases to help them become wiser and more capable individuals. In fact, whenever they pursue an action plan, they are always required to base their actions for social or societal theories that backs up their proposed plan of action. This can be done through updating themselves in recent studies or trends in the social work community. Maybe they may even continue their studies and take up a masteral or doctorate degree.
3. Integrity
In all that they do, social workers practice honesty and responsibility. Their actions must reflect the ethical principles and standards not only of the organization that they represent, but also that of their own accord. It has to be a personal sense of integrity since whatever happens to their clients is on them. Sadly, there are cases of unethical standards being done by other social workers such as sexual relations or failure to be responsible leading to extremities such as clients even killing themselves. That is why the value of integrity is to be taken very seriously.
4. Critical Thinking
In situations that take a toll on you, even physically in some cases, your mind must always be sharp and objective. A social worker is subjected to different kinds of people and situations at any given time. They must be able to think clearly and select the best course of action. There may be times that their schedule is packed. Meeting after meeting with different clients, but they must remain sharp and continue giving their services to the best of their ability.
5. Empowerment
Perhaps the most important value to uphold in social work is the value of giving empowerment to individuals. Mentioned before was the state of oppression and how social workers should fight for social justice. In relation to that, it is important to go against oppression because of the dignity and worth of every single person. This is something all of us have the right to possess and we must go against those who discriminate others who think they are beneath them for all are equal human beings. To illustrate, social workers help the discriminated feel not only a sense of belonging in society, but also the feeling of importance and worth.
6. Research
In general, social workers must be able to conduct research effectively. Studies, especially that tackling the state of life people are going through, help in the competence discussed before. It is in these researches that social workers may determine what to do for certain cases or monitor change after projects they facilitated. So not only do social workers gain knowledge, but contribute to it. In this sense, the profession is very much give and take. It also shows just how collaborative it is and how much connections are valued.
7. Time Management
The life of a social worker is usually blessed with case after case. Along with this blessing to be able to help though sometimes brings the idea of being sent to different areas over long periods of time. You must be prepared to be separated from your loved ones at long lengths of time. Apart from that, when you are around you must be able to manage between your cases and balance out your personal life. In some cases, your personal life may be sacrificed when emergencies regarding the client arises.
8. Relationships
Social work focuses heavily on human interaction. So you must be ready to build RELATIONSHIPS with people, highlighting the focus on earning the person’s trust as well. Besides the clients, social workers must be able to build relationships with their fellow social workers or other professionals as well. Taking their clients into consideration as well, and learning the art of emotional detachment to avoid complications is also a must. This is because you never know where a case may lead and seeking help from others or even referring your client to these professionals will occasionally be what is needed in the situation. One profession that social workers are closely linked with is counseling. When there seems to be a more mental health concern behind the client's case, clearly the social worker is less qualified and should not attempt to diagnose the client if they do not have any legitimate background on counseling and psychology.
9. Crisis Intervention
Last but not least, social workers must be aware about how to execute the solution to the problem they have observed or of what is presented to them by the case of their client. I think I can say that crisis intervention is one of the most important skill you should possess since what you specifically do for the problem is the very heart of being a social worker. For example, if the problem of a client has something to do with substance abuse then how you guide them through their rehabilitation, every choice you make, is essential for them to achieve their goal of getting better and improving their lifestyle. The same goes for every client, every person you will encounter no matter who they are and how big or small their case is.
Seeing Is Believing
Social workers often said that the best benefits that they get from their job is the light feeling of knowing that you helped other people. We never fully understood what it truly meant until we saw it for ourselves. Thanks to several community involvement programs spearheaded by our school, our batch mates got a closer look at the rays of light social workers are shedding to people in need whenever they share their social services to them. Below are the three institutions that we have visited as a batch:
St. Camillus Medhaven
St. Camillus Medhaven is an elderly home where grandfathers and grandmothers are left by their children who can no longer or won’t support them. The sad reality is that there are families that don’t have the capability to care for their grandparents. Some of the elderly are there by choice because they don’t want to be a burden to their children. However, there are some that have been abandoned. They speak of their children who are wealthy yet they are there in a simple elderly home, forgotten. There is no animosity but you can sense the sadness in the atmosphere. Social workers help these elderly by providing them service and giving them the care they do not receive from their family members. Sometimes even helping them stabilize their health, and even help them in their daily activities such as changing their clothes or even feeding them. After hearing the accounts of the elderly, it warmed our hearts that even if they would sometimes feel as if they are neglected, the social workers exert their efforts to make the elderly's remaining days in this world happy by organizing various recreational activities that the elderly find enjoyable and entertaining.
Marikina Youth Home
The average age range of the youth who are brought here are from 16 to 20 years old. We were told that most of them were there because of cases of stealing or drug use. Some of them were caught and others were turned in by their own parents. They were under-aged when they committed their crime and some have spent years in the center as a form of punishment and rehabilitation. It is the social workers that help them sort out their life and help them see themselves as people with worth. Although there are a few with tendencies still linked to delinquency, most of them have changed and would like to do better in their lives once they are out of the center. In this particular trip, we are very amazed by how social workers can still maximize their understanding and patience even when some teenagers sometimes disrespect them. Even with this, they continue to attempt and guide them in the right way, showing exactly how dedicated and kindhearted social workers in nature are.
St. Maria de Mattias Community Center
Young girls (from 5 to 9 years old) who have experienced poverty or abuse go to this center for food and tutorial services. It is the social worker that helps them in going through their personal problems while they work with teachers who help tutor the girls. What was primarily showcased here is the flexibility of the social worker. Not only does he help the girls but he also manages their food, the donations, and even has interactions with the parents in order to teach them more about responsibility. According to the girls, they have really experienced a positive change in their lives, both academically and personally. They no longer feel like they are lower than their peers and recognize their own value as people. This experience is the closest to our hearts, since we ourselves heard how much love and care the people there, especially the resident social worker Sir Jonathan, are being showered to the kids. As he was briefing us about what they do around the center, one cannot deny the utmost passion that he has for his career. His enthusiasm even while explaining the struggles that he experiences is so admirable to us that we concluded that social work really is not a joke. Even if we came there as observers, we genuinely felt the sense of family and mutual respect displayed by both the social workers and their clients.
You can do something!
It's not over yet! Of course, our resident social workers are doing their best to make the world a good place to live in. However, we also have a role that we can play in this story!
As most of these institutions heavily rely on the goodness of other people's hearts through voluntary giving monetary or material donations, if you are interested to help these amazing organizations continue to improve other people's lives, below are the contact numbers and addresses of the said institutions:
1. Marikina Youth Home
2. St. Maria de Mattias Center
- #112 Ipil St. Marikina Heights, Marikina City, Metro Manila
- (02) 264 - 0372
3. St. Camillus Midhaven
- #29 SE Apitong, Marikina, 1810 Metro Manila
- (02) 948-4456
REFERENCES
http://www.chanrobles.com/republicacts/republicactno4373.html#.Wf8LEVuCze1
http://ifsw.org/policies/definition-of-social-work/
https://www.google.com.ph/search?biw=1242&bih=558&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=lhL_WcWoBJHDkwWwjYLQCg&q=teaching+icon&oq=teaching+icon&gs_l=psy-ab.3...0.0.1.872.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0..0.0....0...1..64.psy-ab..0.0.0....0.2Ggdz77d-Q4#imgrc=-EpfWg__hbksVM:
https://www.google.com.ph/search?biw=1242&bih=558&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=tBL_WevGOI22kwXV5rmoBw&q=SOCIAL+JUSTICE+icon&oq=SOCIAL+JUSTICE+icon&gs_l=psy-ab.3...1427036.1428753.0.1428914.15.8.0.0.0.0.0.0..0.0....0...1.1.64.psy-ab..15.0.0....0.rQvzowzV-QU#imgrc=QmHlKdQZ5MGWkM
ReplyDeleteThis is a good start that you post information and photos of social welfare agencies based in Manila which students outside Metro Manila, especially from Visayas and Mindanao could learn about without having to go there personally. Hope to more agencies here. Thanks !