Working in child and adult welfare services is vastly different from
mental health. The stress is similar; trying to make do with the
resources available (never enough) and to speak up and serve those who
may not be able to speak up for themselves. Both fields require
tireless advocacy, creative thinking, and and a heart of steel. I'm
still working on the "heart of steel" part.
In mental health, it is largely understood that change won't happen until the individual is ready to make these changes and take these steps towards recovery in their life. This might mean taking medication, withdrawing from medication, seeking counseling, going back to school, using substances in a way that is the least harmful to them: whatever steps they take in order to gain control and have meaning and purpose in their life. Whether it is the complete absence of symptoms of mental illness in their lives, or living a full life while learning to live with ongoing mental health issues, this is all up to the individual. They are in the driver's seat, so to speak. Any supports, myself as a social worker included, are secondary to the individual. You can lead a horse to water...
In child welfare, it's constant investigating. Referrals are endless, mainly due to mandated reporting. Domestic issues? Investigate. Youth arrested? Investigate. Does it involve a child? I'm there, following up, within 24 hours. Majority of our cases will be closed after an investigation, and thankfully, most cases after that will be involved in a voluntary service agreement, where the family is willing to work with us for a minimum of six months. While my first week was slow, this week has been full of investigations. It seems that no sooner I finish one, two more are referred my way. It keeps me busy, and the days go quickly. And I am eternally grateful that majority of cases prove to be nothing; no protection is needed.
What I am not used to, are the severe lack of resources in the North. Twice today, I ran into dead ends when wanting to refer individuals for more services - I simply could not, because those services just did not exist. And this is where it all sounds so trite. Because how do you work on a budget with someone who makes less than $400 a month and there are no subsidies to receive and food is so expensive? How do you work on supports with a young family when they are too young to qualify for income support? How do you sit there and tell someone there is no food bank, after they have told you they haven't eaten in days and they are starving, and then come home and eat lunch? This is where my heart bleeds.
In my little community back home in suburban Toronto, I could probably talk for thirty minutes about various resources available for the population I serve. Here we have a clothing donation bin but no food bank. There is no access to subsidies for food, which is priced high due to shipping costs. Subsidized housing is non-existent. Generations of families live together, but what happens when you are on social assistance, aren't allowed to live with your family anymore, and can't afford to rent a place, which starts at around $800/month? Many people resort to building shacks on the land; called "love shacks" here. Newer initiatives have been put out by the government to offer more rent-geared-to-income housing, however there is still a greater need than resources available. There is currently no housing for individuals with mental health issues; though a pilot program is being worked on in Iqaluit and they are hoping to implement group homes in each of the hamlets in the long term. There are endless amounts of work to be done in housing and mental health up here.
I don't think it is wrong to want the best for the people I serve. I don't think it's wrong for anyone, in general, to get their needs met and receive the support and assistance they require, when they require it. In my profession, we often hear: "At least something is better than nothing!" and "We are doing the best we can under difficult circumstances". I am sick of both excuses, especially coming out the mouths of social workers. These phrases only seek to breed complacency and maintain the status quo. Social change was never achieved by sitting back and telling ourselves that something is better than nothing. Wanna know why it doesn't change? Because of people no longer challenging and more or less contributing to the status quo, as opposed to trying to break down barriers and decrease systemic oppression. It is difficult to challenge, though, when you are so weighed down by work and at the end of the day just want to come home and not think about anything. I myself do not have answers but I can indeed tell you the system in place (all over Canada, not just up here) isn't working. But what do you do? How do you change a system that has become so entrenched in our society?
Igloolik from the gas station.
In mental health, it is largely understood that change won't happen until the individual is ready to make these changes and take these steps towards recovery in their life. This might mean taking medication, withdrawing from medication, seeking counseling, going back to school, using substances in a way that is the least harmful to them: whatever steps they take in order to gain control and have meaning and purpose in their life. Whether it is the complete absence of symptoms of mental illness in their lives, or living a full life while learning to live with ongoing mental health issues, this is all up to the individual. They are in the driver's seat, so to speak. Any supports, myself as a social worker included, are secondary to the individual. You can lead a horse to water...
In child welfare, it's constant investigating. Referrals are endless, mainly due to mandated reporting. Domestic issues? Investigate. Youth arrested? Investigate. Does it involve a child? I'm there, following up, within 24 hours. Majority of our cases will be closed after an investigation, and thankfully, most cases after that will be involved in a voluntary service agreement, where the family is willing to work with us for a minimum of six months. While my first week was slow, this week has been full of investigations. It seems that no sooner I finish one, two more are referred my way. It keeps me busy, and the days go quickly. And I am eternally grateful that majority of cases prove to be nothing; no protection is needed.
What I am not used to, are the severe lack of resources in the North. Twice today, I ran into dead ends when wanting to refer individuals for more services - I simply could not, because those services just did not exist. And this is where it all sounds so trite. Because how do you work on a budget with someone who makes less than $400 a month and there are no subsidies to receive and food is so expensive? How do you work on supports with a young family when they are too young to qualify for income support? How do you sit there and tell someone there is no food bank, after they have told you they haven't eaten in days and they are starving, and then come home and eat lunch? This is where my heart bleeds.
In my little community back home in suburban Toronto, I could probably talk for thirty minutes about various resources available for the population I serve. Here we have a clothing donation bin but no food bank. There is no access to subsidies for food, which is priced high due to shipping costs. Subsidized housing is non-existent. Generations of families live together, but what happens when you are on social assistance, aren't allowed to live with your family anymore, and can't afford to rent a place, which starts at around $800/month? Many people resort to building shacks on the land; called "love shacks" here. Newer initiatives have been put out by the government to offer more rent-geared-to-income housing, however there is still a greater need than resources available. There is currently no housing for individuals with mental health issues; though a pilot program is being worked on in Iqaluit and they are hoping to implement group homes in each of the hamlets in the long term. There are endless amounts of work to be done in housing and mental health up here.
I don't think it is wrong to want the best for the people I serve. I don't think it's wrong for anyone, in general, to get their needs met and receive the support and assistance they require, when they require it. In my profession, we often hear: "At least something is better than nothing!" and "We are doing the best we can under difficult circumstances". I am sick of both excuses, especially coming out the mouths of social workers. These phrases only seek to breed complacency and maintain the status quo. Social change was never achieved by sitting back and telling ourselves that something is better than nothing. Wanna know why it doesn't change? Because of people no longer challenging and more or less contributing to the status quo, as opposed to trying to break down barriers and decrease systemic oppression. It is difficult to challenge, though, when you are so weighed down by work and at the end of the day just want to come home and not think about anything. I myself do not have answers but I can indeed tell you the system in place (all over Canada, not just up here) isn't working. But what do you do? How do you change a system that has become so entrenched in our society?
Elders felt that three Inukshuks we had in Igloolik were inviting violence into the hamlet, as with heads and arms, they are in warrior stance. To try to quell violence which has been an issue in the hamlet, the heads and arms were removed.
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