Commented on a discussion 12/15/2009 at 8:50 pm
Ezcare, I appreciate your comment and I totally agree with you. I in no way wanted to imply that everyone has the means or resources to do these things, they were just some ideas that some may not thi
...Read MoreEzcare, I appreciate your comment and I totally agree with you. I in no way wanted to imply that everyone has the means or resources to do these things, they were just some ideas that some may not think of right away and things that I have done to help my family and others in the community that have brought results. I know that I and my classmates do what we can to advocate for all that request and some that do not. It is not easy and I understand that, I apologize if that was the impression.
I have two elderly parents and and an elderly Aunt with MS all living in the same home. Up until last year my 92 year old grandmother who suffered from alzhiemers until the day she passed from pancreatic cancer lived there as well. My mother is 72 year old retired nurse and is my Aunt's caregiver part-time because we have had so many come into our home any prey on them because they are vulnerable. We have even had to prosecute members of our own family! They say good help is hard to find and that is the truth. I know it is difficult to get services, maintain them and find relaible and honest people. I work in the welfare office and my Aunt had to go through hell to get Medicaid. In addtion we have gone through 3 caregivers for my Aunt this past year because they were thieves. We did not get the support we wanted from law enforcement and the courts so I know your frustration. I just encourage you to try and stay strong as I do and know that you are not alone.
You are also correct that it is the job of our officials to address these issues and often they do not. I suggessted the personal letter because the Representative told us in class that those recieve more attention, it is not right because everyone's voice should have the opportunity to be heard but sometimes in order to stand out from the crowd a different approach is needed. The example he used in class was this- there was a bill being considered here in Florida that would allow people to bring thier guns to work. He told us that he got hundreds of messages on his blackberry and he basically deleted them because it was to overwhelming. Then he told us about a call (one call) that he got fram an elderly woman in a nursing home who had a very small amount of money left over after all her expenses were taken care of to use for personal needs because the amount Medicare provides had not increased since the 70's-she got his attention. He drafted the bill and took the steps to get the bill passed . Now the amount of money Medicare provides to begin with is still to low in my opinion but the point he was making is that the human contact made the difference. He also pointed out that often the legislators are unaware of what goes on in the REAL world until it is brought to thier attention(not that it should have to be)-that is where we social workers come in. We lobby and strive to get into positions where we can be the decision makers so that people can recieve the treatment they have earned and deserve. There is a vast shortage of social workers in these areas which is alot of the reason why people receive the cold and callous treatment they do. Social workers think from a different perspective and the current one is what needs to change so I would encourge you and others to do your best to support each other and we will continue to support and fight for you as best we can.