Today is World Social Work Day so, to celebrate the wide range of services that our social work teams provide, we’re dedicating this whole week to them.
We caught up with Ann Martin who is a Through Care After Care Social Worker in Argyll and Bute, working with young care experienced people and key partner agencies to make life better for our young people.
“I started working in social care at Eader Glinn home for the elderly in 1989,” she said. “Initially I was a domestic assistant, before moving on to become a social care worker and senior social care worker. I left Eader Glinn in 2002 to work at the Lorn Resource Centre for adults with learning difficulties, before becoming a social work assistant in criminal justice, mental health and children and families from 2005 until 2010. I qualified in December 2010, working in children and families, before taking up my current post. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be a social worker, I was a late learner leaving school with no qualifications.”
Ann supports vulnerable young care experienced people to remain in their current placement/home after they turn 16 and, if appropriate, their 18th birthday, under the Scottish Government’s Staying Put Initiative (2011).
“As a team we work collaboratively with the young person and key partner agencies to ensure they achieve best possible outcomes in terms of education, employment, training, finances, housing and support them in managing criminal/youth justice and mental health,” she said.
“The list goes on but the most important part of my job is to form and maintain relationships with our young care experienced people. My daily routine varies as young people’s needs are unpredictable, particularly around mental ill health, which will always take precedence. Much as it may sound like a cliché, I love my job and working with young care experienced people and key partner agencies to make experiences better for our young people.”