Social Workers Walking the Walk

by Januari Leo – januarileo@yahoo.com
Originally posted April 8, 2010

My first year field placement at St. Hope Foundation, a Ryan White funded HIV/AIDS clinic, allowed me to rediscover my interest and passion in all things related to HIV/AIDS. I had worked with this community in the past, doing outreach and prevention to homeless youth, but working at St. Hope exposed me to people who are living with the disease, and to see how much things have changed since the 80s and 90s. People are no longer dying at astonishing rates. Advancements in medication and research allow people to live long, healthy lives. However, this community still requires a significant amount of funding to address the myriad of issues they face, including but not limited to housing, case management, medical, dental and ophthalmological care, food needs, and medication.

AIDS Foundation Houston is a cornerstone of the HIV/AIDS community, providing to thousands of infected Houstonians. Every year, AFH holds a fundraising walk that brings together people from all over Houston who are concerned and committed to providing top-notch care. This year, I was proud to be the project coordinator for the GCSW AIDS Walk Houston team.

In the spirit of one of the key cornerstones of social work practice, collaboration, our committee decided to ask other social work organizations and university programs to join us. We partnered with the GCSW Alumni Association, the University of Houston American Humanics program, UH Clear Lake and UH Downtown, and the National Association of Social Workers Houston branch to create the team “Social Workers Walking the Walk”. We set a team goal of 100 walkers who would raise $2,500. To offer incentives, we had prizes for the top three fundraisers. We even collected donations and held a raffle for students, faculty and staff of the GCSW who donated $5 or more to the team.

Overall, we had almost 50 people signed up to help us fundraise. Approximately 40 people joined us on the day of the walk. While we fell short of our walker goal, we raised over $1,000 MORE than we had originally set out to. As of today, the team Social Workers Walking the Walk has raised $3,508!

We chose our team name because we wanted to show the public that social workers not only believe in equal access to care and social justice, but that we are willing to put that belief in to practice. The team truly lived up to its name, and I’m very proud to have been a part of it.

Social Work: A Wealth of Opportunities

by Januari Leo – januarileo@yahoo.com
Originally posted February 26, 2010

As I approach the final few months of graduate school, I’ve begun to think about what I would really like to do when I graduate. It’s extremely important to me to not accept just any job. I want something that I will be happy with, that will give me joy when I go to work every day. I would like something that offers me room to grow and learn, and keeps me connected with the community. Over the past month, I feel I have narrowed down the social work opportunities that would be a good fit for me.

My Affecting Social Policy class with Dr. Pritzker is my absolute favorite class this semester. We’ve had the opportunity to discuss advocacy, and what steps need to be taken in order for your efforts to be the most effective. Every few weeks, Dr. Pritzker brings in guest speakers who are professional social work advocates. Some have worked for state legislators or other political entities doing policy advocacy, and some are advocating for communities. Several weeks ago, Bolivar Fraga with Neighborhood Centers, Inc. spoke to us about community organizing and development. As he spoke on organizing, in particular, I felt myself becoming more and more enthused. A community organizer works with a particular population, in his case a specific neighborhood, and determines what needs need to be met in order for it to thrive. This involves speaking with members of the community, visiting with them either casually or in more formal settings such as a focus group. Organizers also attend various meetings and ultimately determine who the power players are, or who has the capacity to make change happen. Social work assessment skills are imperative and perfectly suited for this line of work. You get to work directly with “clients”, but not necessarily in a caseload sense.

Last week I was able to attend the Association of Fundraising Professionals Greater Houston Chapter’s annual “Ask The Experts” conference. Fundraising and development is another area of social services that I love. I was able to attend the conference at a student rate, and received field hours at the same time because it directly relates to my administrative learning process. I had the best time, and left completely excited about adding fund development to my list of possible social work options! There was a fantastic session on grant writing that provided me with handouts that I was able to pass along to students in my Administrative Practice class. I heard GCSW alumnus Stephanie Foy talk about putting the strategy in your strategic plan, and creating that plan with vision. I learned the importance of storytelling when trying to woo potential donors. Stories are something that social workers are never short on!

Scot More, who is one of the best advocates I know, works for the Coalition for the Homeless. A few weeks ago, he put out a message on Facebook (the power of social networking!) calling for volunteers for their upcoming conference. I was able to attend a $300 conference for free and get field hours because my placement agency is a Coalition member. Best of all, I was the volunteer for the full-day Funder’s Institute which featured the Senior Program Officer for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation! And he is a social worker!

There are so many different career paths available to social workers. I feel like over the past few months, I’ve had great opportunities to see the best of the best representing the profession in a myriad of ways. I am so enamored of social work and all the possibilities that come along with it. I’m ready to begin.