Women Shelter Armidale - Assignment Example

Mid placement report (presentation script) Introduction: Women Shelter Armidale is for homeless women or at risk of homelessness, and for women who experience domestic violence or have housing difficulties. Women Shelter Armidale provide support services for women and children to find accommodation. And support them under any circumstances. WSA is non-government organization. It funded by NSW government. WSA conceived by local women. The Women Shelter Armidale support women with different services such as brokerage, food, transport, adult, and children support and short-term accommodation. The aim of Women Shelter Armidale is to support women who suffer from domestic violence by running educational program on domestic violence and raise the awareness about DV. Besides, Women Shelter running support groups for women who face domestic violence and isolation. The adult support workers also work with their clients to addressing the issues about domestic violence and making them aware of behaviors surrounding domestic violence. Worked I have done: At the beginning of my placement, I learned about the way of work by shadowing other workers to get an idea of how they work in the organization and how they collaborate with other organizations. I have done some general work such as translating sign sheets, answering the phone, organize and tidying child support room, helping the workers with support groups. Then I joined some meetings with the support workers when they met the clients, and I learned about how they assess the clients by asking them several questions about their situation and how they are completing an assessment form, and I have seen the initial assessment process as well. Also, I have observed some of the support workers while addressing their clients’ needs, for example, how they help their clients to find a house, and how they are providing transport and assistant with food. I went to the food pantry with the support worker to take some food for free to provide it to the clients. I was not able to provide transport for clients because I do not have driving licenses, but I went with other workers while they provide it for their clients. Also, I attended training group with the organization members to train us about how to set car seat which can help us to ensure the safety of children like it is a part of organization duty of care. Besides, I discussed the safety in the workplace with the agency supervisor; she explained the policy and procedures in the organization. I engaged in several groups for women and children to help me to have an idea about how to planning and creating groups, and I observed their way of working with the group and their way of undertaken an assessment. There are several groups such as Creative Playing, Children Support Group and Young Women Support Group (Walcha). Creative Playing Group is for children who are under school age; it runs every Friday from 10-11:30 am. Children Support Group is for children who are in school age, and it is run every Tuesday from 4-5:30 pm. Young Women Support Group is for school girls in Walcha; it is run every Tuesday from 2-3 pm. Sometimes I helped the support workers in the groups we run in the organization by organized the materials and prepared for morning or afternoon tea for the group members, also I participated in the group activities such as, playing with children, reading stories, coloring and making some craft. The important part I have been work on it is child support work. By provide them a safe environment and lot of joy. We do some educational activities to improve their knowledge, going to the park to give them a chance to play with other children to improve their communications skills. Community events: During my placement I participated in some community events which run by Women Shelter and multiple agencies in Armidale to provide information about what they do and how they can help, also, to raise the awareness about social issues in the community and help to empower women and shows the importance of healthy relationships. The first event is Homelessness Awareness day, on the 2nd of August, this day is to provide information about what is homelessness and how the services can help people in the community. In this day the women shelter had participated by providing information about the services in the organization and do some activities for children. The second event is the Day in the Dale, on the 2nd of September, it is NAIDOC to celebrate Torres and Aboriginal Strait Islander history, achievements and culture. The women shelter participated in some activities for parents and children. Challenges: There are some challenges I faced in my placement setting. The first challenge is a language barrier. As a non-English speaking background, I was unable to contact with clients directly and sometimes, I found it difficult to follow what other people say, and it led to limit my communication skills as well. The second challenge I faced is the lack of knowledge about Australian legislations and the process of connecting with other organizations they collaborate with, such as Centreline, Housing NSW, and FaCS. The final challenge is a lack of working experience. Because I do not work before and when I engaged in working environment it was very challenging for me especially with linguistic and cultural differences and the diversity of social issues they support in the shelter. For example, homelessness is not a common issue in our community, because they usually support by family. Also, drug and alcohol issues are not occurring as well, because of the ban on using it in my country. Working with children: Working with children in Children Support Group and Creative Playing is an essential part of my work in the shelter. It was very satisfying, but sometimes it becomes challenging, especially with children who have difficult circumstances, which can affect their behavior. We work with them in the children support room in the shelter. They usually playing, read stories, drawing and do some art. Sometimes we go to the park or library. I found it very interesting to work with children because every child has different interests and hobbies. Because of that, we need to work with them regards to their interests. For example, some of them like to drawing and painting while other like to play jump rope (Double Dutch). On the other hand, sometimes I found it hard to communicate with children who have speech difficulties. Interpretation services: The essential part of my work in the organization is to work with Arabic women who cannot speak in English, and translating sign sheets to Arabic. I follow up with Arabic client, and I referred her to another agency in Sydney as well as working with another Arabic woman who attends the Creative Playing Group with her children, and sometimes I help the child support worker to communicate with her because she cannot understand the English language. I have done child assessment for her children as well. In these days I work in translating some of the organization documents at home as part of my working hours. Learning goals: The learning goals I have achieved so far are: 1- Engaging in interpersonal practice while working with groups and individual within my placement, and participation in community events, help me to have an understanding concerning the social work practices and the differences associated with the other professions. 2- Building the trust with clients about their information privacy and taking their permission before sharing their details with other organizations help me to achieve my goal of understanding of confidentiality and privacy related to the ethical issues regarding the management of the records of the clients. 3- Reading the code of conduct and policies for the organization to be aware of the legal rights of the clients, and reading the annual report and Policy and Procedure Manual for the organization. Gave me an understanding of organizational policies and procedures, including the legal rights of consumers. 4- I have achieved an understanding of the duty of care by attending a group training to learn setting up a car seat for children which help to ensure the safety and wellbeing of clients, and become responsible for taking care of them while they are with us. 5- Understanding of and ability to use reflection, critical thinking, and procedural knowledge in the completion of learning tasks, it is by keeping my weekly reflections journal up to date help me to being critical about my practice. 6- Promoting a healthy relationship, working in the friendly environment and respecting their values and ethics gave me the necessary skills to ensure that I work effectively with other through ensuring that I do establish good relations with the members of the teams. 7- Ability to conduct single or joint interviews to build rapport and promote change. I achieved that when I interviewed the Arabic women, and I build a rapport with her which helped her to be open with me and speak about her issue. On the other hand, observing other workers while they are interviewing clients and their way of building rapport help me to know more about these strategies. Conclusion The women shelter Armidale has been focusing on the ensuring the welfare of the community. For instance, it has been working towards ensuring that the offer solution to those members of the community that experience domestic violence, homelessness, and other home challenges. The part of solution offered can include offering accommodation, food and other support services that can guarantee the wellbeing of the community. For instance, education programs are established aiming at reducing domestic violence and providing advice to the women facing domestic violence. The social workers do work towards looking the best solutions for the people in the community facing problems. My placement has made me learn various issues concerning social work and how to ensure that the possible community-related problems can be solved in a way that is effective. For instance, I learned that in the process of providing a solution to the problem to the community is important to ensure good relations. The creation of good relations can assist in sharing the necessary information that can be crucial in solving the problem in the community. Besides, I learned the need to ensure that the community is engaged in the process of looking for the solution that can best suit the community problems. Read More