Policy paper
a 5-6 page typed position paper
that advocates a policy/policy reform on behalf of your
organization, to address the policy problem that your
organization primarily addresses. This paper is due by no
later than Eridgy, 12 Augu_s_t_.
Practical Paper
The ability to feel sympathy towards the others is embedded in human nature. Moreover, even in accordance with some of the most well-known world’s religions people
should help each other and encourage mutual support. To help means to support somebody on the emotional, financial and social levels. People have created community in
order to get help and support from others, in order to avoid loneliness. With the development of humanity and humanization the whole idea of support has changed.
Nowadays, many countries all over the world have established a great number of programs in order to combat poverty, crime, violence, famine, as well as different types
of addiction. Nevertheless, nowadays a social worker is the one who supports and helps the other.
Social worker is a proficient person, who provides the others with any type of assistance, as well as moral and legal support to pensioners, orphans, refugees and a
great number of other people in need. The merit of such a worker becomes assist in the distribution and receipt of different kinds of support and help. In addition,
social worker deals with legal or financial support, on the state of social services and the guardianship. Lonely old people, disabled, as well as divorced women with
a lot of children, mentally and physically sick people, as well as people with addictions, such as alcoholism and drug addiction and orphans are the most common to get
social help. Moreover, social workers should be able to provide any type of psychological support to mentally instable people. Thus, it is of a great importance to
note that such instability might be caused by caused by both, objective factors, such as various disasters in environment, conflicts based on political background, as
well as and religion or ever war. To subjective factors usually relate violence and conflicts in family, and others. Therefore, a number of people in need is growing
every day, that is why society needs social workers.
To begin with, I personally was a volunteer at Yi He Yuan Nursing Home, in Jinan, Shandong, China. First and foremost, I have found out that social work requires a
high level of humanity, as well as great level of patience and tolerance towards the others, and of course, the work requires the social worker to provide people with
social assistance that they require. An actual social worker should have a great level of emotional stability and calm. In addition, such personal qualities have
helped me to gain the trust of people in need of assistance.
Secondly, while making connection between theory and practice, I have applied such personal qualities as the ability to work in a team, the interest in personal and
social processes, as well as the ability to work in a crisis situation, and the ability to effectively use the criticism. Moreover, I believe that racism, chauvinism
or any other factors that allow intolerance or discrimination towards the others, are totally unacceptable when being a social worker. As a matter of fact, a social
worker should be able to respect all.
According to the place of my voluntary service, He Yuan Nursing Home, located in Jinan, Shandong, China, I have found out a lot about the problems of Chinese society
in contrast to the ones in US. For me the practice has been the most important part of the study. It was a real chance to check whether I find common language with
this category of the people, or whether cope with the work, as well as to check the ability to learn from my own mistakes, and the ability to think creatively.
Therefore, at the He Yuan Nursing Home, I was taught how to find a way out from crisis situations.
Furthermore, assistance is the key factor when dealing with social work. At the He Yuan Nursing Home I had to assist the others on the everyday level, for instance I
had to buy some products and pharmacy, manufactured goods, do the cleaning, escort some old people to the hospital. There were nothing brilliant, heroic or
extraordinary in my job, but I enjoyed every second of being there. As a rule, I had to provide assistance to single pensioners the disabled ones. Some of them were
sick, mentally unstable; sometimes they were quite helpless, with bad eyesight or a memory loss.
However, I have also faced with the other side of social work. Being unable to refuse to do something or showing too much kindness and compassion, the social worker
assumes more than part of his duties. Hence, he or she increases the degree of his responsibility and expands the field of criticism towards his or her actions. Such
person is trying to be the best and does not accept any criticism. On the other hand, it is of a great importance to note that social worker, by the definition, should
be polite and patient, and any manifestation of negative emotions is unacceptable. Complaints can be triggered by good intentions. The desire to be better than all
people, and the fear of some errors, leads to overload and an incorrect assessment of employee actions on the client side and on the part of the authorities.
To my mind, any state in the world should take care of its children and the elderly people. The future and the past are linked, and it is a great mistake to believe
that there is no country for old men; because all thoughts and actions have a boomerang effect. In civilized countries, the problems of the elderly and the disabled
people have long been decided on a different level. In China, for instance, the level of social help is lower than in the US, however the nursery houses are better
equipped, especially the one, I have been to, the He Yuan Nursing Home.
Thus, being a volunteer at the Yi He Yuan Nursing Home, in Jinan, Shandong, China, was a great experience, that has helped me to apply knowledge in practice, and to
help some people by actual deeds. I personally have realized that being a social worker is not an easy job, but it totally becomes a matter of life only for those, who
are willing to selflessly work for people. Social workers in practice, implement the state policy of support for the most vulnerable people who are in constant contact
with the veterans, the disabled, thus ensuring a balance in communicating the state stability. I have also understood and promoted social responsibility, as well as
employed social science knowledge. It is definitely a special profession, as a social worker makes contribution to peace, as well as it is a responsive person, able to
be compassionate, and always ready to help.
Nevertheless, as a volunteer in the Yi He Yuan Nursing Home, located in Jinan, I had to feed the ones, who did not want to eat. I had to talk with people, who do not
ever talk, I had to make them listen to me, I had to make them smile and even laugh. I gave them medicine and watched them. For many of those old people in the Nursing
Home I became not just an assistant, I became a friend and a child. It was difficult, but even more difficult is to watch as these people suffer from loneliness, how
they wait for their children to come and visit them. They wait for years. Furthermore, I provided psychological and moral support for people, in order to teach them
how to cope with some problems.
The volunteer position in the Nursing Home did not require me to do those things which I did willingly. It is important to remember that social work is an area where
some personal talents are critical. The main tool in this job is not knowledge, but practice and attitude. Communication skills, emotional intelligence, the ability to
responsibly act in its own way, as well as the ability to resolve conflicts and creative thinking are the most important factors in social work. Moreover, these
qualities were helpful when I was a volunteer in the Yi He Yuan Nursing Home.
All in all, the man who has chosen the profession of social worker should definitely be knowledgeable in moral, social and humanitarian issues, as well as there is a
great need to know items such as sociology, psychology, economics, medicine, psychotherapy, and ethics. An actual social worker should also have some knowledge in
order to provide advice of a legal nature.
