C0VID-19: Social Work Responds

                In order to address how the homeless population has been impacted by the virus , I believe it is first beneficial to identify the federal definition. According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness (2012) the Department of Housing and Urban Development has recently changed their definition of homelessness. Under the new definition, an individual experiencing homeless is defined as “An individual or family who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, which includes a primary nighttime residence of: [a] place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation, or [a] publicly or privately operated shelter or transitional housing, including a hotel or motel paid for by government or charitable organizations, a person is considered homeless if he or she is being discharged from an institution where he or she has been a resident for 90 days or less and the person res...

  COVID-19:  This pandemic has created a new “normal”, changing the way everyone lives their lives on a day-to-day basis. People went from celebrating birthdays, graduations, holidays and special events gathered with all of their loved ones, to what is now the new “normal” of social distancing, face masks, e-learning and drive by celebrations. People worldwide are learning to adjust to all of this change, some with more difficulty than others. Mental health conditions are rising all over the world which has led to the leading cause of disability and death (Singh, 2020). This pandemic has created a large increase in suicidal ideations, isolation, depression, anxiety, trauma, grief, fear, and stress. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, adults have reported elevated mental health conditions associated with COVID-19 and younger adults, racial/ethnic minorities, essential workers and unpaid adults caregivers reported having experienced worse mental health o...

               The U.S. Army has been inexistence since June 14, 1775, approximately 245 years. The Army has fought many wars for our country and now is fighting a new war that cannot be seen or heard. This new enemy is called Covid-19. This fatal virus is a new epidemic in which the world hasn’t seen since the Spanish influenza in 1918. The U.S. Army, just like the rest of the world was unprepared to deal with the events leading up to Covid-19. In this blog post, I will discuss how the differences of life style has change in the U.S. Army through pre-Covid-19 and Covid-19 times. I will identify three aspects of army life through recruitment, basic training, and active duty. The Army motto of “Army Strong” is a clear definition of how the Army is dealing with the pandemic. I have volunteered in the U.S Army pre-Covid-19 for over eight years. I was in active duty for almost four years with a combat deployment to Iraq. After...

                The Coronavirus pandemic has negatively affected various population groups that social workers may come to work with, as we have seen through previous postings.   COVID-19 is medical condition added to the list of many that are partially rooted in social determinants of health.  Minority and low-income communities have been disproportionately affected by the uncertainty of symptom manifestation, long-term health outcomes and social and economic implications of this virus.  Justice-involved youth are more likely to be of color, have unmet mental and medical health needs, and are at a higher risk of infection given the proximity of congregate care.  Juvenile detention centers have been affected by COVID-19 in thirty-eight states, Guam and Puerto Rico (Rovner, 2020).  While steps to limit the spread of the virus have been taken in some detention centers around the country, some groups...

  Background    Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, the world has had to adjust to new ways of living and new work environments that have added additional stressors into their overall well-being. In particular, healthcare personnel has had to cope with additional stress and look for ways to build resilience around the COVID-19 pandemic. Healthcare workers can range from nurses, social workers, doctors, first responders, janitors, food staff, patient care technicians, and other administrative roles that have been essential in treating people who are getting chronically ill from the infection. As of November 8 th,  2020, there have been a total of 9,808,411 positive cases of COVID-19 and 236,543 related deaths in the United States according to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention (U.S., 2020). At this time, the cases are going up again and the endpoint for COVID-19 remains uncertain. As this pandemic rages on, not only is there a physical risk for...

              First Hand View Covid19 has affected the world dramatically, everything that we still had suddenly changed. We must adapt to a new normal that adds stress, uncertainty, and worries. One major area that has COVID19 has effect  has to  be in nursing homes in many aspects in the way it's run and family visits to name a few. This area is holding a strong place in my heart, I have been working in nursing homes now for about 8 years. Through my 8years in nursing, I work many areas in assisted living, long term, and memory care units as well as being involved in many different positions from starting off as a CNA to eventually going into activities, then moving on as a social services assistant, and eventually currently being offered the Director position in activities in Memory Care.     Working in a nursing home I have seen firsthand the changes COVID19 has brought to Nursing Homes. According to IDPH, there have b...

  Background The United States has the world’s largest population of incarcerated people. Close to 2.3 million people on average daily are among the incarcerated population. The United States has only 4% of the world’s population, but more than 21% of the world’s incarcerated population. Over the years, the United States have filled incarceration facilities to the point of overcrowding. When many of these individuals already face serious health problems, Covid-19 easily spreads. As expected, inmates living in congregate living environments face high rates of Covid-19 infection rate. Authors Jordan and Wilson said, “Correctional health is public health” (Jordan, A., & Wilson, M., 2020). The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for ongoing collaboration. The pandemic has also drawn the much-needed attention to socioeconomic disparities and disproportionate rates of health conditions found in incarceration facilities. Certain minority groups are overrepresented in correction...