Wednesday, December 5, 2012
BMHC Blog
A couple weeks back I played around with the format of the blog and gave it a bit of a makeover. I think the new site is more visually appealing and interesting and I hope all of you like it!
Monday, December 3, 2012
Snapshot #3: Be the change you want to see
What was the most significant event or experience in your CSL placement? Refer to “Specifying the Scholarship of Engagement” and identify how this event or experience fulfills or illustrates one or two of the listed objectives.
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The most
significant experience in my CSL placement was actually the work I did for my
final project proposal. While I understand that the work wasn’t done as part of
my actual BMHC placement, I found myself more excited and passionate about the
work I was doing for the final project more than I was for the work I was doing
at the BMHC. My final project proposal, which was for the creation of a
comprehensive support services and organizations guidebook for BMHC clients, is
something that was developed out my experience at the BMCH. In hindsight, I
wish I was able to initiate the proposal sooner and incorporate it into my
placement. I was however, able to spend the last couple weeks of my placement at
the BMHC speaking to Bavie as well as the clients about the proposal.
I once
made the comment in class that I believed that in order for students to truly get
the most out of a volunteer opportunity such as the ones students were involved
with in CSL, they must be engaged in something that really speaks to them. It’s
not necessarily something that students should be interested in beforehand, but
it is something that at the end of the day a student shows grows and an
increased interest in. Because of the nature of my placement and role
developing a blog, I was not able to explore opportunities within the BMHC as
much as I would have liked to. Producing the blog was something that really
didn’t require involving myself with the clients of the center and therefore
created a disconnect between me and the BMHC. I felt like I wasn’t fully
participating in the experience because up until the Women’s Group, I had no
interaction with clients. Even when it came time to participating in the Women’s
Group, I wasn’t able to engage in ways that I was expecting to coming into the
placement. It wasn’t until I started developing my proposal that I really found
‘my calling’. It was this experience that allowed me to engage with clients the
way I had initially wanted to and actually do something I was interested in and
found productive. I knew this project was something I was really interested in
because I actually got excited about it, something I can’t necessarily say
about some of my other experiences.
One of the
main things coming into the placement that I was really looking forward to was
doing community based research. I wanted to engage with clients in a way where
I would be able to produce knowledge or develop some kind of understanding of commonalties
between their experiences or issues. Not to make it sound like I wanted to turn
my placement into a science experience and treat the clients like my test
subjects; but my overall objective for the placement was to able to develop
research skills.
By working
on my proposal, I was able to develop some of the research skills referred to
in “Specifying the Scholarship of
Engagement” that I was looking forward to working on from the start. Unfortunately,
my role in developing the blog did not allow me to develop research skills and relied
on social media skills I had already developed. I was looking to find opportunities
to do surveys, ask clients specific set questions, and use that data to
actually produce something. Perhaps I was subconsciously drawn into developing
a project that would require the utilization of these skills. I believe that allowing
myself to develop this passion will help in future endeavors in this area.
The
picture I chose for my snapshot is a quote I found in the office of one of the
BMHC councillors that I feel really speaks to my situation. “Nothing changes if
nothing changes”. I’ll admit, the first half of my placement really didn’t
create a change in me or drive any sort of passion. I enjoyed my going to the
BMHC when I did, but because I wasn’t engaging with the clients or working on
any sort of project, my experience was a bit different. It was upon the
development of the guidebook that things really started to change and I began
to perceive the placement differently. Something had to change in order for me
to change. And this change was me pursuing my true interests and working with
clients in a way that I had initially wanted to. I think this quote is also relatable
to the concept I previously mentioned about students engaging in something that
really drives them. By developing or realizing a passion or interest initiate change
in a person. Simply doing a task for the sake of doing it out of a requirement does
automatically result in there being a change. A student working in a homeless shelter
does not automatically translate into that student developing a passion or
interest in something relatable to that area. In a way Dunlap’s concepts of assimilation
and accommodation could be drawn into this discussion if you toned down the extremism
of the concepts. I also think that this quote and the concept I’m talking about
can even be connected back to the different types of citizenship we discussed
in class. Perhaps true interest and enthusiasm can be the defining point in turning
a responsible citizen into a justice-oriented one?
Determinants of Health
I saw these photographs at the BMHC at the start of my placement but never took the time to properly look at them until several weeks ago. I think that these images convey rather important messages and reflect a lot of what the BMHC strives to work for. I'll let you be the judge.
Seasons Change
I wanted to share some photos I've taken of the BMHC and the surrounding community throughout my placement.
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| Beautiful tree lined streets |
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| Winter is here. View of the Mustard Seed across the street. |
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| Downtown view from behind the BMHC |
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CSL Final Project Proposal
I finally completed my final CSL project and wanted to share my proposal with everyone.
Here it is...
Here it is...
Introduction
As
I reflect on my Community Service Learning (CSL) placement at the Boyle
McCauley Health Center (BMHC), I have come to appreciate the true value and
importance of the comprehensive health care model that this organization has
adopted. By providing a single location where clients can come to access a range
of services enables individuals to look after various needs they may not have
been able to if they had to travel to different locations for each service. It
is this all inclusive model that has inspired me to create a community
guidebook for the clients of the BMHC. This guidebook compliments the efforts
of the BMHC and the comprehensive health care model in the sense that it would
provide a single reference source for information on various organizations,
services, and facilities in Edmonton that may be of value to transients,
homeless, or low income individuals.
The
theme of accessibility to information is something which I have identified as
being a challenge to many of the clients that frequent the BMHC. While
information on services and organizations in Edmonton can easily be found
online, not everyone has access to a computer or the internet. Alternative
methods for accessing information are through the use of pamphlets available in
social workers and councillors offices, and more commonly by word of mouth.
According to Baive Sara, volunteer coordinator at the BMHC, the only print guidebook
currently offered in Edmonton geared towards vulnerable populations is called
the “Tough Times Handbook” and is produced by 211 Edmonton. This guide however,
is only distributed in print form through social workers and is often in short
supply. This lack of access can create barriers to information. Because of
this, people may be unaware of what services are available and exist and where
to find them. I believe that by
providing individuals with small but comprehensive guidebooks which they are
able to carry in their bags or take home, we can help bridge that information
gap. The guidebook, because of its print format (as opposed to an online
document) and proposed availability at the BMHC, will allow clients to easily
access information. This will hopefully result in clients being able to educate
and empower themselves and lead to making well-informed choices for them and
their families.
If you would like to see the rest of the proposal , please do not hesitate to leave me a message and I can forward it to you.
Interview Part 2
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