Social Work Case Study: The Well Of Mercy

The agency where this intern works is The Well of Mercy, a nonprofit organization located in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago. The agency serves single mothers who are experiencing homelessness and their children. There are 15 board members whose occupations vary but come together in order to support and help the organization. There is Mary who is the executive director and founder of The Well of Mercy, there is a social worker who meets with the women regularly and is in charge of the volunteers. There is also a therapist and a full-time day care worker. This is a nonprofit agency, which means it does not receive any type of funding from the government. The organization provides housing for 13 families, it has a communal kitchen, living

The women must be in school full time, or they need to work full time or do both half time. If they do not follow up on this they will be asked to leave. While working at the organization this intern has seen the executive director and social worker use a variety of theoretical approaches used such as strengths perspective, solution focused, task-centered approach and cognitive behavioral theory.

Client Case Synopsis The client chosen to focuses on by this intern is that of a 28-year-old single heterosexual Caucasian single mother of a 7-month-old daughter. The client has two other children who are not in her care; all of her children have different fathers and the mother has not seen them in years. The client had been working as a dog walker for the past few months, but as of two weeks ago because of her behavior, she was fired. Client states that her impulsive and transient behaviors have caused her to become homeless and prevent her from keeping a job for longer periods of time. The client had a troubled childhood; she was abandoned at birth by both parents and given to grandma to take care of her. At age five DCFS took her away from her

Based on the interactions this intern has had with the client, this intern believes that there are many features of the client’s personality and personal history that will benefit from the chosen approach. For example, the client has little structure in her daily life and her attitude seems to change from time to time. It is this intern observation that the client can benefit from having a set schedule and a contract. This can help her bring structure and a set schedule into how to do things and when she is expected to do them. It will hold her accountable for her actions and she can track her progress at the same time which can motivate her to work harder. This intern believes using this approach she can help her client solve some of her smaller problems at a faster rate while teaching her