Browse by Tags

Awake and Dreaming

Home

Report this Blog for Abuse

Syndication

Archives

it shouldn't have to happen...but what to do?

One of the things that has puzzled me in my job is knowing that there are many homeless who don't sleep in shelters, and yet not knowing where they are sleeping. As I've gotten to know more and more people I've been able to gain insight into...

Published 27 Mar 2009 10:28 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a (not quite) Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: alcohol, intoxication, IPDA, sleep, substance use, van patrol, winter, work
laughable

When I interviewed for my job at the work placement team (yay for new job) I really did NOT think I had done well. I knew I had gotten some of the questions bang on, some of them half on, and only completely made up one answer (oh how I wished I'd...

Published 26 Mar 2009 10:42 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a (not quite) Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: death, intentions, intoxication, IPDA, learning, life, me, suicide, work
the night of 18 turnaways

As a write this, the Sophie cat is high on cat nip... I'm such a drug pusher, lol. It's a lot easier to laugh at her antics though, and encourage her to "use" then it is to deal with the human consequences of drug and alochol abuse and...

Published 24 Mar 2009 1:23 PM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a (not quite) Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: alcohol, harm reduction, homelessness, intoxication, shelter, substance use, thoughts, winter, work
just an all around sad story

This is a story about death. This is a story about everyday life. This is a story about the poor and the middle class. This is a story about people struggling to get by. This is the story of inequality, unfairness and injustice. This is truth. Everyday...

Published 22 Mar 2009 11:38 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a (not quite) Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: attitudes, death, first aid, homelessness, intoxication, mental health, thoughts, work
James goes to the hospital

It's funny, some of the homeless WAY overuse the medical system, constantly presenting to emergency services and emergency rooms. There are others though, like James who don't get medical care until it's almost too late. Because James'...

Published 9 Mar 2009 5:39 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a (not quite) Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: health care, homelessness, intoxication, work
I felt his pulse stop...

Most of the people reading this have probably taken CPR at some point in their lives. Most employers require it these days and even if they don’t, many people take it for personal interest. Most of the people reading this have never had to perform CPR...

Published 24 Feb 2009 12:02 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a (not quite) Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: first aid, firsts, intoxication, IPDA, thoughts, work
Actions and Consequences

When I was a child, my parents taught me that there was a consequence to each of my actions, good or bad, and often, if I did the wrong thing, they were the ones to enforce the consequence. For example, leaving my room in a mess despite repeated warnings...

Published 22 Feb 2009 11:57 PM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a (not quite) Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: alcohol, attitudes, emotions, FASD, homelessness, intoxication, learning, mental health
old and drunk

Whenever pension cheques come out the drunk tank fills up with those over sixty five, many of whom are definitely elderly. Some of them are still quite spry, but others are just WAY to old to be sleeping in a cold cell on an inch thick mat. And yet, every...

Published 9 Feb 2009 2:07 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a (not quite) Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: alcohol, health care, intoxication, IPDA, substance use, thoughts, work
leap frog...or something

My last post about finding a person passed out in the snow reminded me of another story, a kind of weird and slightly embarrassing one. This happened a while ago, but I don't think I ever got around to posting it. A coworker and I are driving around...

Published 22 Jan 2009 8:03 PM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a (not quite) Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: firsts, intoxication, van patrol, work
digging deeper - treating people as people

I'm not entirely sure why, but this photo evokes really powerful emotions in me. Tonight was my night off, and I spent some time working on a project for church. I was looking for photos which so a variety of different people from a variety of different...

Published 5 Jan 2009 12:38 PM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a (not quite) Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: attitudes, church, intentions, intoxication, IPDA, me, thoughts, work
examining evil aka examining my biases

There's one client who for a long time I was scared of, petrified of even. Ever since I started working on the side of the tracks where he makes his home, I've been scared of him. He's the kind of person who has a reputation in the neighbourhood...

Published 2 Jan 2009 10:04 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a (not quite) Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: attitudes, intoxication, me, mental health, thoughts, work
what you do unto the least of these

There's a verse in the Bible which has been on my mind a lot lately. Jesus is telling a parable about the Kingdom of God and what things are going to be like in the end times. Jesus tells his followers, as recorded in the book of Matthew. In the story...

Published 30 Dec 2008 12:36 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: church, crying, emotions, homelessness, intoxication, necessary evils, nights, snow, whining, winter, work
overwhelmed - or something

I'm feeling a little overwhelmed these past few days. The enormity of the problems I see on a daily basis can be kind of consuming. For the most part, I'm quite good at maintaining a healthy distance, putting things in perspective and staying...

Published 16 Dec 2008 1:24 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: church, crying, emotions, first aid, firsts, homelessness, intoxication, IPDA, me, nights, social work, winter, work
just another day on the street

They say you can tell a lot about a society by the way they treat their most vulnerable, the way they treat their very young, and their very old, the way they treat those who are unable to care for themselves. In Canada, for the most part, I think we...

Published 8 Dec 2008 6:52 PM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: homelessness, intoxication, substance use, thoughts, work
false alarm

I think I've written about this before, but it happened once again. When people come into IPDA, they're supposed to be searched. This may seem rather trivial, but a bad search can lead to bad consequences, hangings, cutting, or fire. Yes, that's...

Published 26 Nov 2008 2:29 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: intoxication, IPDA, nights, shelter, whining, work
gong show

Sometimes, the only way I can get through my shifts is to have a mantra that goes like this "i love my job, i love my job, i love my job". And the truth is, I really do, it just has it's moments... take one of the days this weekend for example...

Published 17 Nov 2008 6:22 PM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: crisis, intoxication, IPDA, nights, whining, work
Halloween in the tank

Friday was one of those nights on which I had to remind myself numerous times why I like my job. Friday night was not a day on which my job was likable. Why? Well, it was Friday, it was Halloween, and month end welfare checks had just come out. Oh, and...

Published 3 Nov 2008 6:21 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: homelessness, intoxication, IPDA, work
sad story

We have some frequent fliers in the drunk tank. They're people who wind up there time and time again. Some of them are shelter goers, street people, people who've gone through detox and treatment many, many times, and some of them aren't....

Published 9 Oct 2008 3:30 PM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: alcohol, attitudes, intoxication, IPDA, thoughts, work
dear intoxicated person

Dear Intoxicated Person, It has come to my attention that there are some issues we need to address. You've been getting upset a lot lately, and frankly, it's starting to get to me. Here are some basic ground rules to follow during your stay in...

Published 10 Sep 2008 1:12 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: intoxication, IPDA
sexual harassment and me...sigh

I'm mad enough right now that I'm going to post a fairly real story. As usual, details and stuff have been changed, but really, I don't know how I could even begin to make this up. Did you now I have "buffalo breasts"? Because I...

Published 7 Aug 2008 3:13 PM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: intoxication, IPDA, me, mental health, paperwork, policy, whining, work
Lazy Sunday

I'm having an awesome lazy Sunday. Or well, I suppose it's not so much lazy as just very pressure free. I don't work tonight, so I have no agenda - well, i want to stay up late, but that's not the point... Church went really well this...

Published 4 Aug 2008 12:50 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: church, intoxication, IPDA, nights, sleep, work
money on the streets

I'm on permanent nights now. It's awesome. I'm really rather pleased with the entire situation. I like the clients, the staff, the time, the work. Yay! Last night was a normal CRAZY night in the life of IPDA. Intoxicated Person must be Detained...

Published 3 Aug 2008 2:04 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: intoxication, IPDA, nights, work
Warehousing the homeless part three

Wet housing. My city needs more of it. Or well, it needs more supervised wet housing. Specifically set up to house the "unhousable". I'm not saying it's a long term fix or anything, but it's the beginning of a solution. Skid row...

Published 26 Jul 2008 5:38 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: intoxication, substance use, thoughts

Browse by Tags

Syndication

Recent Posts

Tags

Archives