The FAMCare Blog

The devastation and wreckage of everyday lives left behind by Harvey and Irma is hard to imagine or visualize unless you’re on the ground in Texas or Florida. It’s in the big things like homes and schools and offices and stores and vehicles. It’s in the little things like pets and pictures and awards and diplomas and cozy chairs, favorite shoes and familiar cell phones that were daily refuge. Texans and Floridians driven into shelters are glad to be alive but are not sure who they are or where they belong. Overnight, their identity was mysteriously removed, and they can’t think beyond their next bite of food or available restful cot. They have no plans for tomorrow. They are not clear what tomorrow looks like. We furnish our everyday lives with things familiar (the stuff of our lives) that give us comfort and identity. Suddenly removed, we are left without context. We are traumatized and drift into post-traumatic-stress-syndrome without even realizing it.  

A long time contributor to our blog had this to share today about the negative state of our NEWS.  It's amazing that when you actually take time to focus on the GOOD, you can easily push away all of the negative information that is thrown at us each day.  When you are pounded every day with negative news - it can have an overwhelming effect on your psyche.  Have you heard or seen any good news lately?  Please feel free to share it here.

I recently read an article on the Social Work Degree Guide website.  It enlightened me to the fact that while Social Workers are tirelessly working to find solutions for their clients in need, they rarely take the time to take care of their own needs.  Unfortunately, more often than not it leads to burnout.  Please read the article below for more information on some of the symptoms, causes and solutions to Social Worker Burnout.  

I'm always interested in learning how caseworkers manage their days both when at work and when they leave work. Social work is not easy, not by far, but it can be so rewarding when you have the ability to impact the life of someone in a positive way.  When I come across interesting information or a good article, I always look to share it with our community.

FEAR is the social worker’s most formidable enemy. Vulnerable people at risk are the social worker’s constituents, and vulnerable people at risk are, of course, full of fear. Persistent fear always morphs into anger setting up a self-destructive spiral in the vulnerable. Whether working with a population of addicts, immigrants, children at risk, or the elderly, helping clients overcome fear is the first job of the social worker.

Every year we like to take a half-step back and look at the status of the social work profession. How are social workers faring in the workplace? What do future job prospects look like? How’s the pay? Working conditions? What are the main challenges?

Paul has been “sleeping rough” in Bristol, England for 17 years (Sleeping rough is the British equivalent of our being homeless). An articulate and ruggedly handsome man in his fifties, Paul said simply that after a relationship break down he found himself with no place to live. He began to walk around England and, as he puts it, eventually found himself “at the bottom of the chain.

We have shined the spotlight on the wanton prescribing of opioid pain killers by the medical profession as the primary cause of the addiction of housewives, mothers, teachers, students, and otherwise honorable citizens from every walk of life.

A respected friend of ours wanted to share a story about a group of people from his hometown in Phoenix who are special people because they did something. They saw a need and gave in to the impulse to take action. They are the ones who make a difference.  It's a great story and I wanted to share it with you today.  I hope you enjoy it.

Clara Ramirez, the first in her family to go to college, graduated from Texas Christian University and immediately decided to give back. She joined the College Advising Corps and became the college adviser at John Tyler High School in Tyler, Texas.