Hull House and Heartland, by Jenna Harms

A couple weeks ago for our social work class, we got to go to the Hull House and see and learn about how Jane Addams impacted the city of Chicago. I was so excited to get to go to this place because of how much I had learned in all of my social work classes about her and all of the wonderful things she had done. When I was there I was amazed! The buildings, the complexities of the programs, and all of the people that were impacted by this impressed me so much and made me want to practice social work even more than I already do.

It was also really cool to learn about all of the immigrants that the Hull House served. When we were leaving, our coordinator pointed that out to us. It was awesome to imagine people arriving to the city, walking to the Hull House and getting help settling into the city.

I love this, because this is what I am doing with my internship at Heartland Alliance as well. I get to welcome people into the United States some of the first days they are here and help them receive services. Within the next two weeks, the organization that I am interning for will help settle approximately thirty refugees and I get to be a part of that. I will learn about their hopes and dreams during their intake, I will learn about their health during their home visits, I will get to help them apply for Public Aid and Social Security, and I will get to see the pride in their face when they receive their state identification.

A couple weeks ago, I got to take a couple people to receive their state ID. They were so proud when they had this permanent piece of identification in their hands. They showed everyone around them. Witnessing activities like these makes me kind of feel like a proud parent – and I think that is a good thing in the profession of social work. Our clients essentially become our children.

No I am not a parent and I know I am far away from being a parent, but I know from how I was raised that parents teach and help along the way and eventually they let go and let their children go on their own. That is what I have been doing, I have been teaching and helping participants to become accustomed to living in this country and soon I will be letting them go off on their own. Some days I wonder what the future holds for these participants and if I will ever run into them in the future. I hope that happens because I am eager to hear about how their hopes and dreams that they communicated in the initial intake interview came true.

I really like what Jeremiah 29:7-14 says:

Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” Yes this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them,” declares the Lord. This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”

The Lord is with us and He will guide our steps. He will guide the participants of Heartland Alliance, He will guide me, and He will guide you to where you were meant to be in life.

Broken Stereotypes by Jenna Harms

My name is Jenna Harms and I am a Social Work and Political Science major from Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa. This semester I am doing my social work practicum with Chicago Semester. I am interning at an organization called Heartland Alliance. They are an organization that assists refugees in the United States. I am interning in the section of their organization called Refugee and Immigrant Community Services (RICS) in their Resettlement and Placement department (R&P). The department that I am in works with refugees for the first 90 days that they are in the United States. This means that we organize and communicate with the government or their U.S. ties (UST) before they arrive arranging housing, food, and airport pickup for when they first arrive.

With that said on my first day, I was given the opportunity to go shopping at Target (something that I love doing anyway) for apartment supplies that we did not have on hand at the office. Then I helped set up the apartment for a family that would be arriving the next day. Now that I have been interning for three weeks on Wednesday, I can pretty much do all of the tasks that are required of my position. These tasks include: apartment setups, shopping for furnishings and groceries, conducting home visits when participants have been here for a week, 30 days, and 90 days, conducting intakes for new families, teaching participants how to use the CTA, taking participants to apply for public aid and social security, and taking participants to the clinic. Other responsibilities include writing case notes, sending emails to providers, calling participants, creating files for new participants, and much much more. Check out their website when you have time: http://www.heartlandalliance.org/ It is never a dull moment at my internship! Each day I learn something new.

During my internship so far, I have had some of my personal stereotypes torn down. I knew before starting my internship that I would be working with people from the Middle East such as people from Iraq. Honestly, I was scared to be alone with them because of all of the bad things you hear about people from the Middle East. I am not really sure what I was exactly afraid of,  looking back on this situation, but my fear has since disappeared. The other day I was given the task of teaching three Iraqi men in their mid 20's how to use the CTA (public transportation) back to our office. I had to travel to their apartment alone and ride back with them. So I did that and it was great. I have been in multiple situations where this population of people have been so respectful towards me. They always hold the door open, always let me walk ahead of them. One time one of the participants tried to stop me from crossing the street when we had the "walk" sign because he was afraid I was going to get hit.

I have heard stories from participants about times when they have been alone and struggling here in the States. Because of confidentiality I am not going to describe specific situations but I have another request for you. Please help out your neighbor no matter who they are, where they come from, or what they look like. When you see someone in need help, do not just pretend like you are not home.

My semester though has not just been all work! I have had time to have some fun. Each week my roommates and I try a different ethnicity of food at a non-chain restaurant. So far we have had burgers, Chinese, and Mexican food. If anyone knows of any great restaurants to try out in this city we are always open for suggestions. I have attended an improv show, a play at the Lookinglass Theater, observed animals at the Lincoln Park Zoo, ice skated at Millennium Park, gone to the Field Museum on a field trip, and done lots of shopping! Below you can see some pictures from these events. I have mastered the CTA so if anyone would like to visit I know how to get us around by avoiding traffic. One of my prayers has been answered because I have also found a church that I am planning on calling my home for the next four months.

There’s No Place Else I’d Rather Be

by Aleesa Ribbens

Termination. It is a process that has been talked about often throughout the course of my social work education. It is an important method of smoothly and successfully bringing your work with a client to an end. Although it is a term that I am familiar with, it was not until this past week that I had to put it into practice.

Last Friday marked the last day of my internship at Cabrini Green Legal Aid. The weeks leading up to it were occupied with making sure my clients knew that I was leaving and that they were being transferred to another social worker upon my departure. It was also a time for me to tie up the loose ends on various projects I had been working on. I knew going into this semester that termination was important when it comes to working with clients, yet I am starting to realize that it is also important for the social worker; these past few weeks have also been filled with wrapping up my course work, reflecting on these past four months, saying goodbye to the friends I have made, and preparing to go home and graduate.

Recently I was asked whether or not it has been challenging for me to be away from my home college the last semester of my senior year. I will admit that when I first decided to participate in the Chicago Semester, it was challenging for me to transition out of Hope a semester earlier than I had anticipated. But as I look back, this semester has been full of new adventures and an immense amount of growth both personally and professionally.

Each week, I spent thirty-six hours interning at Cabrini Green Legal Aid. In addition to my internship, I took two classes at the Chicago Semester office downtown. It was the perfect transition from the classroom into the working world. Through my placement, I slowly stepped into the “real world” by taking on new responsibilities and working toward becoming a professional social worker. I was able to shadow experienced social workers as they carried out their work, plan and implement a series of Life Skills classes, and eventually reached a point where I was able to take on cases of my own. As I slowly eased into a professional role, I am tremendously grateful to have had a supervisor to help guide my practice. Through weekly supervision I was able to seek positive and genuine feedback on the work that I was doing, ask for help on projects that I was in charge of, and was pushed to become more confident in who I am as a social worker.

In addition to gaining confidence and competence in a professional setting, I am grateful for the richly diverse context the city of Chicago provided to both work and live in. As a self-proclaimed foodie wannabe, having one of the nations largest culinary playgrounds at my fingertips was pure bliss. Some of my favorite restaurants were The Bongo Room, DMK Burger Bar, and Joy Yee Noodle.

Weekly arts event outings provided a break from the working world and allowed students to relax with each other and take in well-known performances such as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Joffrey Ballet, and the Shakespeare Theatre at an affordable price. In addition to the food and the arts, I will miss little things like riding the Red Line to class, late night trips to Yogurtland for frozen yogurt, and mid-evening walks through Lincoln Park.

Next month will bring on a slew of life changes for me. I am moving back to Holland, Michigan and will be graduating from Hope College. I will have three short weeks to sift through my belongings, pack up my stuff, and move to Fairfax, Virginia where I have accepted a yearlong internship working at a respite care facility for children with special needs. As I terminate this period of my life, I look back at this semester and incredible opportunities the Chicago Semester has presented me with. While this might have been one of the most challenging semesters of my life, it has also been one of the greatest. I have developed a great appreciation and love for the city of Chicago and hope to move back someday soon. There’s no place else I’d rather be.