What is it really like to walk into the DPSS in Van Nuys

Sometimes I come in wearing a badge. today I am here as a member of the public seeking aid. Going through security I had too much in my pockets…. ( “I am here until 5”, said the guard with a smile.) I’m in line to talk to the kiosk worker. Without looking up she sends […]

Slavery is Keeping Me Awake

t is 2 am and I am awake. Every semester I have ever done in college has been focused on a theme – sometimes related to course work and sometimes on my own for fun. . At CSULB I: learned to draw faces, read about the history of abortions and women’s health, learned to use […]

What just happened?

Dear Stuart of Best Buy store 1511 in Pacoima, I was just in your store. I had to ask for a manager three separate times. I was verbally assaulted by a customer in the presence of two different sales people and they did not stop the interaction even though I asked the other customer to […]

My Mental Health morning

Learning about mental health enhances my understanding of many homeless clients.

50% of Homeless Women have Experienced Sexual Violence

The #Trumptapes have made sexual assault a topic of conversation again. Donald Trump said he likes to grab pussies. FYI, “Pussy” is a synonym for vagina. Grabbing one without permission is violating someone. He said women let hem do anything to their bodies because he is a celebrity. That logic translates often to housed people […]

Politics are Personal

“All politics are local”-Tip O, when speaker of the house I take politics personally because they touch my lifeet. The laws and the people who pass them create the system in which we live. We have clean water. We are not being bombed. My kids have access to vaccinations. Our food is safe to eat. […]

The US Debt is $19.3 Trillion Dollars:Blame the Poor People

This always gets me. A sweet girl (Amy Cudworth) I knew in Jr. High posted a rant about how families could and are abusing the welfare system and she personally is paying for them. Dear Amy, your simple knee jerk reaction was to look at the most visible consumers of American Tax Dollars and assume they […]

All School day at @usc

Every year the School of Social Work has an ally School Day. This year we celebrate the renaming if a building. I kinda hope they give out all the merchandise with the old name away for free. These are the faces I see in all of my classes. They are my friends, my partners in […]

This Assisted Living Facility Is Designed to Look Like a Neighborhood

I love this idea. I worked in an locked down Alzheimer unit for a while and I think the patients would really have warmed to this. https://shar.es/1wxtQl The elaborate interior layout is meant to help patients with anxiety and depression. This message was sent using ShareThis (http://www.sharethis.com)

Internship is Taxi

A taxi being driven by a student driver. Interns will get you to your destination but there is a second driver on hand to grab the wheel if anything goes wrong.