Bed Bugs

I was walking into a home visit when my cell phone started vibrating alerting me to the fact I had a text message. I knocked on the door and begin reading the text. I hear the family coming down the hall hollering, "hello". The door opens and I nearly faint as I read the last of the message. "Ally,  this family has serious outbreak of bedbugs. Don't sit down while visiting." Ok, I can do that not so bad right? Ugh, then I realize I have spent the past two days working with this family. I have sat in there house for two days. My coat has laid in their house. I have taken my coat and my purse home. My coat has hung with other coats at my house. No!!! Needless to say, I spent my weekend treating my coat and anything my coat came into contact with for bed bugs. Most likely I did not get them but I could not risk not treating my things and then find out I had them at home. My stuff was but in the dryer on the hottest settings possible  and hopefully any little critters have died. 

This week was a great week of learning. I did my first family pickup from the airport. The family arrived from Burma and there were eight of them. They were a delightful family and I enjoyed being their first United States contact. It was neat to see America through the eyes of a refugee. The drive from the airport to their new apartment was very entertaining. They commented and noticed things I would not have thought would catch someone's attention seeing to the fact it was their first time on US soil. 

I am learning how to communicate without language. It is not always possible to get an interpenetrate on the phone so we are left to point and hope we are connecting with the person and understanding each other as best as we can. It can be a great challenge to gauge the level of understanding the other person is exhibiting for what you are trying to communicate to them. 

Through all of this week I have learned how vitally important networking is. No social work agency is so large that they are independent of all other agencies. In order for an individual to fight for the right of their clients they must enlist the help and support of other agencies as well. Relationship building is a large part of networking. You must remain friendly and calm even when dealing with agencies where the staff are not as friendly. IDHS is an agency I must frequently visit. One lady in particular is very rude. I have thought about filing a complaint because she is condescending to clients and has no patients when they are not able to understand her. The department is supposed to provide translation but their translators are not always working or able to help out.  I have to keep myself in check though and try to very calmly and politely attempt to resolve issues in order to maintain a good working relationship for my clients. 

As someone that is seeking to develop professionally networking is important because it is the groundwork for my career. Networking will help me to find a job.