This assignment fulfills the competency 2.1.

9: Respond to contexts that shape

practice. For this assignment I was required to evaluate a current social problem
within my community of origin. Through this evaluation I was able to uncover what
was making this community vulnerable to the problem, what strengths the
community possessed that would assist in reducing and eliminating this problem,
what should be done to combat the problem, how prevalent the problem was and
who was most susceptible to the problem. I chose the topic of homelessness within
my community of Jackson, Michigan. I found that homelessness was more prevalent
than community members may often think. When attempting to distinguish what
could be done to work towards eliminating this problem, I sought out the advice of
other professionals who had become familiar with the issue of homelessness in
Jackson. I talked with them about the prevalence of homelessness and what they
felt would be effective in eliminating the problem. In addition to this, I also sought
out the thoughts of other community members. I created a survey so that I could
better assess how aware these community members were of this problem. Through
this gathering of data I found that many people were not aware that homelessness
was this prevalent within our community. Through this assignment I learned a
significant amount about my community and the resources available for the
homeless population. I was also able to make attempts to promote various services
and methods of service delivery that may prove more effective in reaching this
vulnerable population, thus partially fulfilling this competency. Additionally, I
investigated and appraised the changing trends over time so that I may remain
knowledgeable about the population and the problems they had encountered over
the years so that I could more effectively work to provide services for them as this
competency suggests one should.