Social Services in Houston

Social work is a profession designed to provide assistance to those who need it to enhance their wellbeing, both individually and collectively. It aims to resolve the problems of certain individuals, families and communities by using their own or the entire community’s resources, thereby helping them develop their skills and abilities.

Besides being concerned with problems of people on individual or personal levels, social work also addresses broader social issues like domestic violence, poverty and unemployment. All this is done on the philosophical underpinnings of human rights and social justice.

What distinguishes social work practice from all the others is that it works in consideration to a blend of some particular values, skills and knowledge. It also involves the art of using relationship for social interventions and respect for the choice and involvement of the person or group in question. Social workers play a pivotal role in socio-political-economic contexts, as they directly build up social tensions and insecurities amongst masses.

Any service intended to publicly or privately help distressed, disadvantaged or vulnerable individuals or groups, can be referred to as social service or welfare service. The profession engaged in providing this service, that is social work, is also denoted by the term ‘social service’.

Although the basic concerns of social service (poverty, disease, disability and the dependent ones) have been there since the concept of a society came into existence, its idea was conceived much later. With the development and expansion of the ideas of social responsibility in the twentieth century, social services started to flourish.

But to date, there is no universal vocabulary of social services. This is so because every society’s range of social services is directly dependent on its unique needs, plus its ability to address them. Hence in many countries, the government has drawn a distinction between social services (catering to the education and health of general population) and welfare services (catering to the assistance provided to a society’s vulnerable groups like the disabled, poor or the delinquent).

Not only to rescue the endangered, but social welfare services have emerged as a society’s emergency measure or necessary function to foster the ongoing wellbeing. Social services emphasize on strengthening the local communities by keeping the families together, and solidifying the kinship bonds by organizing support from neighbors and friends.

Personal care services we provide in Houston are an inseparable part of the social services as they are meant to help the individuals or people, who are facing challenges in everyday living, whether temporarily or permanently. The concerned section mainly includes the sick, disabled, bedridden, and elderly, who are in constant need of physical and moral welfare through the professional assistance of personal care assistants.

Social services mainly cater to:

According to almost all the prominent caseworkers and social philosophers, the ideal context to encourage social welfare is actually, a sound family life. Hence, this type of social services aims at offering economic and personal assistance to strengthen the family unit.

The most basic indexes of child welfare are infant and maternal mortality rates. This is why, unparalleled importance is given to maternal, prenatal and child health care programs everywhere, especially in the regions that are affected by widespread malnutrition and disease. Personal care assistants are also made available for help, wherever necessary.

Most social welfare services for young people aim at preparing them to fulfil the adult world’s roles and responsibilities. Hence, leisure-time group activities (such as athletics, hiking, camping and even cultural & social events) are a basic component of majority of youth welfare programs.

Elderly people are the largest group of beneficiaries worldwide, when it comes to personal social services. The type of social care services they require is usually labor-intensive, for which, the help of professional personal care assistants is often rendered. These services mainly include transportation, deliveries, reduced-cost medical supplies, and nurse visitation.

Another major part of the social services is to provide personal care services to the people going through serious illnesses or disabilities. Such ill and disabled patients require ample primary care and ongoing care in terms of medication, diet, therapy and many other precautions.

With the aim to promote the welfare of local groups with a different national origin, language, religion or race, group welfare services were brought into effect. Community centers, settlement houses and some other organizations are the platform to address the collective needs of these deprived urban communities.

Thankfully, people were able to recognize the social consequences and aspects of mental illness, timely enough. Hence, psychiatric social work was established as one of the most critical divisions of social services. This specialty includes personal care services at all levels of patient care, starting from diagnosis and course of treatment, to regular employment.

In case of stress or a problem pertaining to a particular child or family, a parent or an adult member of the family can request for social services. A responsible professional acquainted with the family (such as a family center worker or a teacher) can also make this request on their behalf.