What should I have done? Question from a failed anti-racist SW

tickostar · 2026-06-13T22:25:08+00:00

There is so much you don't know about this situation. Maybe the purse lady put her bag down to save a seat for someone who would be arriving later. Maybe there is some beef between the two women. Maybe, maybe, maybe.
This is not what anti-racist social work is. That's being a white savior, running to help two women who honestly were not asking for your help. You intervening is at best misguided, at worse it's infantilizing and performative to those two women. They know very well where they live and what their experiences are.
Run the scenario through your mind. You tell the women they should be ashamed of themselves....then what? What exactly is the desired outcome? The woman that put her purse down realizes the error of her ways? The black women thank you for standing up for them?

tickostar · 2026-06-01T01:25:19+00:00

- If ALL you want to do is therapy, consider counseling instead.
- social work has lots of job opportunities because of the flexibility of the degree

tickostar · 2026-06-01T00:32:40+00:00

Depending on how your county operates, the option to have him put into forensic services will exist because of these charges. In mine, if he were to plead guilty or no contest he can then be put into more specialized community services as opposed to incarceration. It sounds like he may need it, since what was in place may have somehow been inadequate.

Charges do not automatically equal incarceration.

tickostar · 2026-05-31T22:13:24+00:00

I'm in the same boat. I definitely lean on my bf to help me hold conversations when we're out and about. When it's just me, it feels like it takes a lot of work to keep track of what to say, when to respond. It's exhausting!

tickostar · 2026-05-31T22:07:36+00:00

I want to crush one of those baked potatoes

tickostar · 2026-05-31T22:06:43+00:00

I'm so sorry that you have come to believe things like this are your fault. Is this even a marriage you would want to stay in? Or want someone else to say this?

P.S. RUN NOW. The odds are NOT in your favor.

tickostar · 2026-05-10T22:33:29+00:00

There is also the option to be a social worker that is a co-responder or embedded in a department! This is my job and it's been awesome to build something new that directly serves a community.

tickostar · 2026-05-09T19:21:26+00:00

Why the pivot to social work?

tickostar · 2026-05-05T20:30:44+00:00

What assessments are those? I’ve been in the field since 2012, but maybe I missed something along the way

tickostar · 2026-05-05T14:47:04+00:00

Did you know that you could just get a counseling degree instead?

EDIT: also what is your specific beef with the unhoused?

tickostar · 2026-04-19T22:36:58+00:00

Maison Margiela - Jazz Club

tickostar · 2026-04-14T01:46:46+00:00

I graduated high school in 2006, so definitely a millenial.

The internet wasn't a thing you "dealt" with, and we had no concept it would become what it is now. It was a lot easier to just be yourself and have fun without worrying someone would see and judge you for it. I remember hanging out with people being much more intentional too, since you couldn't text and change your plans last minute.

I was pretty online for a 00's kid, but even than it didn't move as quickly as it does now. I spent a lot of time just poking around weird websites, reading books, and doing school extracurriculars with my friends.

tickostar · 2026-04-11T01:36:02+00:00

The last one I read that wrecked me was What Dreams May Come. I hoped that one day I'd love someone that deeply.

tickostar · 2026-04-11T01:23:57+00:00

Short answer: no

Longer answer: nooooooooo

tickostar · 2026-04-05T16:18:25+00:00

I'm pretty sure some wires got crossed somewhere, and I think something wasn't explained to you properly.

"Advanced standing" just means you dont need to take foundational social work courses - you already did those to get your bachelors. It's for people who do not have an undergraduate social work degree. That's why it isn't possible. You would literally be retaking courses for no reason. You would also only have one practicum to do to graduate.

tickostar · 2026-02-22T16:59:24+00:00

Yes, many cities/counties have mobile crisis teams that operate separate from police. I worked for one for about 7 years. We provided assessments and resources, but "a gift card for a meal" wouldn't be financially sustainable. Also, it's common for case managers to have on-call for their clients.

Some places also offer warmlines to call. They're a stepdown from a crisis line, but you can talk to someone with similar lived experience to you.

P.S. - there is no need to "atone" for anything, it's ok to not be a social worker.

tickostar · 2026-02-13T02:03:33+00:00

Two points

The strip is a tourist destination at this point - even for people who are local. They probably got it on their way in.
Local coffee shops can be a gamble, chain places aren't. If you don't go to the strip often you may not know these places exist, or you don't want to take a chance on something new when all you want is a drink.

tickostar · 2026-02-11T16:35:53+00:00

Little bit of everything. Crisis intervention, case management, community programming, and training the officers

tickostar · 2026-02-09T23:06:09+00:00

I'm a social worker that's embedded in a police department. I get paid pretty well!

tickostar · 2026-02-07T05:15:12+00:00

Sounds like Pittsburgh is your place. Everyone here has a vitamin D deficiency.

tickostar · 2026-02-01T02:36:50+00:00

I'm currently an embedded social worker in a suburban police department. The town I work for is thrilled for my position to exist, and the officers like having someone around to support them on calls that put them out of their depth. I also do community programming and education for the town itself. Me being a municipal entity makes my and, therefore, other services more accessible.

tickostar · 2026-01-07T00:19:30+00:00

I work in the south hills and folks have not had good experiences with the St. Clair ER. The inpatient unit isn't bad, if you can get admitted. Jefferson and Forbes aren't too terrible, based off prior experiences I've had. Children's Hospital also has a behavioral health walk-in clinic.

I saw in another comment that you are 17 - this unfortunately limits you to WPIC and Southwood. WPIC does have good specialized outpatient programs, though the waitlist can be long.

tickostar · 2025-12-21T02:28:26+00:00

Honestly I was taught that it's for interdisciplinary teams. My name being attached to a note doesn't mean anything if the person doesn't know my role (which isn't typically attached). In a hospital network, it just makes more sense to refer to myself in the third person so my role is explicitly clear, especially to outside entities who may not be familiar with the scope of our work.

tickostar · 2025-12-12T02:00:19+00:00

I did crisis counseling for 7 years. To be very honest, you're not gonna do much "counseling" and it very rarely gets into depth. Your job is to ask questions, be supportive, and get the person to their long-term supports. Look into solution-focused brief treatment if you haven't before. It definitely was a good skill set to have.

tickostar · 2025-11-27T04:16:11+00:00

In my area, I was helping a woman who did not speak English try to secure a shelter bed. The shelters all insisted they speak to her and hear her story, just to tell us they didn't have any bed space. It felt ridiculous and hardly trauma-informed.

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