Blog 6

For my service learning, I am working the front desk at the Family Resource Center in Oxford. I have volunteered there once, though so far I have only trained. There is a lot more to learn than I expected, because I have to be familiar with a lot of the social service agencies and resources so that I can know where to refer the people who call. Like we learned on our tour, the Family Resource Center offers many services to the community, such as ESL classes, emergency financial assistance, and GED Test preparation classes. However, a big part of what the FRC does is refer people to other local and federal social service resources. Social workers at the FRC often act as “brokers”, a term defined on page 147 of our textbook as “a social worker who helps clients navigate the often bewildering maze of agencies that offer programs and services that are most appropriate to problem resolution.” When I began to try to learn all of these different resources, I was surprised by how many there are and how complicated their application processes can be. Missy was training me, and I was so impressed by her detailed knowledge of all the resources available to her clients, and I was struck by how much skill and knowledge it takes to be a competent social worker.