I think a large part of social work is helping people improve their lives. Although we may be a support, a resource, or a catalyst; it's up to individuals to do the work. One of the reasons I love social work so much is because it's broad, giving professionals the opportunity to work in many different settings.  When I started as a mental health assistant at twenty years old in an in-patient psychiatric hospital, I was immediately hungry for more experience. I was fascinated by my patient's stories, their struggles, and everything they were going through. I saw people in times of crisis, and I wanted to help. I still find that my time there was extremely valuable in exposing my natural interpersonal and de-escalation skills. 


When it comes to values and beliefs the premise, I work off of is that we are all human and we all matter. I find it incredibly important to acknowledge cultural differences, carefully taking into account someone's background and ethnicity. These characteristics really change and shape individuals' worldly experiences. When working in the social work field it can be important to put your own emotions aside, try to access people as they are, not who you think they are. I’ve worked with individuals with substance abuse issues, those in domestic violence relationships, people who have been to jail for serious offenses, those with mental illness and trauma. What I have found is that listening to their stories, the things they’ve been through is essential to helping them move towards a healthy, functional future. We are not here to ridicule, judge, or force our beliefs on our clients. 

 

I have a wide variety of experience working with every age population from newborns to elderly individuals. I have worked in an inpatient psychiatry setting, as well as different protective agencies in the state of MA. Right out of college I started at Elder Services of the Merrimack Valley as a case manager in the home care department. While that was definitely not where I saw myself long-term, as soon as I started in the Protective Services department 2 years later, I knew I had found my place. I have worked as an on-call worker, getting 3 am and weekend emergency calls. I am committed, empathetic and reliable. An area of strength for me is my natural ability to build rapport. An area of development that I am working on daily is that I tend to work myself too hard which can make my work-life balance difficult. I know this tends to lead to burnout, so I am always doing my best to close the laptop at 5 pm, not respond to emails at 8 pm, and take a break. Another flaw is that a lot of my self-worth can often come from my career and how I’m performing at work, which can lead to obvious problems. During the pandemic, I was able to really explore things I enjoy outside of work.

 

I believe one of the most pressing social issues facing society is the shortage of affordable housing. As a social worker, this is the issue I feel needs to be addressed much more quickly and aggressively than we currently are. The shelter should be considered a basic human right, and how can we expect anyone to stabilize and live a productive life without it? I’ve seen time and time again that social workers do not have the resources to provide this for our clients. I’ve had to send clients from shelter to shelter while they wait on a CHAMP housing waitlist that is 5-7 years long. While I have had some success in assisting clients to find stable, long-term housing, those successes are far and few between. Personally, I have advocated at the agencies I work at,  emphasizing the need for more housing. While I have been met with some opposition and discussions about budgets, there have been glimmers of hope. At times I was able to get a client's stay at a hotel paid for, or nursing home to waive a client's bill when their insurance stopped paying for their much-needed stay. These are small victories that have not always led to long-term solutions. I strongly believe that we as social workers cannot do this alone, but still need to be advocating for our clients, starting at the top. This means rallying together to meet with our legislatures about changing the state of housing in our state.

 

Social change is something that every social worker should be committed to. With social change comes positive long-term changes being made in our clients’ lives. I am completely committed to being an agent of change and an ally to underserved, minority communities. We’ve seen a huge movement in the past 2 years regarding police brutality, the black lives matter movement, and LGBTQ+ rights. I specifically want to be an advocate regarding police brutality because it is my ultimate goal to work for a local police department in Massachusetts to be a responder to that mental health, domestic violence incidents, and many other calls that really require social work skills. 

I really value the de-escalation techniques I have learned over the years, and now seeing this topic being discussed in mainstream media is a reassuring sign that we’re moving in the right direction as a society.

Right out of college, I got a job at Elder Services of the Merrimack Valley in Lawrence, MA which exposed me to an extremely diverse workforce as well as consumer population. I stayed open to learning and listening, and did not try to impose my own beliefs onto co-workers or clients. When I had questions, I asked them without the fear of looking stupid. I was able to learn more in my 3 years at ESMV than my previous 21 years of life regarding the importance of different cultures. When I started at DCF in 2021 and learned about “cultural humility”, I thought, that’s it! The important thing is to ask questions, to listen, to learn, and to accept that you’re going to slip up, and that the goal is not to be perfect but to keep learning. When it comes to social change, I am completely committed to doing what I can to facilitate positive change. 

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