Communities at Risk and Housing

Communities at Risk and Housing

Introduction

Since human behavior is a product of various influences, Webb (2019) notes that it is not always that a noxious environment brings devastating results to children. The dynamics of Craig’s childhood environment could have been manipulated positively to help create the desired result in him. This paper will discuss how a social worker could have helped him if they had met him earlier and how to help him now in follow-up care after discharge from the hospital.

How a Social Worker Would Have Helped Craig

If a social worker could have been involved with Craig at an earlier date, they could have helped Craig in several ways. First, the social worker could have worked with Craig and his foster parents to establish bonding and attachment. Webb (2019) defines attachment as an enduring, reciprocal affection bond that is focused on a particular person. Usually, the first attachment figure is a child’s parent(s) or caregiver, and in this case, since Craig’s father abandoned him, his first attachment figure is his foster parents. The social worker could work with Craig’s foster parents to ensure that they form a secure attachment relationship so that he grows to be confident to leave the secure foster base and explore the outside environment, knowing that his foster parents would respond comfortably. Craig’s foster parents should have expressed a desire to form attachment and bond relationships with him so that he could grow up confident to face the outside world on his own. Webb (2019) found that children who have inconsistent or unreliable caregivers end up being anxious and resistant to attachment. This explains Craig’s laying off experiences, lack of attachment to his employment, anxiety feelings, and even depression symptoms.

Follow-up Care

Craig would need to work with the same social worker who will be working with him even while in the hospital. This will help in the maintenance of consistency so that he develops some confidence through dealing with anxiety, attention deficit, and depression. According to Webb (2020), this will help Craig to develop trustful relationships and commitment with his other relationships, and this is likely to have a [positive effect on his next employment. Maintaining the same social worker is useful because research shows that a group that receives follow-up by the same mental health worker shows lower rates of attempts of suicide and higher adherence to treatment (Bunney et al., 2002). Craig’s post-discharge follow-up needs to take longer, say about twenty-two months or twenty-four months. The hospital needs to employ a suicide intervention counselor who would work hand-in-hand with the social worker. According to a research study by Bunney et al. (2002), an experimental group that was treated by a suicide intervention counselor showed significantly reduced rates of hospital readmission for attempts of suicide within a 22-month period of follow-up, compared to the patients that were treated normally. The social worker and the intervention counselor need to maintain contact with him for a long period of time to avoid relapse and to develop a trustful relationship with Craig.

Recommendation and Conclusion

In conclusion, it would be useful for Craig to engage in volunteer work in his free time. This will help him in finding meaning in his life aside from his daily work. Besides, this will increase his experience and reputation, which is likely to boost his CV for potential well-paying jobs. According to Jacobs et al. (2010), people find meaning in their jobs and occupations, and therefore, this will help Craig find meaning and be too involved in helping others to think about depression.

References

Bunney, W. E., Kleinman, A. M., Pellmar, T. C., & Goldsmith, S. K. (Eds.). (2002). Reducing Suicide: A National Imperative. National Academies Press.

Jacobs, D. G., Baldessarini, R. J., Conwell, Y., Fawcett, J. A., Horton, L., Meltzer, H., … & Simon, R. I. (2010). Assessment and treatment of patients with suicidal behaviors. APA Pract Guidel, 1-83.

Webb, N. B. (2019). Social work practice with children, Fourth Edition. New York: Guilford Publications.

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Chapter 13 Case Study: Communities at Risk and Housing
Craig is 22-years-old. His mother died when he was 5 and his father abandoned him shortly afterward. Without close or extended relatives, Craig lived most of his childhood in foster homes and residential placements. Upon turning 19, Craig enlisted in the U.S. Army. Before entering military service, Craig studied for and passed his General Educational Development (GED) test to demonstrate high school equivalency. He served for nearly 2 years before being discharged as result of unruly conduct and a behavioral incident with his sergeant.

Communities at Risk and Housing

For the past 6 months, he has rented a room from an Army acquaintance and worked as a general laborer at a nearby commercial warehouse, earning US$8.00 an hour with health-care insurance. Because of the terms of his discharge from the Army, Craig does not qualify for VA or military benefits. A month ago, Craig began experiencing difficulty with his supervisor and having problems with leaving his room and missing work. Subsequently, Craig was fired from his job and has been diagnosed at his local mental health clinic as having attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, depression, and anxiety. Because of his employment termination, Craig does not receive unemployment benefits. He has never owned a car.

Without rent money, Craig will soon need to seek emergency shelter services. With little success, he has been searching for jobs on the Internet and fears loss of a permanent address will further hinder his employment possibilities. Two days ago, Craig experienced a major breakdown, became suicidal, and was admitted to a local hospital’s inpatient unit. Craig is an example of a person with mental health issues who struggles with qualifying for social welfare and housing programs. He can’t afford to continue his health insurance through COBRA and soon will not have an address for applying for programs such as Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps). Social workers from the inpatient unit are familiar with community options for mental health services, employment, and housing to assist Craig to regain employment and independent living.

1. How could a social worker have helped Craig to avoid getting to this level of crisis if one had been involved with him at an earlier date?
2. What sort of follow-up care will be necessary for Craig after his discharge from the hospital? What kind of discharge plan does the social work team at the hospital need to have in place?
3. What would you suggest for Craig beyond getting another low-paying job that may keep him at risk for inadequate housing opportunities? What is Craig does not feel he can aspire to do anything more than low-paid manual labor or retail work?