Post Hurricane Services in Favor of the Rich, Essay Example

After Hurricane Sandy, many people of storm victims remain without access of a roof, heat or power over their heads as the cold climate was setting in. Individuals reported having died are over a hundred. A week or two with no power is, without question, a tough and frustrating experience. There are the dark nights and spoiled food in the fridge. There is the fire risk when depending on candles. Lack of electricity also signals lack of heat. For those who depend on mobile phones for exchange of ideas, it means no other method of charging the phones and, therefore, no communication.

Hurricane Sandy has exposed the class split in America, this point in fiscal and the social capital of the state (Sakurai et al 35). Insufficient relief response has aggravated widespread annoyance, particularly in the tri-state New York-New Jersey, the most tightly populated province of the country. Irritated residents condemned New York City Mayors and centralized officials for putting in place the problems to the stock exchange and prosperous neighborhoods in Manhattan, whereas neglecting distressed, non working class individuals.

Whereas most of the deprived residence remains marooned in drenched homes without electrical energy or heat, as the scarcity of gasoline continues, the wealthy neighborhoods and other public services recuperate gradually. Utilities first put right problems that distress the largest number of well off individuals in the state, then work their way descending to the poor neighbors who get affected by handfuls of tribulations. With Sandy and other big storms, find it hard to restore power to the poor neighbors as their homes are smashed and it is not feasible or safe for the utility to bring power. This restoration approach is sensible, specialist say, but it leads to severe dissatisfaction when those last few in the dim light, the poor see their fellow citizens back to normal.

In addition, the wealthier persons could more over evade this tragedy by purchasing a backup plan like a wood stove that does not require power to function. They could also acquire a generator big enough to stream the well pump, boiler, or refrigerator. . These utilities are very much expensive and cannot be afforded by the poor neighborhoods hence cannot easily avoid the effects of the post hurricane sandy tragedy.

While the wealthier get the chance to meet with the health care workers and receive services from them, the poor have been severely affected with aggravated hygiene and cleanliness concerns. The poor have resided in sanctuaries for lengthy periods and lead to deprived hygienic conditions. This led to the emergence of the water borne infections like cholera and Bilharzias, which affected the health of the poor citizens in the region.

Many of the citizens cope with the results of Hurricane Sandy, whether, wondering how to get to and from job, awaiting the comeback of power,  worrying about parents and other relatives  who are stuck, finding gasoline and dealing with dislocation of a short-term or permanent nature, or some amalgamation of these. Therefore, it is a time for the manifestation on the vulnerability of our current lives and our authentic interdependence. Perhaps the best lesson persons ought to   learn from natural and human-made calamity is how tough most people can be. However, one should not go it unaccompanied in the visage of disaster whether personal, society, city or nation.

Ecosystems Theory

Ecosystems theory is a way of thinking about situations. It allows considerable leeway regarding the focus for assessment and intervention. A well-known aspect of social work’s history is the ongoing struggle to reconcile the priorities of assisting the poor function more effectively verses improving the social conditions that are often the source of their difficulties.

Although these goals can be complementary, they remain the source of tension. The organizations offering services to the poor are accused of ignoring the social conditions that cause distress those who emphasize social change are also accused of downplaying individual needs and potentials.

What distinguished the Hurricane sandy services was the dual focus on people and their environments and the recognition of the need for a match of individual needs with the states resources. This theory tries to bring all the different classes of people together, the rich and the poor. It, in addition, assists the poor in adapting to the demands of live. This balance of demands and supports, mediated by individual differences in perception and capability leads to the satisfaction of the lowly individuals in the society.

One concern about ecosystems theory, however, notes that its potential use as a rationale for expecting individuals to adapt to the oppressive circumstances is defined. Still, the theory has beneficial applications of its encouragement of a broad, holistic understanding of people’s needs and its promise in general to integrate a range of methods and techniques. With its emphasis on the mediated balance of demands and resources as determinants of social well being, the theory depicts the importance of sharing services equally among all the different classes of individuals.

Dr. Solomon’s theory on Unique Aspects of Counseling African Americans

Dr. Solomon’s theory on the unique aspects of counseling African Americans ideally focuses on health counseling. Take a case where Solomon an African American is infected with gonorrhea and as sought treatment as a walk in-patient. He had a profuse, yellow, green penile discharge of 7 days duration. Solomon also has extreme inflammation and swelling of his penis to the point where retracting his fore skin was impossible.

Following this scenario the counselor, attend to during their initial counseling session. What issues should the counselors keep in mind when addressing the clients concerns about being poor, black hindered? How might the psychotherapist tap into this customer’s spiritual beliefs and sustain from her relatives to promote positive counseling outcomes?

In light of the above-mentioned scenario, Dr Solomon’s theory preferred that the counselors understand the individual’s religious and spiritual identity. It is distressing to know that many professional training programs avoid addressing this important aspect of human development (Legerski et al 735). Without having adequate training in this area, health counselors are ill prepared to address the client’s religious and spiritual identity in ways that could foster positive outcomes within the counseling settings.

Secondly, it is important for the counselors to be conscious of the customs in which their individual religious and spiritual identity may influence the counseling process. The theory also suggests that the counselors own predisposition towards religion and spirituality often inspires the practitioner’s capability to display a high level of empathic perception and legitimate respect for customers whose spiritual and spiritual beliefs play a vital role in the mental development.

Thirdly, it is vital that the counselors have a working understanding of the historical backgrounds, traditions, and attitudes of the client. This includes being knowledgeable about the differences that are noted to exist among the African Americans and persons from Native American groups. This models of white identity developments and the minority identity developments provide the counselors with a useful way of thinking about some of the within group differences that are commonly manifested by individuals who come from similar ethnic and racial backgrounds. These models also provide useful suggestions regarding the types interventions counselors might use when working with ethnically and racially diverse persons.

It has been pointed out that counselors need to go beyond simply assessing their client’s level of racial identity development. In this regard, multicultural experts have understood the importance of counselors taking the time to evaluate where they are operating in terms of the development models. This is an important step to take when working with especially the African Americans. This is because therapists, who are working at a variety of stages of these sculpts, are probably to draw out antagonistic responses  from African Americans who are operating at stages that are marked by incompatible characteristics.

How is the theory Revolutionary

Dr Solomon’s approach to counseling African Americans is revolutionary as counselor’s center on the optimistic extents of their customers. Besides, offering practitioners with frameworks that can access, client’s personal strength, and the theory give confidence counselors to reflect on the ways in which their personal level of logical thinking affects the counseling process.  Dr Solomon’s theory has far much allowed the practitioners to be intentionally regarding the type of counseling approaches they decide to use with the clients operating at different stages of counseling. The theory provides a framework from which counselors can implement an eclectic approach to counseling approach to analyzing in a more regimented and intercontinental way.

Revolution, when taken in extremes, in counseling may imply that the Africa Americans are responsible and for their distress can overcome problems through intrapsychic work. This may minimize the experience of discrimination and assumes that all individuals have equal access to power and control over their environment. In addressing this, counselors have to examine how this affects their perspectives of the African Americans, their ability to understand way to address needs and may stem directly from the patterns of discrimination of particular African Americans observed by counseling professionals.

Counselors have worked to understand the societal context within which clients and their relations live and work. They have strived to comprehend the impact that this context has both positively and negatively, on the functioning of the individual client and his family and community. In addition, the counselors have worked to recognize the oppression faced by the African Americans including racism, sexism, and other oppressions. They have worked collaboratively with the African Americans and determined appropriate goals and activities for work within the sessions and in the environment of both the counselor and the African American. Lastly, the counselors have recognized that, at times, institutions and systems may be hostile towards the African Americans and may respond more appropriately to intervention enacted in the presence of the counselor. Counselors have taken appropriate action within their own agencies to confront individuals, practices, or policies that that demean or create unreasonable barriers to the African Americans.

Work Cited

Legerski, John-Paul, Vernberg, Eric, and Noland, Brian. A Qualitative Analysis of Barriers, Challenges, and Successes in Meeting the Needs of Hurricane Katrina Evacuee Families. Community Mental Health Journal. 48.6 (Dec 2012) 729-740. 12p.

Sakurai, Kenji, Schneider, Sherry, Kass, Steven, and Piotrowski, Chris. Customers’ Views Toward the Insurance Industry Response Post-Hurricane. Organization Development Journal. 29.4 (Winter2011),33-52. 20p.