Fluent Essays

May I get help? DISCUSSION 1 IS DUE TOMORROW 10/06/21 AND DISCUSSION 2 IS DUE THURSDAY 10/07/21 Week 6: Evolving to Support Communities: Working on an Individual and Organizational Level Last week, through your news search and your interview, you likely gained some insight into the needs of your community and to what extent existing services and resources address them. But what more can be done—in a human services context—to mitigate those problems or support those needs? In this final week, you pivot to examining solutions. You also consider the HSPP’s role. How does an HSPP enact and advance those solutions on an individual and organizational level? How can an HSPP avoid compassion fatigue so that they remain a vital change agent in their communities? Learning Objectives Students will: · Examine human services programs’ ability to address community needs · Describe funding and sustainability of human services programs · Describe growth and insights regarding communities and community assessment · Describe the role of a human services professional practitioner in advancing change in communities · Identify strategies to combat compassion fatigue Learning Resources Human Services Programs Bond, M. (2018, November 2). Cities across the country pay the homeless to pick up litter. Philadelphia may follow suit. The Philadelphia Inquirer. https://www.inquirer.com/philly/news/pennsylvania/philadelphia/homeless-pick-up-litter-philadelphia-san-jose-20181102.html Tsega, M., Kristin Giantris, K., & Shah, T. (2020, June 1). Essential social services are struggling to survive the COVID-19 crisis. The Commonwealth Fund. https://www.commonwealthfund.org/blog/2020/essential-social-services-are-struggling-survive-covid-19-crisis Compassion Fatigue Cole, R. F., Craigen, L., & Cowan, R. G. (2014). Compassion fatigue in human service practitioners. Journal of Human Services, 34(1), 117–120. Discussion 1: Innovative Programs to Address Needs Building “tiny home” neighborhoods for those who are homeless. Setting up hygiene centers in old schools and YMCA buildings to provide locker rooms, showers, and hygiene items. Offering training and support in a trade. Offering employment as city tour guides. These examples describe programs that human services organizations and community leaders around the world have tried to both improve conditions and address the needs of people experiencing homelessness. Innovative programs are not limited to homelessness, however; various community issues have been addressed through these methods. In this Discussion, you identify one need and explore a program that another community has used to combat that need. You then evaluate to what extent the same program would be successful in your community. To Prepare · Review your course announcements for possible information related to this week’s Discussion and Assignment. · Identify one need of your community that you would like to address. This need could come from the interviews you conducted in Week 5, or from your research throughout the course into the cultural, economic, and demographic status of your community. · Research what other communities have instituted for human services programs to successfully address that need. Select one program to evaluate for your Discussion. By Day 3 Post a description of the human services program you found. Then evaluate its suitability for your community in addressing the need you have identified. Specifically: Would it work in your community—why or why not? How is the program funded? To what extent can the program be sustained long-term or adapt to changing conditions? By Day 5 Respond to at least one colleague by assessing whether their identified program would work well in your community. Explain why or why not. Discussion 2: Reflection As you come to the end of the course, take a moment to consider all that you have learned. Have your views on your community evolved due to the information you have gathered? How has your understanding deepened? Also, consider your role as an HSPP working toward change in a community. In this role, is important to be both poised for improvement but also ready to adapt and try again if an effort is unsuccessful. You must also demonstrate compassion for the populations with whom you work, even when it becomes difficult. The capacity for resilience and compassion can be built and sustained through regular self-care. In this final Discussion, you reflect on your learning throughout the course, both about your own community and about the HSPP’s role. You also identify strategies for practicing self-care and avoiding compassion fatigue. To Prepare · Reflect on what you have learned throughout the course, as well as how your views of your community and the human services professional practitioner role may have changed. · Review the Learning Resource on compassion fatigue and consider how you will avoid it while working to effect change in your community.  By Day 4 Post a reflection on how this course has changed your view of your community, its strengths, and its needs. Identify one specific resource from the course that was particularly impactful for you. Additionally, describe how this course has influenced your view of the human services professional practitioner’s role in advancing change in communities, on an individual and organization level. Finally, identify one strategy for avoiding compassion fatigue that you will use in your role. THIS IS MY INTERVIEW THAT IS NEEDED TO COMPLETE THE ASSIGNMENT Email Subject: Upcoming Interview As part of my degree program for a BS in Human Services, I am charged with gathering information concerning the human service agencies in my community. As agreed, when we meet to participate in the interview at _______ on ________October 1,2021______, I will ask you to respond to the following questions regarding your agency/organization. Interview Questions General Information: 1. The name of your agency/organization? Norfolk Police Department 2. How long has your agency/organization been serving this community? Over 224 years 3. What is your agency/organization’s mission statement? The mission of the Norfolk Police Department, in partnership with the community, is to enhance the safety and quality of life in the City of Norfolk and to build trusting relationships with those we serve through fair and impartial practices. 4. How is your agency/organization funded? Government funding, federal grants, fines, fees, and forfeitures. 5. How many people does your agency employ? Approximately 740 Community Need: 1. What community problem(s) does your organization seek to address? Why? Lack of trust, providing a safe community for all through crime prevention and education and communication including gun violence. Through the history of policing trust has been destroyed amongst certain demographics. It is difficult to be effective if the people you serve do not trust you. Gun violence is not only criminal in nature but a public safety issue. 2. Do you feel these problems have increased or decreased with the passing years? I think it depends on who you ask and what communities you ask. There is an argument for both. I think in my city these problems have decreased. We have dedicated ourselves to years of authentic community engagement and building trust with our community. These relationships have grown and the partnership with the community members have proved successful in the preventing and reporting criminal activity. During the civil unrest after the death of George Floyd, Norfolk did not have the riots and violence seen across the nation. 3. To what do you attribute the increase/decrease? I attribute this to the relationships built on trust with members of the community. Norfolk has over 20 community outreach initiatives that reach the babies to the elderly. We engage in authentic intentional engagement such as PLUS police leadership unveils success (officers mentor students in title 1 schools one hour a week during the school year) Cops and Curls (a formal evening event for young ladies 5-17 filled with educational and fun events, food and music engaging with officers and female vendors), and Hispanic Citizens Police Academy (a 12-week program geared to provide information on what law enforcement officers work consists of) 4. Is there a group in the community that is particularly impacted by these problems more than others? It is my belief that our black and brown communities and our LGBTQIA communities are more adversely affected. Response to Community Need: 1. How many organizations/agencies are there in the immediate community that also pledge to address these needs? I don’t have a number as we partner with so many organizations that want to truly interact with the department and understand that the police cannot do it alone. 2. Is this number adequate? 3. How effective do your feel these agencies are/can be? I feel these organizations can be truly effective. It is about one message and one team and the more people on the team, the more effective we can be. Organization/Agency Strengths and Challenges: 1. What do you feel are the strengths of your agency? Transparency – we have launched a database for citizens to review use of force, inclusivity- we created policy to include all people and have officers assigned as a LGBTQ liaison and a Hispanic Community Liaison officer, diversity- Norfolk has one of the most diverse police forces. I am the highest- ranking female officer and the first to make the rank of Captain in 2019 and Assistant Chief in 2021, we have members of the Hispanic community as well as the LGBTQ community with supervisory rank. 2. What do you feel are its greatest challenges? Currently the greatest challenges are manpower, retention, and recruitment. This is a tough time to be a police officer. Across the nation, officers are leaving the profession for a variety of reasons to include pay and current climate of policing. 3. Do you have any thoughts about how these challenges might be more adequately addressed? We as police officer need to provide the message that policing is about service and it is a career that has opportunities for so many. It is a male dominated field, but women do extremely well in law enforcement. I often find myself telling people come work with me and be the change you want to see in policing. It is a wonderful career, with 21 years on in November I am still having a great time and constantly meeting the wonderful people who work, live, and play in Norfolk.