This week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Deona Hooper, MSW. Deona is a recent honors graduate and currently works as a Child Protective Services Investigator.
Deona is very talented and skilled with technology and through the combination of her computer skills and knowledge of the social work field, she has created www.socialworkhelper.com, a social networking community for social work practitioners and students.
In this post, you will have the opportunity to not only learn about this site, but to also hear about Deona's unique journey to becoming a social worker. She is a third-generation teen parent who has struggled to work and study her way out of poverty. I think you will find her determination, hard work and generosity inspiring.
Deona - Could
you describe a bit of your background?
I
would define myself as a complex person with a complex history. My educational
background is not reflective of where I come from. My grandmother was a
teen mother, my mother was a teen mother, and so was I. There were many
barriers and challenges in life that I had to overcome, but that is a story for
another time.
In
1997, I graduated from Methodist University with a double major in Social Work
and Sociology. After graduation, I found work as a
correctional officer in a Supermax facility, and later as a sworn law
enforcement officer working on patrol.
While
serving as a LEO, I started working part-time as Loss Prevention Detective in
the private industry which eventually transitioned into a full-time
Detective position. In this position, I began to gain experience in developing
policy, writing security protocols, training staff, and using data driven
analysis to reduce company losses. Private industry fully embraced
technology while sparing no expense in order to identify patterns in large
streams of data.
Several
years later, a family tragedy required me to move back home to help out my
aging parents that required me to look for new employment. In 2007, I
officially became a social worker despite feeling like one in my other
jobs.
I
worked as a Child Protective Services (CPS) Investigator for two years before
deciding to pursue an MSW in Social Work Management and Community Practice from
the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in May 2009.
While
there, I also obtained an additional certification in Nonprofit Management
before graduating in December 2010. I am a North Carolina Child Welfare
Collaborative Scholar, and I also interned for the National Association of
Social Workers-NC Chapter as part of my field practice.
After
graduation, I found it difficult to find employment in the field. Despite my
previous CPS experience, BSW, and prior work history, I was told that I
had no post master’s experience. I was finally able to re-enter the
workforce as an entry level CPS Investigator in March 2012.
Could
you tell us what is Socialworkhelper.com and what led you to its creation?
During
the year I was unemployed, I decided to pursue a secondary bachelor’s degree in
information technology at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell.
Technology has always been a hidden passion of mine. I thought that I
needed a degree to legitimize my self-taught skills. Also, I needed some more
student loan money to prevent me from losing my house.
Socialworkhelper.com
was born from pain. This time period was one of the most difficult times
in my life. I had no health insurance, and had to access the free clinic for
health care. I was depressed about the debt that I had acquired to seek higher
education, and I was afraid that I was going to lose everything that I had
worked for. I couldn’t seek counseling because I didn’t have any health
insurance.
I
thought to myself, “ Who helps social workers when we need help?” I had to let
go of my professional association memberships because I could no longer afford
it. LinkedIn and Facebook did not feel like the appropriate forums to post some
of the things I was feeling.
I
was very conscious about what I posted due to potential employers using social
media to review potential candidates. Where are the support groups for people
like me? I knew that I could not be the only person experiencing these feeling
during this recession. An idea was born, and I began building the network in
pieces until it developed into what it is today. There is a member
approval process that is intended to prevent spammers from gaining access to
the network. Most importantly, I have designed the interior of the
network to prevent Google bots from archiving posts on the network.
How
did you decide on the site’s various components?
Socialworkhelper.com
is constantly evolving. As I meet professionals and students from around the
world, I am able to identify their needs and build accordingly. I am currently
working on developing access for a Google Hangout inside the network as well as
a mobile app on both Android /Apple devices.
However, I
decided to rollback the dates on those two projects in order to develop the
resource directory, groups and mobile web access for all devices.
Currently the network supports the import of Wordpress blogs for each user to
their homepage. In addition, members can choose to update Twitter and
Facebook simultaneously when they update their status on Socialworkhelper.com.
Can someone with google blogger upload
their posts?
I have made some adjustments. I have not
been a big fan of the google blogger, but I did add an option for those who use
other options such as Tumblr, Typepad and Blogger. Now, users have the
ability to add an rss feed to their My Page in order to import other types of
blogs onto their page. Just add the url to the gadget, and then decide how many
posts you want to import onto your page.
The site has various support groups for
unemployed professionals, new social workers, students, and more. Could you
tell us how these support groups work and which are the most active?
I
started a few groups to show members the tools and capabilities groups can
provide for their networks. The most active group unfortunately is for
unemployed workers. They use it to share resources and tips, as well as provide
support to one another. Even those that have found employment since the network
has begun still post resources and give information to the group.
The
Globalization of Social Work Practitioners and Educators has the most members
spanning from over 16 countries. This group has the most potential for global
discussion. Posts in this group indicate that we are all facing similar
barriers and challenges in our respective countries. The Social Work and
Technology groups for individuals and small businesses/nonprofits are also
popular on the network.
How
is this site different from other social networks?
Other
social networks prevent members from connecting others they do not know or
who are out of their networks. Viruses and spam on these networks reinforce
members' apprehensiveness to reach out to others in their field of practice.
Current
social network models promote fragmentation and group isolation. It is
very difficult to cross collaborate, share information, show support or work on
projects using other social networks.
Socialworkhelper.com
is designed specifically to do the opposite. Not only can you upload photos and
videos, but you can upload/store power points, pdfs, and other data files.
Groups are designed to be used as your own mini network. When
someone creates a group, they have the ability to create pages, add files, and
other media to be stored inside the group. Additionally, group members have the
ability to message all members in the group and determine whether to leave the
group opened or closed.
Other
social networks or Google groups, do not give members the ability to organize
and store data without searching through long streams of posts within the
group. Conversely, groups in this site can operate like their own social
network while remaining connected to the community.
How
are you hoping that social workers may benefit from the chat/video chat
features of socialworkhelper.com?
My
hope for the network is that existing groups/associations will create groups on
Socialworkhelper.com.
I want them to utilize the available tools in order to develop and/or work on
real-time solutions both locally and globally. No more posting and waiting for
a response.
Members
can have real time discussions if they choose too, and they are no longer
limited by their geographical locations. Social Workers in New York could
easily share their ideas via video chat, private, or group chat with Social
Workers in California, United Kingdom, or the Down Under Australia.
However, members will be limited to who they can invite to chat according
to their friends list.
Groups
are a great way to meet others who share your ideas. Remember, anyone can
send anyone a friend request because this is our network. The network
also incorporates a twitter dashboard to engage and monitor live twitter
streams as well as the ability to follow members on twitter by hovering over
there update/tweet on the network.
How do you envision this network evolving
over time?
I
created this network to be fluid and have the ability to evolve based on the
needs of the community. This is why I give users so much freedom to create, design
and store data in their space. Additionally, I have designed this network
to be mobile.
I
look at Socialworkhelper.com
as a canvas, the paint brushes, and the easel. The network is only a
vehicle to facilitate communication without the restraints on other social networks.
Currently, Social Work entities are trying to facilitate a global social work
agenda using conferences to facilitate communication and collaboration between
major stakeholders.
Technology
is the only means to facilitate communication at a grass roots level while
eliminating cost as a barrier to engagement. Social Workers tend to be good and
kind people. Whether you are traveling cross-country or abroad, wouldn’t it be
nice to know some locals? I believe the potential for this network will
be limited only by our vision.
Could you use help from the social work
community in bolstering socialworkhelper.com in any way?
The
soul of this network depends on the social work community. I have tried
my best to find free resources and pool them into one place for professionals
looking for information and support who may be lacking in financial resources.
The best resource is the social workers themselves.
There
are many in the social work community who are passionate about technology, as
well as their practice areas. Some are passionate about social work and technology
in education or in clinical practice. Some are interested in the research and
affects of social work and tech.
My goal
is to create a place for these folks to facilitate discussions and share their
knowledge with each other and the community. I want students to not only
interact with other students from their school, but I want them to interact
with other students domestically and abroad.
The
network could use people to lead groups, facilitate discussions, import their
blogs to share their perspective,
share research, or training power points that maybe helpful to someone dealing
with the same issues with limited resources.
The
network is really open for members of the social work community to create or
engage based on what they care about the most. I am also thinking of
adding a webinar component for those who want to share knowledge in a teaching
format.
If I may go back to the personal arena, are you the
first person in your family to have gone to college?
Yes, I am the
only one in my family that decided to go to a four-year university. I do have
one sister that obtained an associates degree from the local community college
for computer technology. She was diagnosed with Lupus shortly after and
complications prevented her from entering the field.
Neither of my
parents finished high school, but they made sure all of their children
received high school diplomas. My parents have been together for 49 years and
both of them retired from manufacturing jobs. Despite the challenges they both
faced growing up, I know they gave their best.
What advice
would you give other aspiring individuals in similar circumstances?
I believe the
ability for my story to be possible today is deteriorating. There is a real
push in this country to prevent those living under the poverty line to make it
into the middle class. Unless you hit the lotto, marry well, or get a quality
education, there is no way for someone to escape surf-doom. Education is being
attacked from 0 to college.
Although each
of my parents worked two jobs each, they at least had a manufacturing job with
benefits as their primary employment. Outsourced or offshored, depending on
which term one feels is more applicable, those jobs are no longer available in
this country.
During this
time, I was at least able to qualify for daycare and medicaid as a full-time
student on AFDC (Aid to family for Dependent Children) an IV-E program that
gave a stipend of $232.00/month. Imagine having to sit with a financial aid
officer going over your Student Aid Report at a 20 grand a year predominately
white institution. In college, I learned about Planned Parenthood and health
education that helped with prevention.
Now, Title IV E
would rather pay daycare approximately $700.00 per week for a single mother of
five children while she volunteers, but Work First won't pay if those same
hours were spent in a classroom.
When people
with limited financial resources make the decision to get an education, it is
not simply a choice about taking out student loans or not. Decisions are being
made about having health care or not, leaving children home alone or not,
having something to eat or not, and/or having electricity, water, and heat on
all at the same time. Planned Parenthood programs are being defunded and
prevention resources are becoming scarce.
Getting my
Master’s Degree two years ago almost broke my spirit, and it wasn't the
curriculum. No American should have to choose between meeting their basic human
needs (food, shelter, health care) in order to obtain a degree. I thought after
getting my bachelor's degree I had escaped the worse to endure. Survival is
instinctive. When you come from a humble beginning, you survive until you can
get to a place where you can live, at least that is the goal.
I had a support system, and my gift from
God was intelligence. Although I may have graduated with honors and I received
my masters at an accelerated pace, I never had to study more than the night
before. I have often wondered what I could have achieved if I hadn’t been in a
constant state of duress while earning my degrees. What about those without a
support system, both parents, and who need to focus on studying instead of
eating?
In my opinion,
those who are aspiring to escape their circumstances, are not the ones who need
advice. It's the academics, researchers, and the policy makers who do.
Thanks
so much, Deona, for putting together such a wonderful resource for the
benefit of social workers around the world! I am also most appreciative
for all the honesty and courage you exhibited in sharing how hard it was
for you to go after your MSW. We, as a country, need to do better...
Feel
free to follow Deona on twitter at @swhelpercom or contact her at contact@socialworkhelper.com
.
What questions or thoughts come to your mind about this post? About the topic of networking and collaborating with other social workers, or upward social mobility? Deona and I want to hear from you :)
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