Ellisha – I became a social worker because…
By Ellisha Karssemakers, student social worker at Bradford.
First Impressions
My first involvement with social workers came almost fifteen years ago, I was in the midst of an abusive relationship, with two children to raise and no family to turn to. My previous impression of social workers was of a two-headed dragon that swooped in to take children away, so when one knocked on my door, I was understandably terrified.
Yet this one was different, she looked normal, almost nice, pretty. She didn’t snoop through my house, she simply sat down, looked at me, and said, “you are better than this, don’t let him drag you down, you don’t have to stay with him”.
Such a simple thing, but it rocked my whole world view, she gave me the permission I needed to get out of my situation. She empowered me to take control of my own life and here I am today.
I became a social worker because…
I wanted to become a social worker to do the same for someone else, to go to those families who are struggling and make their lives a little bit brighter.
For some families, it is a constant fight against an under-resourced system to get the help they are entitled to and I hope to be the person that makes that fight a little easier.
The best social work takes place behind the scenes, with the service user at the front, making their own decisions and choosing their own paths.
Social work is only recognised when things go horribly wrong, but when things go right, lives are saved, changed for the better and that should rightly be a cause for celebration. Not because social workers are heroes, but because the people we work with have found the strength to do that for themselves, we are just the cheering section.
Tell us your social work story at stories@socialworkawards.com telling us your name, job, contact details and social care number (just so we know you’re a social worker, we will keep it private).