Guerrilla Social Work

“So, what happened??

“Well they were really loud and accusing and that’s just not acceptable behavior. “

“Well, you’re right, that would not be acceptable behavior for me or you in a 711, but for someone newly sober with a lot of other issues and in a detox centre, it might be”

Come on, start where the person is at. Make sure your expectations at the same level as your client and don’t expect more than they can give. For the most part I believe that it our job as social workers, (street outreach, addiction counselors etc.) to suck it up and tolerate a lot of shit. It is  our  job to bridge the gap between when the client is at and when they need to be. If someone is “acting out” then ask yourself, what can I do to support this person to get under control and learn some self management skills?  (We are assuming that everyone is safe here, no weapons, or violence)

I fully accept that there are people who are going to try and suck you in, manipulate and generally suck the life out of you. I hope that one of the skills you have developed is the ability to tell the difference, it really isn’t that hard if you’re paying attention.

Before you go to work tomorrow ask yourself “Am I a social worker or a social enforcer? If you answered the latter, maybe call in sick and start looking for a new career.

I heard a story today, it’s a story I’ve heard a thousand times and it always leaves me speechless. It usually goes like this, someone is complaining about a difficult client, someone who has complex needs or issues. They have strong addictions, tormented by delusions or they haven’t find the motivation to change. This “professional” will often say things like “we need to discharge them” or “they won’t change, why waste our time”. Or sometimes you’re talking bout how good a client is doing and you hear the famous, “oh you can’t trust them, I’ve never met them but you know these types you can’t trust them”

What the hell do they think we’re doing here. We work with people who have complex, challenging and sometime down right interesting needs and issue, some of them even have a, dare I say it, mental illness, criminal record, active charges, or personality disorder. Why do some people expect they people we work with to not have problems, if they didn’t they we’d be out of a job

I am fortunate to have a lot of autonomy in both when and how I do my job. There are places I have to be at certain times, but I can be flexible most times. As for how, I have a bag of tricks toolbox with a variety of skills, theories, strategies and resource that I can access as needed. What I use and when is largely up to me.

Sadly, one area I have no autonomy, no control is technology. My current technology set up is a desktop system running XP and a blackberry bold. Both are locked systems and I have no ability to add programs without permission. Even updating to IE 8 and blackberry software requires a call to IT.

A big reason that IT and management gives for not bringing in new technologies is the support and training. There is a challenge in training staff and then supporting their mistakes. Now the next statement is why I get labeled an asshole radical. It is our responsibility to train and stay current with all aspects of our jobs, including technology. I appreciated that you still like your paper calendar but sorry sister time to man up and move into the 2oth century. (digital calendars are last century)

The way that most organizations manage technology is to create closed systems, but closed systems prevent innovation. The field of social work was founded on innovation and needs innovation to grow. For example, using Yammer to put together a group of people connected to housing resources then tapping into that group to find housing for people in crisis or connect clients to roommates. Or using a tool like Doxie to scan and secure documents. Hard to loose a confidential document if it is scanned and uploaded to your network. With cellular data built into laptops information doesn’t have to live on the device so even a loss of laptop isn’t a breach.

Personally, my dream mobile system is a smartphone (iphone or blackberry) with the ability to tether, a macbook air 11 inch. (yes, shoot me I like Mac. The OS is easier to use, intuitive and requires less IT support) I would settle for a basic netbook if cost is an issue. I’d throw in Doxie and a portable black and white printer. (If anyone knows a good one please let me know) That is pretty much all I’d need. I can meet with clients create goals and plans and print them out. Scan legal information, receive clinical letters for other and print them out. Internet access allows me to access any form I need, fill it out, print it.

There really is no excuse for not making the best of the technology that is  out there.

If you are using technology, sanctioned or unsanctioned, how are you using it? How are you changing your work to fit technology or the other way around?