Picture Caption 'Pathway planning social workers Tania Boulongne and Caroline Newsome'
Social work seems to have been getting a lot of bad press recently thanks to a number of high profile cases in the media, but where does the reality lie? What is it really like to be a social worker, and where would society be without them?
Earlier this week the social work profession celebrated the third ‘World Social Work Day’ (Tuesday 17 March), to recognise the essential contribution of social work, locally, nationally and internationally, and explore the varied and evolving role of social work in a changing world.
Leeds City Council’s social workers help people in all stages of life, from children to the elderly, and provide assistance to families dealing with what sometimes appear to be insurmountable obstacles. Whether it be in mental health, disability, elderly care or child protection the council’s social workers provide a service few people are able to do.
Social work, like any other caring profession, is as equally rewarding as it is challenging. They work with some of the most vulnerable people in our society and under some of the most challenging circumstances - but the difference they make to these people’s lives can be immense.
Caroline Newsome, a social worker with Leeds City Council’s Pathway Planning team explains what being a social worker is all about:“Being a social worker with young people who are preparing to leave care is incredibly rewarding. It is a time of opportunity and change and young people bring a unique energy to the work.
It’s great to work with a young person who’s been in care a long time and is ambitious and enthusiastic about life. But equally to see someone who’s life was really chaotic when you first met them start to turn their life around and to value the support social work can offer makes the job worthwhile.”
Caroline works for Leeds City Council’s Pathway Planning team, which supports 16 and 17 year olds who are about to leave local authority care. The team’s main aim is to help them with the transition from being a looked after child into adulthood, which can involve helping them find accommodation, training or employment and help them with health, finance and any other issues a parent would normally be there for. The team also recognises many care leavers wish to return to their birth families when they are 18 and will work to build the necessary links to enable them to do so. They also work with people who have left care, up to the age of 24, ensuring they have someone to turn to as they establish themselves as young adults.
Caroline’s colleague Tania Boulongne explains:
“A lot of young people don’t have the same support networks other young people take for granted, and on top of that they have to deal with a lot of massive life-changes all at once; setting up home, starting college, becoming financially independent, so we are here to give them the tools to deal with these changes.”
Without the help from social workers in Pathway Planning, these young people would be almost left to fend for themselves. Research has shown that young people who have left local authority care and do not have social worker support are more likely to get involved in crime, have poor levels of education, high instances of mental health problems, as well as high rate of teenage pregnancy and poor attachment capabilities.
Caroline originally started working in residential care, with young people with learning disabilities and older people. She moved into social work because she felt it would give her the opportunity to make a positive difference to people’s lives. Caroline says her role in Pathway Planning is definitely the most rewarding because the young people she works with are going through such an important time of their lives and they can really benefit from the support she can offer.
An average day for Caroline could involve going out to meet one of the young people to help them find accommodation, accompanying them to health appointments, help them access training or find a job, or just listen to their concerns and be a friend.
Donna is one of the young people Caroline works with:Donna, 17, has been in the care of Leeds City Council for nearly ten years following problems at home. She has been with the same foster carer since 2001.
Social workers have helped Donna throughout her time in care and along with her foster carers and Donna’s own determination she has progressed well. She is currently at sixth form studying for five A’ Levels after achieving 11 GCSEs, and hopes to be a primary school teacher - she’s already picked out her university course.
As well as studying for her A’ Levels Donna is also using her past experiences to help others and volunteers as a mentor for younger children and with Childline.
With help from Caroline, previous social workers and her foster carers, Donna has been able to overcome problems in her past and become an ambitious and positive young woman.
In Donna’s own words:“Hi I'm Donna,
I have been in care since 1999, I have had lots of support and help from a long-term social worker and now a pathway worker. I have also been very fortunate to have a long-term foster placement where I have had lots of support and help. I attend Allerton High School who have been very supportive and I am currently in sixth form doing 5 A-levels and I am hoping to become a primary school teacher.”
Notes:World Social Work Day is organised by the International Federation of Social Workers and celebrated globally. More information can be found at: http://www.ifsw.org/en/f38000041.html
For more information about all the social care services Leeds City Council provides please visit: http://www.leeds.gov.uk/Health_and_social_care.aspx
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For media enquiries, please contact:
Emma Whittell, Leeds City Council Press Office, on (0113) 2474713
Email: emma.whittell@leeds.gov.uk
