Chlamydia cases reach all-time high

Even though our world has progressed to depths we are all amazed at, we are still fighting the big fight against viruses, bacteria and other invisible creepy crawlies. In 2007, the US had a reported ONE MILLION Chlamydia (bacteria) cases. According to Consumer Reports, this is the highest reported number for any disease ever reported. Of course, the report says that women reported at 3x than men, and young women and women of color get a double whammy. The CDC thinks there are far more cases out there that are not even reported or diagnosed! 

I bring this up because it brings up my love for prevention programming. I really believe in this idea. If you give people the tools and the knowledge, you are empowering them to make a better decision for themselves. Yea, I know what you're thinking. Unless you are living under a rock or in the middle of the desert, you should know about common health issues such as these. Unfortunately, you would be really surprised at what people do and do not know. Ignorance gets higher every day as our world expands and evolves.

Anywho - your health is important. TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF, and this is especially important when you choose to have sex. Be smart. And tell the person to take a hike if they don't want to engage in safe sex. There are PLENTY of willing people to engage in the  horizontal bop with you. 

http://www.cdc.gov/std/

Obama's People

So, after the glorious inauguration yesterday, I was browsing though the New York Time's special magazine edition - Obama's People. I came across a face I am all too familiar with: SAMANTHA POWER!!!!!!

I'm a big fan of Samantha Power (she's Irish!). She is a top foreign policy expert from Harvard, and to be more specific, she is a genocide expert. Her fist book, A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide; is a book I have referenced many times while writing papers in my undergrad. It is a seamless account of all the genocides since Armenia, and how the U.S. was or was not involved.


Anywho, this probably means nothing for any of you. However - I feel like this is a HUGE step in the right direction for Darfur and the countless other human rights atrocities that are occurring around the globe. This, to me, shows that Obama is genuinely concerned about these stupid violent acts.


My Human Diversity teacher also shared with us that he has worked with Barack and Michelle in Chicago. He wanted to give us his opinion on our new President, and the best thing he could say about the man was that he genuinely listens. Can you imagine a President that listens to his people??


WOOHOO!

My Social Work Internship: Step One Complete!

Next Fall/Spring I will be partaking in a BIG part of my education and future career goals: interning in a social services agency!

Can we say HAPPY?

Can we say EXCITED?

Can we say SCARED SHITLESS?

I have to say I am a bit upset that they do not offer any type of work with refugee orgs. This is SOUTH FLORIDA - there is an abundance of refugees and immigrants here. Sheesh. Anywho, I do have other interests. I am very interested in assisting youth with independent living skills, creating and implementing prevention programming and empowering this population to become self-sufficient and successful. SO...here are my top selections from what is offered (although I have not yet submitted the application, this is something I need to think about...)

1. An organization that provides independent living skills to foster care adolescents. This organization really stands out to me. Students work with program participants to guide and support them through a variety of independent living skills. Student will also work with various community agencies to fill the needs of all program participants. Each person is paired with a Life Coach and a Mentor. They assist with life skills, education, employment and obtaining quality housing, and actually involve them in leadership opportunities. I went to their website and they actually use technology in their programming, which is so rad. If a person obtains housing, it sounds as though they provide them with a computer so that the person can always be connected to their life coach and mentor, who do communicate with them through email and instant messaging. This does not replace the weekly face-to-face meetings but I definitely think it gives the youth some reassurance that they can reach their "life lines" if needed. Also, they provide some of the life skills training via the web, such as budgeting and time management.
2. A prep-school that provides education from PreK-12. It sounds as though I would be working with groups doing life skills classes, crisis counseling, parent education, after school groups, case management, parent groups, student groups. I do not know why I am drawn to school-based social work, but I am. :)
3. An Adoption Agency. I am not sure yet if I want to move this above the prep school to become my 2nd choice. People who know me well know how badly I wish to adopt a child one day and working within this area sounds so rewarding, as well as very depressing. (I guess all areas of social services have those 2 aspects to them though).
4. A residential facility where abused and abandoned children are assured a home, a family environment and the services they need in order to heal and grow. They provide case management, life skills, tutoring / mentoring, mental health, and after care programs. I like that interns are able to build an internship to suit their interests and growth potential with a flexible environment that gives each individual their own unique opportunity to grow.
5. A group counseling center that focuses on group counseling for all kinds of things - couples, parent-child / teen, schools, adults, etc. The thing that drew me to this organization is that groups are led by graduate students and are co-led by volunteer group leaders with graduate degrees.
   
   Anywho - more on this later. :D
   

Re-birthing Technique

You really do learn something new everyday. I must say, learning about the above was horrifying, to put it mildly. In my Social Work Research class, we started off the class identifying the exact reason why social workers should stay abreast of research in the field: because the interventions may just be downright crazy ridiculous!

I don't remember hearing about this, although that doesn't say much b/c I really don't pay attention to the news much. However, in 2000, the Rebithing technique was used on a 10-year old girl because she had an Attachment Disorder, where she was having problems 'attaching' to her new caregiver - most likely b/c of problems that happened when she was younger. Somehow, this 'rebirth' was supposed to help the young girl bond with her adoptive mother.

Anywho, the new caregiver somehow found the idiots that ran this circus show, and agreed to try this technique. The young girl laid in the fetal position and was wrapped in blankets to simulate the womb, then covered with pillows. The therapists (ha!) then pushed on the pillows to stimulate birthing contractions. In the first 16 minutes, the child said SIX TIMES that she was going to die. She begged to be let out because she was going to vomit. The therapists responded with "You want to die? Ok, then die. Go ahead, die right now." She was like that for 1 hour and 10 minutes! When they unwrapped her, she was unconscious in a pool of vomit and died a day later in the hospital.

Many things can be said about this, as I am sure all of you are thinking the same thoughts I am. However, this is why it is very important to stay on top of techniques that do and DO NOT work. In short, you can not believe everything you hear. If you want to be an effective social worker, you must take the time to be 100% sure that you methods are HELPING your clients, not hindering their progress - or worse, KILLING THEM.

This dude summed it up best: "I don't know anything about rebirthing," said Forrest Lien, Director of Clinical Services at the Attachment Center at Evergreen, a pioneer agency for treating children with attachment disorder. "We really only want to use techniques that have been used and are researched and have proven outcomes." DING DING DING! Good thinking, Forrest.

http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a39254c2414a8.htm

Every Human Has Rights

2008 is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 60th anniversary. It's time for a global conversation about human rights and the values that unite us as one human family. It can also be a time when each of us chooses to take human rights into our daily lives, individually and collectively.

You can participate in several ways:

1. Sign the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
2. Send the message below to your network of friends and family via text, Twitter and/or email:
Today is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights' 60th anniversary.I believe that Every Human Has Rights: www.everyhumanhasrights.org
3. Change your profile photo on your social networks to a photo of you with the message, "Every Human Has Rights," or to the campaign badge above which can be downloaded here.
4. Join the Every Human Has Rights Cause on Facebook.
5. Blog about what human rights means to you, and your commitment to uphold the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Send Every Human Has Rights the link to your blog so they can link back to you.