Why I Chose Social Work
From all I have experienced, and lived through I know with all that I am that social work is the greatest equalizer, the only profession that offers the truest and most direct interventions for social justice. To choose social work is to choose the path of social justice, to be committed to every human having the right to a fulfilling life, free of persecution and marginalization, and equal access to appropriate resources. In truth, I was introduced to the concepts of social injustice before I was ever acquainted with the term. During World War II, my Jewish family fled Nazi Germany after my grandfather was a victim of the Holocaust, fleeing into neighboring Romania where we lived under communist tyranny. Eventually immigrating to the U.S,
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we paid with sweat and blood for freedom, working in terrible conditions to survive. Therefore Social justice means everything to me, and I can only hope that few will ever know the level of persecution, hunger, discrimination, lack of access to education, healthcare and opportunity that my family and I have known.
The ability to overcome adversity is the mark of a great social worker.
I will be a social worker that will reach any goal, irrespective of challenges. My academic performance is solid proof of my ability to excel in the MSW program, and I am proud of my graduation with honors, constant community service, leadership activities and honor society memberships. The perseverance, and fight for survival we endured are at the heart of my beliefs in social work. My existence is a miracle, as I was almost aborted, conceived under the Romanian communist regime. Only my grandmother’s love enabled my mother to give birth and complete basic education. My grandmother, a war orphan, never exceeded 8th grade, entering the workforce for survival. She taught me education’s value, and instilled in me a hunger for …show more content…
knowledge.
Immigrating to the States during 10th grade, I was finally reunited with my family but faced with an unperceived life of poverty. The eldest of seven, I felt intense pain and responsibility for our lack of money and food. By 16, I was a CNA, and worked 12-hour night shifts to support my family while continuing my high school education. For two decades I worked as a janitor, rising to operations manager’s position, raising two sons and living my educational dreams through them. Their successes as an attorney and an engineer have been among my greatest joys.
The economic downturn of 2012 left me unemployed, but turning setback into opportunity, I pursued my education, determined to realize my grandmother’s dream to break the generational chain forever, to be the first college-educated member in my family. For seven years I cared for my bedbound grandmother, and though she passed on last year, I washed her feet with tears of joy and sorrow for the life she could never have, promising on her deathbed that her hopes for us would be realized. I have taken my grandmother’s dreams further, excelling academically and ensuring my colleagues did the same, forming study groups, sharing materials, giving rides, and aiding the culturally diverse. What is more, I have never ceased in my volunteerism, from aiding my grandma in Romania raise orphans to aiding recent Romanian immigrants. My life experiences are a significant reason why I chose to be a social worker.
In terms of my growth within the MSW program, I envision intensive professional development, bringing a focus to my raw passion for my work, as well as giving credence to all that I have to offer. Indeed, for the past three years, I conducted research and advocacy work for homeless populations, experiences that have increased my understanding of this significant social problem. Furthermore the BSW program has provided me with a good general sense of social justice and my field placement with Morrison Child and Family Services, Breakthrough program has opened my eyes to see why adjudicated youth are at risk for homelessness. I have acquired more knowledge about social policies, the histories of how they came to be and their flaws. I learned from youth clients I serve how cycles of poverty destroy families and policies push at-risk children from classrooms to the criminal justice system, and eventually the street where they end up living hopeless/homeless. This cycle is wrong, correctable and sustainable interventions need only be implemented. It is my hope that MSW program will help me understand more about these social problems and find solutions to alleviate people’s suffering. There is an urgent need for social recovery but little is known about the rapidly growing homeless population.
The same year I became volunteer coordinator with Clackamas Service Center, the U.S. Conference of Mayors released its annual “Survey on Hunger and Homelessness in America’s Cities”. My interest in aiding the homeless grew, and I designed interventions to enhance homeless services. I quickly learned we needed more volunteers, so I recruited from my church and college as I knew CCC students needed field practice hours, particularly Norm Butler, Dan Hope, Michelle Cullins, Dawn Kingrey, et al. Finally, we reached optimal levels of meals served to as many clients as could be accommodated.
This year, Portland Mayor Hales is asking City Council to declare a housing state of emergency for the homeless.
In turn, I worked with Trena Sutton, an East Portland Homelessness advocate to find places where homeless could sleep without fear of police raids, park rangers and ODOT evictions. Our proposals and efforts have been effective, gaining the support of county commissioner Dan Saltzman, largely through my work on the board of directors for “My Backyard”, a resting area proposed for S.E. homeless population. I am truly proud of My Backyard’s success and have been directly responsible for overseeing organizational activities. Through my work, I have been made intimately aware of homeless issues, from theft, domestic abuse, drug and alcohol abuse, intense stress, sleep deprivation, rape, and the elements. Moreover, homeless populations are marginalized, lacking access to education, or employment. The work we have accomplished with My Backyard would have been meaningless without our ability to reach out to and connect with homeless populations that simply defy any specific walk of life, creed, race or sexuality. Indeed, as with almost any social issue, homelessness does not differentiate. Those we serve could be homeless due to pathological gambling addictions, while others seem condemned to homelessness from a young age. (as many as 40% of homeless youth identify as LGBT) Patterns of being born in socioeconomically-challenged circumstances, families dependent upon
welfare systems, and those who are raised in non-traditional, or disruptive/non-biological family settings tend to fall into homelessness early in life. Still others, many of whom are military veterans, sufferer from the effects of PTSD from not only military engagements, but also rape, TBIs, and other unseen mental issues. And the greatest tragedy, what should never occur, still happens: too often, those in greatest need, after being discharged from the military, simply fall through societal cracks.
My Backyard attends to homeless who are immigrants, young moms, substance abusers, transgender and the physically and mentally disabled, the majority of whom face at least one form of mental health disorder. I have learned the extent our homeless populations are marginalized. Indeed, I have seen how unhealthy and maladaptive choices are symptoms of deeper problems. Homelessness is a multifaceted issue that cannot be solved by simply finding a place for these individuals to live. The underlying issues are what need to be addressed, such as addiction, unemployment, compromised mental health, and oftentimes, a combination, all of which contribute to instability. Without aiding the homeless effectively, we will only perpetuate cycles. We must attend to mental illness or put our homeless at greater risk of harm of substance abuse, or unsafe living conditions. Homeless populations are marginalized by fear and stigma, and thus face impediments to accessing the services that could help them the most. Without some measure of stability, there will be no improvement in our homeless’ physical or mental conditions.
CONCLUSION:
Growing up in a Romanian village living under communist oppression, I know what real hunger is. There were days we picked weeds to boil for dinner, while other days we had nothing, our hunger a relentless pain. No one deserves to suffer hunger and everyone deserves the safety of a place to rest at night. I believe there is strength within every homeless individual and enough community resources to meet their needs. Society should not be allowed to decide who are deserving of nurturing, safety and respect. I grieve the loss of human rights as long as there is hunger, homelessness and hopelessness on earth.
we paid with sweat and blood for freedom, working in terrible conditions to survive. Therefore Social justice means everything to me, and I can only hope that few will ever know the level of persecution, hunger, discrimination, lack of access to education, healthcare and opportunity that my family and I have known.
The ability to overcome adversity is the mark of a great social worker.
I will be a social worker that will reach any goal, irrespective of challenges. My academic performance is solid proof of my ability to excel in the MSW program, and I am proud of my graduation with honors, constant community service, leadership activities and honor society memberships. The perseverance, and fight for survival we endured are at the heart of my beliefs in social work. My existence is a miracle, as I was almost aborted, conceived under the Romanian communist regime. Only my grandmother’s love enabled my mother to give birth and complete basic education. My grandmother, a war orphan, never exceeded 8th grade, entering the workforce for survival. She taught me education’s value, and instilled in me a hunger for …show more content…
knowledge.
Immigrating to the States during 10th grade, I was finally reunited with my family but faced with an unperceived life of poverty. The eldest of seven, I felt intense pain and responsibility for our lack of money and food. By 16, I was a CNA, and worked 12-hour night shifts to support my family while continuing my high school education. For two decades I worked as a janitor, rising to operations manager’s position, raising two sons and living my educational dreams through them. Their successes as an attorney and an engineer have been among my greatest joys.
The economic downturn of 2012 left me unemployed, but turning setback into opportunity, I pursued my education, determined to realize my grandmother’s dream to break the generational chain forever, to be the first college-educated member in my family. For seven years I cared for my bedbound grandmother, and though she passed on last year, I washed her feet with tears of joy and sorrow for the life she could never have, promising on her deathbed that her hopes for us would be realized. I have taken my grandmother’s dreams further, excelling academically and ensuring my colleagues did the same, forming study groups, sharing materials, giving rides, and aiding the culturally diverse. What is more, I have never ceased in my volunteerism, from aiding my grandma in Romania raise orphans to aiding recent Romanian immigrants. My life experiences are a significant reason why I chose to be a social worker.
In terms of my growth within the MSW program, I envision intensive professional development, bringing a focus to my raw passion for my work, as well as giving credence to all that I have to offer. Indeed, for the past three years, I conducted research and advocacy work for homeless populations, experiences that have increased my understanding of this significant social problem. Furthermore the BSW program has provided me with a good general sense of social justice and my field placement with Morrison Child and Family Services, Breakthrough program has opened my eyes to see why adjudicated youth are at risk for homelessness. I have acquired more knowledge about social policies, the histories of how they came to be and their flaws. I learned from youth clients I serve how cycles of poverty destroy families and policies push at-risk children from classrooms to the criminal justice system, and eventually the street where they end up living hopeless/homeless. This cycle is wrong, correctable and sustainable interventions need only be implemented. It is my hope that MSW program will help me understand more about these social problems and find solutions to alleviate people’s suffering. There is an urgent need for social recovery but little is known about the rapidly growing homeless population.
The same year I became volunteer coordinator with Clackamas Service Center, the U.S. Conference of Mayors released its annual “Survey on Hunger and Homelessness in America’s Cities”. My interest in aiding the homeless grew, and I designed interventions to enhance homeless services. I quickly learned we needed more volunteers, so I recruited from my church and college as I knew CCC students needed field practice hours, particularly Norm Butler, Dan Hope, Michelle Cullins, Dawn Kingrey, et al. Finally, we reached optimal levels of meals served to as many clients as could be accommodated.
This year, Portland Mayor Hales is asking City Council to declare a housing state of emergency for the homeless.
In turn, I worked with Trena Sutton, an East Portland Homelessness advocate to find places where homeless could sleep without fear of police raids, park rangers and ODOT evictions. Our proposals and efforts have been effective, gaining the support of county commissioner Dan Saltzman, largely through my work on the board of directors for “My Backyard”, a resting area proposed for S.E. homeless population. I am truly proud of My Backyard’s success and have been directly responsible for overseeing organizational activities. Through my work, I have been made intimately aware of homeless issues, from theft, domestic abuse, drug and alcohol abuse, intense stress, sleep deprivation, rape, and the elements. Moreover, homeless populations are marginalized, lacking access to education, or employment. The work we have accomplished with My Backyard would have been meaningless without our ability to reach out to and connect with homeless populations that simply defy any specific walk of life, creed, race or sexuality. Indeed, as with almost any social issue, homelessness does not differentiate. Those we serve could be homeless due to pathological gambling addictions, while others seem condemned to homelessness from a young age. (as many as 40% of homeless youth identify as LGBT) Patterns of being born in socioeconomically-challenged circumstances, families dependent upon
welfare systems, and those who are raised in non-traditional, or disruptive/non-biological family settings tend to fall into homelessness early in life. Still others, many of whom are military veterans, sufferer from the effects of PTSD from not only military engagements, but also rape, TBIs, and other unseen mental issues. And the greatest tragedy, what should never occur, still happens: too often, those in greatest need, after being discharged from the military, simply fall through societal cracks.
My Backyard attends to homeless who are immigrants, young moms, substance abusers, transgender and the physically and mentally disabled, the majority of whom face at least one form of mental health disorder. I have learned the extent our homeless populations are marginalized. Indeed, I have seen how unhealthy and maladaptive choices are symptoms of deeper problems. Homelessness is a multifaceted issue that cannot be solved by simply finding a place for these individuals to live. The underlying issues are what need to be addressed, such as addiction, unemployment, compromised mental health, and oftentimes, a combination, all of which contribute to instability. Without aiding the homeless effectively, we will only perpetuate cycles. We must attend to mental illness or put our homeless at greater risk of harm of substance abuse, or unsafe living conditions. Homeless populations are marginalized by fear and stigma, and thus face impediments to accessing the services that could help them the most. Without some measure of stability, there will be no improvement in our homeless’ physical or mental conditions.
CONCLUSION:
Growing up in a Romanian village living under communist oppression, I know what real hunger is. There were days we picked weeds to boil for dinner, while other days we had nothing, our hunger a relentless pain. No one deserves to suffer hunger and everyone deserves the safety of a place to rest at night. I believe there is strength within every homeless individual and enough community resources to meet their needs. Society should not be allowed to decide who are deserving of nurturing, safety and respect. I grieve the loss of human rights as long as there is hunger, homelessness and hopelessness on earth.