The Social Of Social Justice

According to the National Association of Social Work, “The primary mission of the social work profession is to enhance human well-being and help meet the basic human needs of all people, with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty. A historic and defining feature of social work is the profession’s focus on individual well-being in a social context and the well-being of society. Fundamental to social work is attention to the environmental forces that create, contribute to, and address problems in living.”

The goal of a social worker is to help others in tackling whatever problems they are currently facing and pairing them with the appropriate resources needed so that they can lead a productive and healthy life. A social worker lives by a strong value system that is referred to as social justice. According to the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), “Social justice is the view that everyone deserves equal economic, political, and social rights and opportunities,” (2015, para. 2). Paul Loeb, author of the book Soul of a Citizen, writes moving stories of ordinary people who inspire others to want to be better citizens. This paper will be a reflection on how the book made me feel, the affect it has had on my formation as a social worker, any experiences I have had in social justice advocacy and what vision I have of myself as a social justice social worker.

As a social worker an individual must understand that diversity characterize and shape human experience. In diversity the key words that a social worker should pay attention to is cultural awareness, self-awareness, ethno-conscious practice and sensitivity. Having cultural awareness is being aware of individual’s cultural and values. Self-awareness is being aware of personal biases and values when working with diverse groups. Ethno-conscious practice is being concern with social justice and equality. Sensitivity is understanding the difference in assessment, intervention and evaluation when working with diverse groups.

I will integrate social, economic and political justice into my social work career by empowering and advocating for my clients. I will ensure that my clients receive everything they need in whatever setting I am employed. By continuously monitoring current events, state and federal policies as well as policies within the organization that I am employed, I can recognize policies that will affect my clients. By recognizing unjust policies, I can advocate against them and empower clients to advocate for themselves. Additionally, I will be a member in professional social work organizations and assist them in fighting for social, economic and political

The people in the world that we live in are extremely diverse, in terms of the nationalities, religions, gender classifications and physical abilities. Social workers must have a clear understanding of the consequences of diversity and difference and the mechanisms of oppression and discrimination as they relate to human development. The range of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds that social workers will practice in is huge. Because of this, social workers must have an understanding of the values and attitudes of a multitude of different cultures as well as an understanding of their own attitudes and

The role of social work professionals in aiding those in poverty, is to the Code’s principles of Social Justice. According to the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), “Beneath this practicality lies a strong value system that can be summarized in two words: social justice. “Social workers can often liaise with advocacy groups in local, state, and national jurisdiction to assist specific vulnerable populations” (Jansson,

In the National Association for Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics, there are many standards a social worker should uphold in order to promote a healthy and helpful relationship with the client. One such aptitude is Cultural Competence and Social Diversity, which is in section 1.05 of the NASW code of ethics (National Association of Social Workers, 2008). There are three sections associated with this competency “Social workers should understand culture and its function in human behavior and society, recognizing the strengths in all cultures”. It is assumed that “social workers should have a knowledge base of their clients’ cultures and be able to demonstrate competence in the provision of services that are sensitive to clients”. As a

The social work profession was created to promote social justice and change on behalf of clients. (National Association of Social Workers, 2008) Within the code of ethics, the

“The primary mission of the social work profession is to enhance human well being and help meet the basic human needs of all people with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed and living in poverty.” (1)

As an undergraduate student, I never imagined becoming a social worker. At that time, I did not have a complete understanding of all the aspects social work encompassed. I was also unaware of the various pathways social work had. Now, to my understanding, social workers are aiming for social and economic justice. Social justice leads to greater social welfare and social change. Social work also aims to help those who face various hardships. Situational, cultural, ethnic diversity and intellectual abilities each play a role. I have come to look at social justice comparable to the American philosopher John Rawls. Both Rawls and I view social justice as a safeguard to members of society who are at a disadvantage. It works to secure equal access to liberties, rights, and opportunities. When denial of liberties and basic human rights is clear, we are looking at the face of injustice. Social justice aims to provide members of society facing injustice the necessary opportunities. Social welfare can be of help to any population: men, women, the elderly, and children. Every race, ethnicity, and religion. Immigrants, veterans, the mentally ill, the mentally disabled and so on. Through my experiences, I have decried multi folds denied liberties and opportunities. I look at these people and ask myself, "What can society do to help them? What can I do to help them? What resources are available to them? How can we meet these people in the position they are and help them overcome?" These

I did some research on social justice competencies and today I am going to discuss with you my findings. I am going to talk about why social justice matters, social justice with counselors and counseling psychologists, social justice competencies with group workers, and social justice paradigm. Social justice is the opinion of which every person ought to have equal rights and chances whether they be financial, governmental or social. Human service helper’s goal is to unlock the gates to gain accessibility and chance for every person, especially the ones that need it the most. A quick look at the various functions of human service helpers displays in what way this worth system gives emphasis to all that they do. Human service helpers will aid their homeless clients to obtain government assistance, food share, and care for their wellbeing. Human service helpers thrive to defend and safeguard their elderly client’s economic right and guarantee the client is getting the health and economic advantages that lawfully belong to them. Human service helpers furthermore utilize social-justice values and beliefs to underlying issues in the human service organizations where they are employed. ("Social Justice," n.d.)

The notion of justice is existence of proper balance of rights and its access under the laws of land. It refers to not depriving any person from availing privileges, opportunities etc. John Rawls writes, "Each person possesses an inviolability founded on justice that even the welfare of society as a whole cannot override"It means that the interaction in a society must be free from any sort of discrimination such as religion, race, color, caste or sex. It ensures fair distribution of assets and equal opportunity. José P. Laurel defines Social Justice as “Social justice is neither communism, nor despotism, nor atomism, nor anarchy, but the humanization of laws and the equalization of social and economic forces by the state so that justice in its rational and objectively secular conception may at least be approximated.”

However people may not be aware of the role of social workers and/or how they practice. Social workers have been given a bad reputation and misunderstood in what they try to achieve. (Australian Association of Social Workers [AASW] Code of Ethics 1999). Explains, “The Social Work profession is committed to the pursuit and maintenance of human well-being. Social work aims to maximise the development of human potential and fulfilment of human needs”.

Social workers promote social justice and social change with and on behalf of clients. “Clients” is used inclusively to refer to individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. Social workers are sensitive to cultural and ethnic diversity and strive to end discrimination, oppression, poverty, and other forms of social injustice. These activities may be in the form of direct practice, community organizing, supervision, consultation administration, advocacy, social and political action, policy development and application, education, research and evaluation. Social workers seek to enhance the capacity of people to address their own needs. They also seek to promote the

Social Work’s core philosophy and values are centered around social justice and social well-being. Oppression, injustice, discrimination, and violence are antithetical to the social work profession. Social Work believes in strength-based approaches and the person-in-environment perspective to cater the needs and welfare of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society at large. Generally, the target populations for social work are vulnerable, marginalized, and oppressed people; however, social workers provide services to people with a wide range of problems, such as poverty, addiction, mental illness, etc. to empower them to meet their own needs. Historically, the social work profession started its operation by providing neighborhood