Good Afternoon young leaders of tomorrow (and today).


In yesterdays class we discussed our individual site's mission: what we liked about it, didn't like about it, what we'd change, etc. A few of us were confused about exactly what their mission was--so fleshing through the mission paragraphs and honing in on verb words that work as indicators for the "real" mission statement was great to know.


For this weeks blog post I'd like us to talk about relating with your client(s) and/or the demographic of people you are helping. Professor Rose brought up the term "driving method" *inserts Professor Rose's hand gesture* to describe the mission statement of your respective site. One thing that drives me is knowing that I can in some way relate to young adults who have committed status offenses.


In what ways have you related to the client(s) and/or demographic of people you are helping at your site?   In what ways do you think its good to take your job at your site personally and when it would become problematic? Examples would help, but please keep your client and site confidentiality in mind. Also, Please post your revised mission statement highlighting the segment that resonates most with you.


I think of Nicolas's case of where he has to directly speak with individuals from behind a jail cell and how physically close he can be with a person, but still feel distant. I think it is important for us to understand that on a deeper level, we can all relate. I don't work directly with the kids and/or young adults who are effected by Status Offenses, but growing up, I too, like Nancy, had trouble traveling to my middle school. In the winter when the weather became unbearable, I dreaded walking by myself, and sometimes decided to stay home due to inclement weather (what I considered inclement conditions for walking). This is just my experience in Westbury and can only imagine how Texas was for Nancy and many other young adults I fight for every Wednesday and Friday.


I think its good for me to take it personal that these kids are often times victimized because it gives me that "driving" force to take my job seriously. It would become problematic if I were to equate my example to the same level of injustice as many young adults whose been through different, more severe experiences.


My revised Status Offense Reform Center mission statement is: "The Status Offense Reform Center aims to help policymakers and practitioners create effective, community based responses for keeping young people who commit status offenses out of the juvenile justice system and safely into homes and communities.

Structural and Personal Violence

Good Evening Everyone,

Today was an excellent class! I found it very intellectually stimulating, especially when finally coming together and creating a concrete definition of structural violence.

On this note:

Structural Violence is defined as the interlocking systems of injustice that operate in a way that can or will cause harm because of the consolidation of power that manifests as social, political, or economic interests.

However, a concrete definition of personal violence is still under construction:

Personal Violence is when a person inflicts direct harm to any being, or place.

With this framework in mind:

·         What are some examples of structural violence and/or personal violence within your respected agencies?

·         If personal violence is present, how would you define that specific situation as an indication of said violence?

Keep in mind that when applying these concepts, it is not always noticeable depending on our roles within our respected  agencies (i.e. direct services vs. research).  It could be a bit of a challenge.

Safe Horizon:

Structural Violence:

In Safe Horizon, our clients are victims of both labor and sex trafficking because of situations within their home country that spur migration. Political, social, economic and civil strife are the main reasons why people migrate, and not necessarily why people are trafficked. People are trafficked because of the conditions in their home country that are the result of interlocking systems of injustice which include, but are not limited to the government and poverty (which is spurred by other factors). For example, Mexico is experiencing state/structural violence on an enormous scale. The government of Mexico is run by corrupted officials who support gangs that wreak havoc on the population at large. The government fails to provide the population with services that support education and social welfare. Structural violence also occurs when victims are exploited in the United States, this is through the attitudes of policy makers and individuals who are against im(migration) as a whole. Structural violence in the framework of Safe Horizon and its mission, also implicates that personal violence has  been incorporated into the trafficking process.

Personal Violence:

Personal violence is very noticeable when engaging with clients at Safe Horizon. Unlike structural violence, personal violence is often inflicted on the victim by the trafficker. Different styles of personal violence could be verbal, physical, or psychological in the forms of abuse and threats to their victim or the victim’s family. Personal violence also occurs when social service providers are engaging with a client and the provider experiences vicarious trauma. Vicarious trauma is trauma that occurs when a social service provider is affected by the trauma(s) of their clients.

Some additional information:

Training Module:

http://www.nysmandatedreporter.org/TrainingCourses.aspx

(FREE)Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy training:  http://tfcbt.musc.edu/

Hello all! Yesterday, we had a stimulating conversation in class about several concepts including:

·           Certainty

Ø  Knowing for sure these events happened

·           Context          

Ø  The background story given in literature and

·           Change

Ø   To make something different than the way it is. In this specific situation I will be referring to social change.

            After reviewing my notes the concept of social change really stuck out to me. I was struck especially as we examined the photographs in the Sturz biography. When taking a closer look at the Manhattan Bowery pictures, we were able to see the drastic change to the area and how it affected those who lived in that area (the community). The Bowery being the largest Skid Row in NYC at the time was seen as a problem by Sturz and found a way to clean up the alcoholics that decorated the streets. His solution was detoxification programs that lead to commercialization of the area, as the alcoholics were no longer present.

             This example in the book created several thoughts in mind about current changes in society, how they are compared to the past and how they affect the community. A specific situation would be the uniforms worn by NYC police. We know it is common practice across the globe for police wear specific uniforms. In my Research Methods of Criminal Justice course my class delved into deep discussion about the military modeled police uniforms. Leaving the Columbus Circle train station I found myself stunned to see police in thick helmets, NYPD labeled military uniform and the semi automatic weapons they carried. At the brink of the Ferguson riots and the increase violence against police I believe that these uniforms were in a way an act of preparation in the event of such violence to happen here in NYC or even a way to deter criminal activity, so in a way a small solution. As I continue to see these uniforms, it makes me ask several questions. When did this rising "militarism" of the police force come into play? I wonder what messages these uniforms are conveying? I wonder if people feel safer or unsafe because of them? With that being said I would like you guys to post about a certain change in society that caused you to question whether or not it is going to effective, what is the meaning behind it and most importantly your feelings about it and how you think others feel. If possible provide visual aides in connection to your post.

http://www.sott.net/image/s11/225997/full/nypd_1_620x404.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/DmmV5Cg.jpg