COVER STORY & SPECIAL SERIES • PART 3: CENTRAL ALBERTA
RICH, REWARDING AND DIVERSE AS TOLD TO JERRY CORDEIRO OF THE HUMANS EXPERIENCE
TO CELEBRATE 2020 SOCIAL WORK WEEK, ACSW COLLABORATED WITH THE HUMANS EXPERIENCE. PHOTOGRAPHER AND JOURNALIST JERRY CORDEIRO TRAVELLED THROUGHOUT OUR PROVINCE TO INTERVIEW AND PHOTOGRAPH NINE ALBERTA SOCIAL WORKERS WHO GRACIOUSLY SHARED A GLIMPSE INTO THEIR NORTHERN AND RURAL PRACTICES, AND THEIR THOUGHTS ON THE PROFESSION. THIS IS THE FINAL PART OF THIS SPECIAL THREE-PART SERIES.
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DAWN CHRYSTIAN, BSW, RSW – BRUCE, AB here was no one particular event or experience that led me directly to social work. It was more a result of a number of experiences, a greater understanding of the role and how it relates to my personal values and ideal way of being in the world. Before becoming a social worker, my only foray into the “helping” professions was a period of time that I spent working in a group home for adults with intellectual disabilities. It has been a decade and a half since I worked with these individuals, yet even now their stories remain vibrant to me and continue to inform my practice. In this role, I learned a great deal about our inherent right to dignity, and the importance of cultivating a strength-based approach to working with others, although I would not understand these concepts formally until I began studying social work.
Dawn
BSW, RSW
14
WINTER 2020
I am the director of Viking/Beaver Family & Community Support Services (VBFCSS). Our organization supports the east portion of Beaver County, and includes the communities of Holden, Bruce, Viking and Kinsella. The VBFCSS mandate is to provide preventative programs and services that help people develop resiliency, healthy relationships and connections to their community. There are no “typical days” at VBFCSS. We are extremely responsive to our community and what we do on any given day may consist of working one-on-one with clients and referring them to appropriate resources, planning or hosting an event with our VBFCSS team, or meeting with the community partners to discuss emerging concerns. The most rewarding part of my job is connecting with individuals and supporting them in evoking their own sense of determination. We as social workers are often meeting individuals on some of the worst days of their
