On April 11, 2007, I started working for the Committee on Human Services as a Consultant.  Little did I know, how my life would change.  After having worked for Child & Family Services  (13 years) as a clerk-typist and the Consortium for Child Welfare (11 years), I love what I did, but still there was something missing.

Although my jobs gave me the opportunity to do work that will help impact people’s lives, I wanted to do more.  Seeing the struggles that many child welfare agencies face, such as not being able to keep licensed social workers, not enough funding for some of their present programs or to implement new programs, etc., has given me the knowledge the Committee needs to know in helping to make their budget recommendations. Knowing exactly where the money needs to go in order to be of the greatest benefit is the best gift we could give the child welfare community.  They deserve it.  

Also, my job at the Council has allowed me to help gather other information that Councilman Wells needed for the CFSA budget hearing (I was sitting beside him on the podium at the hearing).  What a high!  I was able to get other child welfare workers to testify at the hearing, among them, a social worker who had never done it before (she was amazing).  I look forward to doing this again and to providing other opportunities to child welfare workers.

My job also includes handling some constituent issues.  I am so thankful for this part of my job because it helps me to be able to help educate and empower the community as well as allows me to receive a good education in areas that I know little about such as homelessness.  Having had a constituent to come in who is homeless, trying to find a job while making sure that he has a bed for the night, needed a little extra help in understanding the process his social worker has to follow in order to find him stable housing is gut-wrenching.  While doing my research on the homeless I have found that there are many programs available to them, but they need to have a referral.  I am still in pre-school when it comes to the homeless issues, there is a lot of great work going on, but from what I have learned so far, that there is still a lot of work to be done.  A lot of these programs have waiting list, and the shelter hotline that I called on last week (I left a voice mail because no one answered the phone) still has not returned my call.  If anyone from the shelter hotline is reading this blog, I am sitting at my desk right now waiting for your call.  

I love working for the Committee on Human Services.  To work in an office where everyone is there because they want to uplift and empower the community, helps us all to connect as being a part of the human family.