What experience and characteristics are needed for a position like this?  The job description calls for strong leadership skills, experience supervising and developing programming, and also a little bit [...]]]> The Village of Niles is looking for one.  Sounds like a dream social work job, right?   Excellent salary and benefits, providing therapeutic interventions for families, and developing programming.  MSW required!!

What experience and characteristics are needed for a position like this?  The job description calls for strong leadership skills, experience supervising and developing programming, and also a little bit of practice in billing and budgeting.   This position is obviously not for the recent graduate, but it’s something to look forward to as you develop your professional skill set.   If you have this background already, then apply for it!

Other responsibilities include overall administration of the daily operations of Niles Family Services, including clinical supervision of all staff, preparation and implementation of the annual budget, implementation of policy and procedures, communication with the public and coordination with other departments and agencies.  This position also requires attention to emergency community crises work. Qualifications include Licensed Clinical Social Worker with a Master’s Degree, minimum of five years’ work experience as an Administrator or Clinical Director of a social service/mental health/counseling agency.

With an undergrad at Northern Illinois University in Corporate Communications, Ovester began [...]]]> Ever wonder what someone with a MSW/MDiv dual degree can do with their career?  Just ask Ovester Armstrong, who graduated in December of 2011, and shared his inspirational story with me about how he got into Social Work and what he is doing now. 

With an undergrad at Northern Illinois University in Corporate Communications, Ovester began his career in corporate America working for Ford Motor company.  He moved to Rockford, IL, married his college sweetheart, became a minister, had two daughters and began to be drawn toward issues of human welfare and social services.  He decided to switch paths, left his job in the automotive industry and began to work with the homeless population.  He hasn’t turned back since. 

After 10 years, he began to think about furthering his education and knew he wanted to combine his religous interests with the marketability and clinical background of the Social Work degree.  So he found our program at Loyola, applied, and began classes.  With his Baptist background, he was a little nervous about how the Catholic tradition of Loyola would mesh with his religous traditions.  What he found was a classroom experience that made him feel comfortable with thought provoking discussions, classmates from other religous traditions, and a caring faculty who prioritized human justice at the forefront of the education.

Since graduating, Ovester was hired as the Executive Director of the Booker Washington Community Center, a non-profit that has been in existence for 96 years.  Since taking on this position, he has been an integral leader in program development adding new programming servicing children, families, and older adults in collaboration with the YMCA, Chrysler Corporation, AARP, local Hispanic advocacy groups, and the local Police department.  He oversees 22 employees and still maintains active involvement as a youth minister.   

When asked what advice he has for other career changers considering going back to school or joining a career in the helping professions Ovester says, “Follow your passion.  Follow your dream.  Strive for something other than a paycheck.  Figure you out what you need to do it, whether it be a degree or whatever, and go after what you want.”

To read more about the Booker Washington Community Center where Ovester works, please visit the website or check out the following articles.

http://www.rrstar.com/insight/x206667496/Our-View-Partnerships-provide-hope-for-revitalized-Booker-Center

http://www.wifr.com/news/operationsaferstreets/headlines/Inside_Ceasefire_Rockford_155864795.html

Mission: To be the power source that [...]]]> Most people don’t realize just how much a degree in Social Work can do career wise.  The possibilities are seriously endless as long as you have the interest in helping people.  One of our current MSW students, Ashley Curtis, is the Editor in Chief and Founder of Fetchedge.  www.fetchedge.com

Mission: To be the power source that inspires and illuminates the soul of youth culture. To showcase the youth’s talents, exhilarate their minds, and expose them to the world.

While creativity, empowerment, and individuality are at the forefront of this endeavor, she has worked to create a service component of this site.  Taken from their website, their aim is to reach the youth culture through advocacy and social service stemming from four different methods.

o The Conversation: A section in FetchEdge Magazine; we raise awareness on controversial topics, make politics more understandable and interesting for the youth culture
o F.I.T. (Fashion Individualism and Truth)
o Youth Counseling
o Drives and benefits for the needs of the youth culture.

All you need is passion for service, entrepenurial spirit, and some creativity to come up with a bold, new concept such as this career in social work.

I entered [...]]]> This past week at my internship I had to do one of the most difficult things to cross my path thus far. For most of the week I work in a 7-12 alternative school, but I also work at a K-3 elementary school for 1/2 day each week. That is where this event occured.

I entered the teacher’s lounge for my lunch break at approximately 11:30am, as I do every Monday. As I was waiting for my lunch to cool off I decided to check my phone for any messages. As I scrolled through the unopened texts I found 2 from my internship supervisor. I wondered what she would be texting me about since the only texts I usually got from her were reminders about days off, early dismissals, and such.  I read the messages through once, and then just stared at them for a couple of minutes, not sure what to do next. The content of the messages was simple, but I just could not wrap my head around it. The story was easy enough to understand. There had been a shooting the day before. The victim was in very critical condition in the hospital and most likely would not make it. The tough part to swallow, though, was that this man had his nephew with him when the shooting occured. Luckily the little boy was not harmed, but he had seen the whole thing. My job was to give grief counseling to the boy.

For many of you reading this, grief counseling may be something you’re very familiar with and so this scenario doesn’t seem all that different from the norm of your day. Surprisingly, however, I haven’t had direct experience with a client dealing with this type of thing until now. The fact that the “client” was actually an 8 year old child made it all the more difficult for me. I could not imagine what this child must be feeling right now. As I sat down with him, I asked if he would like to draw, and he said that he would. As the picture began to take shape, he drew and described the events of the attack, explaining his feelings, why the people were positioned the way they were, and many more details that I never thought a young child would pick up on. I stared at the picture now in front of me and then looked back at this little boy, and I felt all the sorrow, fear, confusion, and sadness that he was carrying. We sat for a moment, just looking at each other, and I searched every corner of my brain for the right words to say. I had nothing. I couldn’t think of any profound statement, so I just asked, “How do you feel?” He replied with one word. “Sad,” he said, and he looked up at me teary eyed and ashamed. I waited for a few seconds and said, “You know what, it’s okay to be sad. If you feel like crying, it’s okay. And if you feel sad, that’s okay, too.” The boy looked unsure for a few seconds, but eventually smiled at me. After this exchange he got up, pushed his chair in, and headed for the door. I was about to stop him and suggest we talk more, but then I got the feeling that it was unnecessary. I guess in his mind the conversation was over. Maybe that small bit of confirmation and encouragement was all he needed, at least for now.

I’m sure this won’t be my last experience dealing with loss. Although it’s challenging, grief counseling is one of the most important things we can do for a client because it’s in these vulnerable states that real character is formed. I’m so glad that I was able to be there for this little boy in his time of need. I hope that the few words spoken between us will help him cope and feel comfortable enough to mourn his loss. In the end, I think that’s really all we can. Our clients don’t always expect us to make lemonade from lemons; sometimes all they really need is a little understanding.