the social outreach worker thread

Gaon · March 27, 2019, 10:05:14 PM

~~Quote from: "Blurt"~~Thanks for the bump, Fash. ac_hithere Hadn't seen this thread.

I live and work in Victoria. Came here in the falll of 2016 from la Belle Province. This is a return for me, as I lived here for a couple of years in the late 90's and for just over three years in the mid-80's. Montreal is my home. Victoria is my home, too.

Per capita, Victoria has a bigger problem with homelessness than does Vancouver. The weather here is much more clement than in Vancouver. It rains far less. They call this part of BC "Canada's South Pacific" for good reason. It's also the end of the line. No wonder those with no fixed address wind up here.

I would agree that there are many people who become social outreach workers for the wrong reasons. Then again, many people become cops or technicians or rig pigs for the wrong reasons, as well. That doesn't mean they're not good at what they do, though.

I was invited into the field by social workers and outreach workers who knew me and who believed I might have a certain talent for the work. I took to it like a duck to water. My enthusiasm for the work I do stems from the fact I feel a certain affinity for marginalized populations. Also, I'm a cool customer when under pressure; weapons, overdoses, psychotic rages, cops, brawls and rumbles, accidental deaths, ambulances, end-of-life dramas... bring 'em on, we'll sort this out right quick. I bathe in it every day and, as it turns out, thanks also in part to my experience as a security worker, I'm very good at de-escalating individuals and stuations, in calming things down and making sure cooler heads prevail.

As Leo himself has said elsewhere, people working closely with humans in crisis can, and eventually will, burn out. I avoid this by looking at human crisis not as proof of how ugly and savage we humans can be but as proof of how fragile we actually are. In that sense, I feel there's an element in my work that's akin to spiritual work for me. To remember, and even to honour, that fragility.

I don't know if I'm in this field for the right reasons. It certainly feels like I am..

About the money part, yeah, so it's not the highest salary in the world (anywhere between $20 and $28 an hour) but the incredible satisfaction I derive from earning a living in a way that coheres with my most deeply held beliefs and cherished values more than makes up for the low-ish wages.

Also this: the kind of work I do is almost at the bottom of the list for professions and occupations that are threatened by automation. I won't be out of a job any time soon.

I thought you lived in Vancouver.

Bricktop · March 27, 2019, 10:55:08 PM

~~Quote from: "Blurt"~~You guys! :001_tongue:

You're so... you know... funny!

There's nothing funny about half priced hamburgers!!!

Anonymous · March 28, 2019, 02:08:02 AM

~~Quote from: "Bricktop"~~
~~Quote from: "Blurt"~~You guys! :001_tongue:

You're so... you know... funny!

There's nothing funny about half priced hamburgers!!!

Particularly to everyone else who pay full price.

Frood · March 28, 2019, 02:43:28 AM

If I ran a burger stand, cops, government workers, lawyers, real estate agents, politicians, and red heads would be charged double.

Bricktop · March 28, 2019, 02:54:15 AM

If you ran a burger stand, it would be just like this forum.

No-one buys your shit.

Frood · March 28, 2019, 03:00:01 AM

I'd probably spit in Bricktop's burger too.

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the social outreach worker thread

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