analyze the impact of a current problem on individuals, families, and communities
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SocialPractices2.25.2021..docxRunning head: Social Work Practices 1
Social Work Practices 8
Correlation of the Code of Ethics
Gabrielle Lewis
North Central University
Social work practice is a type of practice that involves the professional application of values, principles and techniques that are crucial to people in the process of obtaining tangible services, as well as helping communities or groups of people by making use of improved social and health services. Social work practice calls for human development and behavior knowledge. This involves the interaction of social, economic, and cultural institutions in social work practice. There are different categories of social work practice practiced by different individuals and organizations in the world. Micro-level social work involves one-on-one interaction between the social workers and the public and this happens daily.
Micro-level social work may involve practices that apply direct interaction methods with the clients for purposes of addressing individual problems. Some of these micro-level social work practices include; helping people to secure homes, individual and family counseling, health care, and social services. This type of social work involves interactions that are sensitive to an individual. The mezzo-level type of social work occurs when the work takes place on an individual level. Mezzo-level social work is mostly concerned with group issues, which is a valuable tool for the creation of small-scale institutional, social and cultural changes. Macro-level social works affect the entire community and state and involve the conduction of intervention and advocacy operations on a large scale basis (Makaros, 2012).
The society I live in engages in different social work micro-practices where different categories of social workers deal with the various issues affecting society. Some social workers are involved with training and offering seminar sessions. Some social workers engage orphans in learning activities where they have created an enabling platform for the orphans where they can come together and learn. Counseling services are also offered in the local hospital where counseling is done by a qualified counselor for free. All these social work practices enable the society to develop and have helped bring people together in various social work events such as events aimed to keep the community clean and protect the environment.
Issues Faced by Families and Individuals in the Society
Society is faced with an array of social issues that require an efficient address to ensure that the growth of the community remains positive. Drug abuse among school-going children has become a major blow to society. Many students especially in high schools and colleges have resulted in the rampant use of drugs for recreational purposes. Drugs such as Marijuana have increasingly seen a tremendous increase in terms of their usage. Marijuana consumption has been associated with stress relief. Many students, therefore, use Marijuana to relieve educational stress and induce the feeling of excitement. However, continued consumption of marijuana has been associated with withdrawal symptoms. Users have also reported hallucinations where excess consumption is undertaken. Other drugs have also been misused due to the false feeling they produce. Abuse of these drugs has shown serious consequences especially to students, where students reported to be using drugs have reportedly shown poor performance in class.
The rates of poverty and incidences of homeless individuals have also increased in the community. This may be attributed to many migrants in the community that have seen many people go homeless as they can hardly afford rental houses. Most of these people are unemployed with no source of income to fund their needs. They often come to the community in search of employment opportunities. Poverty levels rise as the number of unemployed individuals and the elderly with no source of income continue to soar. Most elderly people with small parcels of land and lack retirement benefit plans often find themselves in a state of poverty.
Health care availability in the community is becoming a major concern to every member of the community. With increasing population numbers, people are becoming worried over the efficiency of the available hospitals to handle the health care needs of the population. Higher population calls for improved and extensive medical care personnel, equipment, and services. Quality health care acquisition is a right for every individual in the community. However, due to the increasing number of people in society, many people fear a lack of proper medical care provision.
Though cases of obesity in society are still at low levels, there is evidence of a reported daily increase in the number of reported obese cases especially among children and individuals who drive to work. Obesity is a major health concern as it presents a potential health risk to the individual affected. Obese people are highly prone to heart attack and therefore very delicate in cases of panic. Increased concerns on the food and nutrition standards have therefore been reported with many people in the community not aware of the nutritional composition of the food on their table and menu.
Address of Social Issues Faced by the Community
Social workers through the local government have come up with counseling services aimed at students on the dangers of drug abuse. This step is aimed at creating awareness of the various harmful effects associated with drug abuse. The counseling services are offered freely in schools as one of the strategies put forward in the control of drug abuse. The creation of awareness helps in the spread of the effects of various drugs being abused. This has seen a positive response where the levels of drug abuse being reported in schools are recording lower numbers of drug abuse cases.
2. Environmental Conservation
Social workers through non-governmental organizations have come up to address the issue of the need to protect and care for our surroundings. This is being enhanced by re-afforestation and safe industrial processes. The social workers continue to plant trees in the community that will help absorb gases released from industries that may cause climate change if left in the air. Social workers have also stipulated strict measures to industries polluting the air with untreated gases that may be detrimental to both human and plant survival (Dybicz, 2015).
3. Offering Nutrition and Diet Seminars
Social workers have been deployed in hospitals and schools to teach on the importance of observing the nutritional quality of food being served. Social workers organize seminars where people in the community get an opportunity to interact with food nutritionists who emphasize to them the importance of consuming healthy diets. Healthy food campaigns are also being conducted to teach people healthy eating habits in a bid to lower the level of obese cases being recorded. This nutritional information is important to people as it helps them check on the nutritional significance and health impact associated with the consumption of different food varieties.
4. Charity and Fundraiser Events
Social workers hold charity campaigns where they collect funds to help the poor and the orphans in society. The funds collected are used to build shelters for homeless individuals in society. These fundraisers and events have helped generate funds that are used in the provision of the basic commodities required by people living in extreme poverty. Children's homes are also being built to accommodate the homeless and orphans.
Social workers' ethics codes support these recommendations because they are made between personal preferences and the stated ethical and professional limits. Implementation of these recommendations will bring effective results.
Key Skills for Social Workers
1. Territoriality
This is a spatial process crucial for the claim and control of a geographical area, resources, and people. It plays a critical role in developing a sense of security. It results in greater identification with the community creating a perception of increased control over the environment (Akesson, 2017).
2. Communication
Every social worker should develop good communication skills to enable a clear exchange of information between the worker and the community. This will be effective in obtaining information from members of the community and in the disbursement of crucial information to the members.
3. Organization
Due to their busy nature, social workers should be organized in the way they undertake different tasks to ensure that each activity done is carried out smoothly. The social worker should be able to prioritize on client's need to manage cases effectively.
4. Cultural Competence
Social workers should be respective and responsive to people from all cultural beliefs and backgrounds without discrimination. They must knowledge and respect to client’s cultural background and possess a non-judgmental attitude towards their clients.
References
Akesson, B. V. (2017). The place of place in Social Work: Rethinking the person-in-environment model in social work education and practice. Journal of Social Work Education, 53(3), 372-383. Dybicz, P. (2015). From Person-in-Environment to strengths: The promise of postmodern practice. Journal of Social Work Education, 51, 237-249. Makaros, A. I. (2012). Effectiveness of micro- and macro-level intervention at times of economic crisis. Journal of Social Work, 563-581.
