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Thank You: A Career As A Youth Support Counselor

Decent Essays

The phrase “Thank You”can alter a person’s life forever. Whether you are the one offering or receiving a genuine “Thank You” the recognition of appreciation will always remain with you.
Growing up, I was fortunate to be a middle class African American. Statistics suggests that to be both African American and part of the middle class is unprecedented. However, the portrayal of the American Dream, encompassing the perfect middle class family, stopped at my front door. Domestic violence was a permanent tenant. “Thank You” were the words my five year old sister at the time said to me every night as I protected her. In 2015, “Thank You” were the words I said to my family, friends, teachers, co-workers and clients after graduation for giving …show more content…

The population of at risk and hard to place girls I worked with on a daily basis reinforced my interest in supporting youth through counseling and developing plans and programs that could support their needs long term. My position as a Youth Support Counselor then lead me to ask the very question of what services and programs are there in place to support my residents’ families. This is when I transitioned to becoming a case planner for underserved families and communities.
As a Case Planner, working closely with families and both city and community agencies, I began to expand my knowledge on the various services that are offered to my families. In my work, I came across limited resources and lack of education on the services that are available. Families are affected by more than one social justice issue, which makes is very difficult to navigate the system that is in place to assist them. Consequently, it is the system that is allowing many families to remain stagnant. Policies and program mandates contribute to overworked employees and the consistent question of how are we creating social change?
Understanding the foundation of social work I believe is essential to becoming successful in addressing pressing issues affecting people’s everyday lives. For example, the rates of incarceration in the United States have increased dramatically, six to ten times greater than other countries. Mass incarceration is an epidemic that is

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