Speaking to our future
Recently I was asked to speak to 3 groups of 7th grade students for career day at a local middle school in Cedar Rapids. I was asked to talk about what it is I do as a crisis counselor at Foundation 2 and also to talk about what it is a social worker does in general. Wow, what a loaded question. I decided that I wanted to ask the students what they thought social workers do before I answered those questions. I had the students write out their answers and turn them in so that they could be honest and anonymous with their answers. Some of the responses were pretty insightful. Some were pretty general. One of the responses was very touching. The response said something about how a social worker is a friend who helps you get into a good foster home. The same student later shared a little more about her positive experience with a social worker. Of course there were the typical smart remarks but I must say that I really don't recall what those said. It only takes a few of those positive comments to remind me why I do the kind of work that I do. Although I am not an adoption social worker nor do I get the pleasure of working with kids on a daily basis I do get to link people with resources in times of need. I think this is the foundation of our agency (pun intended) as well as the main function of a crisis counselor and social worker. My hope is that the kids that I met that day walked away with a better understanding of what crisis counselors and social workers do.
Shannon Costanzo - Melsha
No comments have been posted for this item.