On Tuesday 26th March, ATD Ireland animated a workshop session about the ‘Poverty Aware Practice’ module for the social work students of Trinity College. ATD team was represented by Lorraine, Christina, Andrew, Kye, Jimmy and Paul. This module aims to promote positive practice from activists to social workers that will be helpful within the scope of their future employment.
The conversation between ATD community activists and the classroom was with the intention to bridge the gap between people in poverty and social workers. As the workshop started Paul spoke out on the history between this disconnection and that it didn’t belong in the present. From this conversation came out a lot of hope for things to change for the better and a genuine care for the students on ATD’s community activist’s behalf.
Professor Erna introduced the group and reminded the audience that everybody can be, or might have been, impacted by poverty in their lifetime, and that education and awareness of what is at stake when confronted with challenging economic situations is in everyone’s interest.
Tara asked the student audience to discuss their understanding of the notions of poverty and socio-economic discrimination. After one moment of discussion, one student spoke up about his understanding but furthermore shared his own experience, focusing on his access to education and the fact that he obtained support.
Paul intervened to remind them that some people in poverty can suffer from social anxiety and the stigma of shame which can cause people to be dismissed. He also highlighted that the cycle of poverty is generational and complex to break.
As one student expressed it, most people in the audience aren’t really aware of what people in poverty go through, and how socio-economic discrimination impacts them. To open up the dialogue on this matter and to demonstrate the need for this dialogue, Lorraine spoke out on practices who would not be questioned by social workers, without the insight of people in poverty. Like the fact that social workers will often come directly to people’s houses, sometimes without even warning beforehand. Not having a safe space, like an office or a coffee shop to meet up, external to such intimate places as the household to engage can lead to stigma, isolation and even paranoia as Lorraine explained.
What ATD activists all agreed on is that social workers are often perceived as a threat, by the very same people who need them and who could benefit from their help. Because of this fear and distrust many will not seek for their rights and the help they need. Adding to a lack of support in many areas from the state and institutions, the fear, pressure and stigma felt by people who deal with social workers also leads to a lot of mental health problems.
To end this is to open and motivate for a dialogue, for students and future social workers to understand the many forms socio economic discriminations can take, be aware of experiences of poverty and take into account the insights of the people experiencing poverty.
Kye argued for the need of a consistent following of children by at least one same person through their whole stay in the foster care system. He shared his own experience and how this lack of consistency was harmful to him. Because of this lacking in the support brought to children and young adults and since their family system is often dysfunctional, Kye explained no one is aware if you even know as simple things as tying your shoelaces for example. It also leaves young adults alone facing what are common expectations, like feeding yourself properly or running a washing machine. This leads to a form of dependency from which it is very hard to break free from and that is one of the ways poverty is maintained and why it’s so hard to get out of it as it becomes systemic.
After a short break, Christina shared a part of her speech related to minimum income which was also presented at the European Parliament in Brussels. She reminded the notion of the standard of living which is not only obtaining enough resources to survive but doing it to live. She explained that kids are particularly touched by the lack of resources creating more causes of discrimination.
As a conclusion of the layout, ATD members talked about the poetry projects “Lockdown Liberties” and “Creative Pathways to Participation” and got some copies of the “Lockdown Liberties ” project. Having reminded the creation context of this last one, Lorraine, Jimmy and Christina read some of their poems to the audience who showed applauding feedback.
A lot of the interactions and discussions were with students who shared an understanding of poverty because they experienced economic difficulties in their lifetime or came from disadvantaged backgrounds as they shared it themselves. Their ability to connect with ATD community activists shows the need for more awareness of poverty, for more conversations and interactions for all social workers to feel capable to connect and build trust with the people they work with.
Interventions like this module enables understanding, empathy, connections and the necessary input of people actually concerned by the work of social workers.
Lorraine ended the intervention by wishing the best of luck to all students, telling them to take care of themselves and sharing lots of good intentions and respect for their vocation, ending the module with hope and care.
Thank you so much to the Community Activists, Trinity College the students, Professor Erna O Connor and our new ATD volunteers for the support.
