Stereotypes in the social work community

                                                  Photo Credit:Madamenoire.com

Over the years, many people have gotten the impression that all social workers do is sit around in an office doing paper work or that they go out and take peoples kids away and are extremely underpaid by the government. These "social work stereotypes" can be heard from young adults in my generation (the early twenties population ) all the way through my eighty year old neighbors generation.

I have faced many of these stereotypes when I began my journey to becoming a social worker. When asked what I was attending graduate school for and I replied with social work, the facial expressions ranger from sad to surprised. The reactions from my audience made it pretty clear that they had heard the rumors about social work. My neighbor even went so far as to wish me good luck in finding a job that paid well. A similar reaction was heard from my grandmother who currently still believes that I am going to school for counseling and doesn't understand what a social worker does.

The reactions from those who I told that I was going to become a social worker didn't surprise me. These ideas were many of the same ideas I had before working with social workers at my previous internship.My ideas about social workers came from my mother who lived in a home where social workers worked with her foster siblings on a monthly basis.

With that said, I believe stereotypes about social workers do exist but only if we allow them too. If we advocate and educated our audience on our cause and why we want to be social workers, they will have a better understanding of social work and its importance and possibly change these ideas over time.

How in the world did I get here?

Image credit :Classic Media Distribution Ltd. 

My story reminds me of the children's books called Where's Waldo. My journey as Waldo started in a small-town in New Jersey where everyone is familiar with each other.  This town has second and third generation "New Jerseyans" who tend to grow up, buy homes in the town and stay for a while. This version of my Waldo series, allowed me to be easily spotted. 

  After spending two years high on the radar, I decided it was time for a change, packed my bags and headed to West Virginia. I continued my education at West Virginia University, where I spoke with a career counselor and after a series of test, she recommended that Psychology or Social Work would be a great career choice for me. I chose the Psychology Path because it seemed more interesting to me at the time because I wasn't completely aware of what being a social worker entailed. 

    

   While working towards by Psychology Degree, I was able to complete a life changing internship working with the disabled population of West Virginia. My responsibilities as in intern included working with the Psychologist, Social Workers and Graduate Students to help provide resources to West Virginias disabled youth. Many of the clients were on the Autism spectrum and came to the Center for recommendations and resources. 

 Many of these parents came from the poorer parts of West Virginia and couldn't advocate for themselves let alone their children. The more time I spent working at my internship, the more I began to learn more about the rural state of West Virginia. Time and time again, I realized that parents had no idea of the resources that the public school systems by law had to offer their children or that services for children with disabilities even existed.

Working aside the social workers at the Center, I realized that they could help make a difference in these children's lives. They were able to find the resources for them and made sure that the schools followed through with the services they promised. My co-workers were also able to help the parents learn about advocating for their children, along with picking up the pieces that the school system left behind. 

Being in this new environment allowed me to reflect on my past experiences with the public school systems back home in New Jersey. I remember that every year, when it was time to update my brother IEP, my public school system would be knocking on our front door to make sure my brother got the resources he needed and deserved.

After the completion of my internship, I realized how rewarding it was to work with children on the Autism Spectrum and their families. This peeked my interest to looking into ways that I could do so. I spoke with my supervisor and co-workers and they recommended that I become a social worker with a focus in direct practice to allow me to work one on one with clients. 

 With a set career path in mind, I applied Pittsburgh's Direct Practice program with a certificate in Home and School Visitor, got in and here I am today!! I hope to be able to take the resources and education that I receive at Pitt and help inform others of ways to advocate for themselves and their children. 

Stayed tuned to find out where Waldo travels to next...