Reference no: EM133418862

Case Study: Cases do not have "right" and "wrong" answers-they are dilemmas and complex situations. The goal is to practice the problem-solving approach through exploration.

Guide the discussion through the use of open-ended questions

SAM

You are part of an ethnographic research team with the goal of helping the U.S. Census Bureau find better ways to count the population of homeless individuals and families. Over 12 months, the team has been closely following 156 households as they move in and out of various homeless situations. In the course of the project, the team has had over 45 separate recorded contacts with an African American man in his fifties, named Sam.

Sam used heroin, cocaine, and alcohol. He suffered from chronic liver disease and various intestinal ailments. He was evicted from public housing because "they didn't like my friends" (referring to the drug dealers) and he was "persona non grata" at the local single room occupancy (SRO) hotel. When the team first met Sam he was sleeping at friends' apartments and in the hotel lobby. A frequent fear of Sam's is that he would fall asleep and be robbed.

The research team became advocates in Sam's quest for housing. At the suggestion of a team member, Sam spent several weeks in a local shelter, but the nuns asked him to leave when he wanted to keep his bed, but spent nights outside of the shelter. The team helped him to get a security deposit that was needed for an apartment. One of the team members went to look at rooms with Sam, and after a full ten months, they found a landlord who would accept him. One of the team members, a fourth year medical student, often called the local hospital to find out the results of laboratory tests for Sam. The team also paid for Sam's birth certificate, which he had lost a long time before, but needed for access to some forms of housing.

Through the 12 months of the study period, Sam went from sleeping in lobbies, at friends' places, in a shelter, and finally in his own room. At the end of the 12 months, Sam told the team that he was very worried about his health because he kept passing out. He said that he was not using "a lot" of drugs or alcohol, but he was not abstinent. He still had his own room.

Questions:

1. Identify and sort through the relevant facts presented by Sam's situation.

2. Identify the problems, issues, and concerns that arise with Sam's situation.

2a. How would you classify Sam's homelessness?

2b. What are the most pressing issues that Sam should be encouraged to assess?

3. Identify the positive and strengths aspects of Sam's situation.

4. Develop a list of options and an initial plan of action for social work intervention with Sam, given your current role.

5. Identify any additional information, research knowledge, or resources that are needed to develop and select options; identify ways to gather what you need; gather what you can.

6. Develop a strategy for social work practice with Sam. Be sure that you have a concrete and specific strategy for how you would address issues with Sam. Consider the reactions you might expect from Sam, and develop a plan for how to respond. What kinds of referrals in your practice community would you make and why? What are the intervention goals?