[humanser] Why did you choose your particular Human services profession?

[Lia Stone]

Hi Jonathan,

I think my reasons for going into the field are a bit complicated, but then
again, who's aren't? 

I have my MSW, and specialized in a program  that really only existed at my
university, Violence Against Women and Children. I love domestic violence
and sexual assault counseling, and I particularly wanted to work with
disabled folks who have abuse/trauma histories.  I grew up in a domestic
violence household, and have experienced sexual assault in my past.  That is
not too uncommon for people in this particular field, but I think what made
it so important for me was realizing how few competent services were
available for disabled survivors.  DV/SA agencies rarely know what to do
with disabled client, and VR agencies don't even acknowledge  that a
significant number of their consumers have trauma histories or are actively
experiencing abuse.  I worked at New Jersey's training center and saw a lot
of unprocessed trauma hindering rehabilitation, and I did my clinical year
work at a DV/SA agency where they had begun an initiative to better serve
Deaf clients, but that was it. 

I really want to continue my work in a way that  forces both a cultural and
policy change at DV/SA agencies as well as VR agencies. The stats are high
enough that we can assume many disabled individuals have/are experiencing
abuse,  but both levels of organization need to be better able to adapt to
one another. I plan to eventually continue on to a PhD in social work so I
can continue research into this, but for now I'm just trying to get more
involved on the clinical side in a DV or SA specific agency.

Lia

-----Original Message-----
From: HumanSer [mailto:humanser-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Jonathan
Franks via HumanSer
Sent: Wednesday, October 18, 2017 5:06 AM
To: Human Services Division Mailing List <humanser at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Jonathan Franks <jfranks at nfbtx.org>
Subject: [humanser] Why did you choose your particular Human services
profession?

Fellow Federationists,
Many of us know that Human Services carries a vast range of different types
of professions. Also, many of us chose this field for a certain reason.
Whether you are working in your academic career or are already an
established human services professional, we are all working to serve our
fellow human being. The question is why did you choose your particular field
and what drove you to make that decision?

Warm regards,

Jonathan Franks BSW
1st Vice President
National Federation of the Blind Human Services Division Graduate Student
MSW Program Texas State University


--
The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles
between blind people  and our dreams. You can live the life you want;
blindness is not what holds you back.

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