Thursday, January 11, 2007

2007 - a new era for this Blog

My new years resolution is to Blog something everyday. Whether it’s just a paragraph on what I’ve done that day or a paragraph discussing the finer points of ‘inclusion in 2007’, I really want to update the Blog regularly. I think this will help people to get a greater understanding of my work in London.

I have a feeling that by updating my blog more regularly my work will seem less glamorous and more real life. Perhaps you’ll come to realise that I’m actually the tea boy for Oasis. Or worse, realise that I never actually do any work and this blog is filled with other peoples’ stories. Upon refection that isn’t actually a bad thought because I would love to be able to share other people’s stories. It’s a severe reality that many people leave this earth without ever having been able to tell their story. In this next term of work I really want to push on with the drop-in advocacy/support/advice service. Its development will allow the centre to offer a service for the excluded - Those people who haven’t had the chance to tell their life story.

One thing I’ve experienced in all my work with homeless men is that they love to talk about their lives. As a young trainee Social Worker (how old are you Andrew?) I was in the mindset that it was my job to provide the answers for people. This meant I probably never really gave the guys I worked with the opportunity just to talk. By allowing them space to speak it probably would have created a more honest and natural relationship. Three years on I feel really strongly about allowing people the opportunity to tell their story. Whether realistically this is always possible I’ll find out. What I know for certain is that people benefit from an unconditional ear that listens for no other reason than to enjoy a person’s life story.

1 comment:

That Hideous Man said...

That New Year's Resolution didn't fare too well?!!?!