Social Work Reflection Essay

Words: 702
Pages: 3

I am deeply committed to the services of others and more specifically to the service of our troubled youth and their families. The social and financial disparity has caught up with our nation and we are now faced with hardships that are both alarming and inspiring to the social work field. Although I grew up in a small country town in Western New York, I was quickly immersed into the troubles our youth are facing today. Within the first year of graduating from undergraduate studies I was forced to face this head on with my first job as a counselor for severely emotionally disturbed youth. I witnessed firsthand the hardships of what each family was facing and the spiral of despair that the children of these families were facing. For the most part, each family I was able to interact with had some sort of difficulty with their finances, …show more content…
It has been studied by Debra Whitcomb that domestic violence is also a known risk factor for recurring child abuse reports (English et al., 1999) and for child fatalities (U.S. Advisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect, 1995). In addition, domestic violence frequently coexists with substance abuse, so children are concurrently exposed to dangerous substances and their adverse effects and parental neglect due to addiction (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1999). Children who witness domestic violence often manifest behavioral and emotional problems, poor academic performance, and delinquency (Edleson, 1999).

These children came to the home in search for a new start and although I felt sad, I also felt determined to give these children a better life and something to look forward to in their days ahead of them. There were many times of anger, heartbreak, and countless other emotions that as their advocate I had to endure on behalf of the youth, and channel the energy to make their lives better. I believe it is important for social workers to empathize