Money
Money is a peculiar thing that life seems to be centred around. You need money to buy things, both necessities and desirables.
You work to earn money and need money to get to work. You need money to travel and visit new places. You even need money to receive prescriptions for health.
So with all of this focus in the media, politics and your own life being on money, can we ever escape it?
Why do we need Money
It is the drive for money and lust for material goods that has left the population without money, the banks facing serious questions and politicians revising budgets. There are many people within the UK who are capable of earning money but cannot do so because there are no jobs available, then there are the people who need to work for money but are discriminated against. With more and more people getting into debt and a closed job market it seems that the economic factors affecting people in the UK are drawing them into a black hole.
No matter how bad the situation seems for yourself, consider those people in need who have no access to finance. People who cannot work for one reason or another or simply cannot find work. It is in these situations that social workers have to apply themselves to ensure these unfortunate people receive a quality of life away from poverty.
Indeed it is the deprived and poverty-stricken people that launched the concept of social care originally and this has not changed. Luckily for the majority of people who require social services there is no charge, rather a government initiative to supply this help to those who need it. But social services can undoubtedly help those in negative financial situations get out of them and live a normal life.
More often than you would assume people requiring help from social work end up in situations where they cannot keep up with financial repayments. Whether this be through illness, inability to work, disability or an unforeseen circumstance. Many social services in local authorities offer free and confidential financial advice to those individuals experiencing difficulty with their debt repayments, including the negotiating of arrangement with creditors and ensuring that any entitlement to benefits are maximised.
There are a number of staff, known as support assistants, who specialise in this form of work in the social services sector, however the only people who qualify for this type of help are those who are involved with the community care criteria. The Citizens Advice Bureau also offer help of this nature.
The majority of funding the social services receive are budgeted for by the government and funded by taxes. Without these contributions the social services would not be able to continue their excellent work, helping and providing for those people in need. If you are looking for a career in social services you won't be rolling in money, as the wage is not the best, however knowing you are contributing to helping others live a high quality of life can be better than any financial reward.