Evidence #2

Journal Reflection

My reflection was in regards to an experience I had at my internship. I was attending my

shift in the resource room, which is a room dedicated for clients to visit whenever they need

some sort of service. As recorded in my reflection a Spanish speaking woman visited the room

distressed about a recent car accident. She explained that she was hit by a car while crossing the

crosswalk. She continued to report that the perpetrator then exited the vehicle to hit her on the

ground so that she would not be able to see his license number. The client handed me reports of

the accident and her hospital visit. In the perspective of competency three there was an injustice

committed against the client, and there wasn’t measures taken by the police to absolve this

injustice. From the demeanor of the client she wanted to do something more and advocate for

herself. Therefore we discussed some of her options and she decided that she wanted me to assist

her with obtaining a lawyer.

In contrast to the first learning behavior of competency three in which it is important that

I have an understanding of social, economic, and environmental justice I had the opportunity to

engage in a practice that defended these rights. It was the client’s self-determination that brought

her to the conclusion of getting a lawyer. In correspondence to competency three she has a right

as a US resident to obtain a lawyer, so I wanted to complete the second learning behavior of

engaging in practices that advance social, economic, and environmental justice by assisting

her with her search for a lawyer. As recorded in my journal I called the state’s legal services to

direct me to the appropriate service. I was transferred a couple of times to narrow my search of a

lawyer that would be appropriate for her. It was also important that she had competent services
available to her that could offer service in her language, therefore I sought lawyers that met her

needs as a client.

Upon getting in contact with an appropriate lawyer I handed the phone to the client for

her to be the expert of her situation and explain her perspective of the accident to the phone

operator. We were able to coordinate an intake for her that afternoon with the lawyer, and she

visited me the following week to thank me for my assistance. My work with this client is

evidence of my completion of competence three. Firstly I engaged the client and listened to her

present her case of the incident. Applying my understanding of social and economic justice I

recognized this as an injustice to the client, and presented her with her rights as well as some of

the options she can pursue to advocate for herself. Deciding upon the option of obtaining a

lawyer was determined by the client. My role in this case was engaging in supporting her pursuit

of self-advocacy against social and economic injustices.

However without competency and knowledge of the client’s rights to legal services as

well as injustice I would not have been able to assist the client. She was unsure of what she

wanted to do initially when presenting to me the problem. Therefore I utilized my knowledge to

suggest to her the option of getting a lawyer, and then proceeded to arrange her with the

specified service.