Never a Dull Moment

Week two of my interning adventure is officially over. Wow, so much to learn! I amazed by the cultures of the world I'm interacting with right in one city. It is as if I'm having a little glimpse out side of my country while never leaving the comfort of own home. We are so privileged to live in a city where literally almost every language on earth is spoken and where individuals from every content dwell. I enjoy the diversity of the staff at World Relief as well as the populations which we serve. This week has been a learning experience. I have learned much more about what the agency does as well as the populations which we serve.


On Wednesdays, I work with refugee children in an after school program. We play games with the kids inside a gym and then we work on homework. I have a sweet Hindu girl in the 7th grade. She is somewhat distraught because her Mother is unable to help her with much of anything these days. She is waiting for a lung transplant. It was very sad to hear the girl tell me that someone must die in order for her Mother to live. It was a real learning experience to be able to balance extending a listening ear and keeping the girl on track for accomplish the homework goal for which we had one hour to complete. I needed to insure the homework was done before sending her home since no one at home is able to assist her. I look forward to being able to continue working with this girl and hope to build confidence in her during the duration of our time together. She is very bright but very shy and so she refuses to read aloud or to solve homework questions on her own.


This week I was sent to a Read Mental Hospital to pick up a client who was a danger to himself and to others. He had been hospitalized for 3 months. I had never been in a mental hospital before and this was quite an experience for me. Once inside you must stop at a security checkpoint where they take everything away from you with the exception of a pen and paper. Your jewelry, scarf, keys and personal possessions are taken in-case the client would become irritated and use them to harm them-self or you. After I picked up the client, I transported him to Asian Human Services to meet with a psychiatrist and become registered in there data-base. He was a large African man who spoke little English. When we arrived at the Asian Human Services, he jumped out of the car and started running down the street. I was perplexed as to what I was supposed to do! My first time working with the medical social worker and my client escapes. I decided to stand by the car and wait because if I were to pursue him I could not really do anything if I did catch him! Thankfully, he returned with a cigarette. He had ran until he found someone outside smoking and gotten a cigarette. He returned and we proceeded with our task. After finishing at Asian Human Services, I was to take him to a new apartment. He had lost his housing while hospitalized. I took him to the address where I was to move him in. It sounded like a TV was running inside and his roommate was to be meeting us there. We were two hours late so after knocking several times and no answer, I had the brilliant idea to try the door because maybe the roommate had stepped out but left the door open. I had try calling the agency several times but I was not getting a response. We tried the door and it was open! We went in the apartment but I just had a weird feeling something was not right! It was the wrong apartment!!! Thank God we did not get arrested for breaking and entering. The agency finally called me back after a 15 minute wait to tell me that in fact we were at the wrong apartment! We were able to get out of the apartment with his stuff before we were caught by anyone! 

It has been very interesting to see the tension between the social work profession and those doing social work jobs without the background of a licensed social worker. The case managers at World Relief are not social workers but their is a medical social worker on staff and another social worker in process of joining the team. The medical social worker works with clients that others in the agency are servicing. I observed her in a heated debate with a case worker because she would not discuss her case with him. The tension lied in the fact the social worker would not break her commitment to keeping matters private but the caseworker felt she should discuss with him the details of the case. As social workers, we have a higher level of ethically reasoning we approach situations with. The tension between our standards which we must uphold and others who we work with but they do not ascertain to the same standards is something to observe played out. Ongoing in my time here, it will be a learning experience for me to learn who to uphold my values and standards yet keep peaceful relations with those I work with. This is truly great experience for the "real" work place.

First week

Oh my!!! What an adventure it has been getting started at World Relief. The agency was closed for two weeks due to a Holiday break and when they reopened the Polar Vortex hit causing flooding in the building due to pipes bursting. The building was declared structurally unsound and the agency closed for another week. My start has been a bit slow but on my first day it was as if I entered the building and they said, "Welcome to the race!" The first two days they oriented me to my surroundings and then day 3 they sent me on my first home visit alone. Adventure!!! The family was located in Lansing. After a drive that seemed it would never end I arrived to find a frustrated family. My assignment was to do a 30 day assessment. I was given a checklist of things I had to check in the home and a crash course in how to do it. The family had arrived in the States on Dec. 18th and they felt that the agency had really let them down as far as expectations. They did serve me some delicious chia tea. I spent the week working with families displaced from Iraq. It has been delightful communicating with them and learning there joys, fears, frustrations, hopes, dreams and even the things angering them.

Documentation is an area this agency could do some work. I have only been at the actual agency two days so I did not question them on there choice of documenting things but it seems so haphazard. A caseworker asked me to help him with some paperwork at the end of the day on Thursday. He had literally thrown papers in a desk drawer and they had to be organized to meet a deadline. Since the agency gives clients cash and this money is from government funding it is very important the paperwork be matched directly with receipts. It took some time for us to complete this task working together. A better filing system would help everyone. I think if client files were kept in a specific spot it might be easier especially when an intern is sent out on a home visit or expected to take clients to public aide or some such agency. While at public aide, you have to keep calling back and asking the caseworker for more information because you don't know the information on the clients. If files were kept orderly and in a set location you could view them before going out to meet clients so you would have a clear idea of how to handle client situations and interactions. Some of the documentation here is done on line and some done on paper. It really seems confusing. Also, when I went to do my home visits I was given a white piece of paper and a pen. It might be nice if you had a document that had the questions on it so you might be able to make sure you are getting them all asked and had a place to jot down some notes.

All that said, I have immensely enjoyed my week. The people I have meet are so kind and the agency really has a sense of family. I look forward to next week.