You are a worker in a housing and homelessness service in Ipswich. Single mum Shakira and her 4 children (twins aged 15 years old, Jesse and Molly,

You are a worker in a housing and homelessness service in Ipswich. Single mum Shakira and her 4 children (twins aged 15 years old, Jesse and Molly, a 13 year old daughter Tannaya and an 18 year old son Bryce) have been living in their car for 4 weeks after being evicted due to their landlords wanting to sell their home. Shakira had been living in the home in Ipswich for 4 year and had no plans to move. The kids were settled in school and her son Bryce has part time work at the service station in town while attending TAFE. The owners had never mentioned selling and in the past had only increased the rent by $20 per week each year. However, with the increase in the value of homes, the lowering of interest rates and the amount of people wanting to move to Queensland due to the Covid pandemic, things have changed drastically for Shakira and her family. A month before Shakiras lease was up for renewal the owners gave notice for her to leave. Shakira has applied for 300 properties and has not been successful. She even offered to pay a higher rate of rent in some instances. The recent floods in the area made it even more difficult for Shakira to secure stable accommodation.

Shakira travels to a different park to sleep every night to avoid being fined and so that the people in the neighbourhood dont make a complaint. Shakira knows it is illegal to sleep in her car and there is surveillance of this by police, council and Neighbourhood Watch but doesnt feel like she has a choice.

The kids have had enough and recently Jesse (15) who identifies as non-binary lashed out at school and was sent to the office for fighting. Jesse explained to their mum that some of the kids in their grade were teasing Molly (15) calling her a gutter whore. Mollys friends have withdrawn from her and seem to also be giggling behind her back of late. Shakira explains Molly has become very withdrawn ever since. Bryce has been spending some nights at friends and is frequently using substances to cope. Shakira doesnt feel as safe when Bryce is not with the family as Ipswich can be scary at night. Tannaya 13 is just really confused and cant understand why this is happening. She can see how this is affecting her mum and is not sure what to do with her emotions.Scenario 1 27-year-old Sam comes into your office as a new client. The gender boxes on the client information form are not filled in, therefore before Sam walks into your office you are unsure of their gender. They present as male but you are unsure, you hope they will tell you. Sam sits down and starts to talk about their relationship breakdown, with a woman and that they are currently homeless, living in their car. You are listening but you are also trying to figure out their gender. You know most housing services for adults are gendered. You realise you havent been listening attentively. Sam seems to be agitated. You focus on what they are saying but after a few minutes Sam says you arent going to help me are you, you are just another person who doesnt get it and walks out.

You could leave it there.

Or.

You follow Sam out and apologise and invite them back in. You open up to them that you are unsure about their gender but did not want to ask, and that you did not want to refer them to the wrong housing service. Sam says they wish people would ask. Sam then tells you they were born female but have now transitioned to male. They were trying to save up for gender confirmation surgery but was recently retrenched from their job in admin at a small company. The company said they were downsizing but Sam said they said they were certain it was because of their gender identity but have no evidence to prove it. Sam said they were glad to go because their colleagues were gossipy and often rude. Their partner was supportive but did not want a relationship with a man, so they broke up. Sam misses her but understands where shes coming from. They do not see each other anymore. Sam said that since the breakup they have been living in their car as they dont want to use the money saved for surgery on setting up a new house. Sam also said they struggle with depression but do not currently see a counsellor. You are glad Sam has begun talking with you, you are a critical social worker keen to help but in your head you are freaking out about what to do. Maybe some critical self-reflection would be a helpful first step?This is scenario 2View the options (identified above) and select one that you would like to write about.

Now think about your first reactions to the scenario you have chosen. Why did you choose that particular story to write your report on?

In terms of injustice, unfairness, marginalisation and/or stigma, what do you see?

Remember you must write your response utilising and explicitly specifying two theoretical perspectives reflecting on their values and adopting some of their theoretical tools for analysis and action.

From these two perspective/s, what are the main presenting issues or problems that you have observed?

What are the underlying issues/causes of the problems? Is there any dispute about how these problems might be understood? If so, by whom?

Can you write down concisely how your theories (1) explain the problems and (2) inform your practice response/ actions with the service users/ community or public? This shall be your argument in a nutshell.

Are there any quotes in the stories that you might use to help connect the case study with your theory?

How might you express empathy and develop rapport with clients?

How might you develop a working alliance with the people you have chosen to focus on?

What resources are available in the situation and what resources (which may not be available yet) are needed? Eg. Services, benefits, programs but also relevant policies, research, community campaigns. [Not all need to be covered!]

As you think about yourself as a critical social worker (anti-racist ally, pro/feminist, Marxian, intersectional anti-oppressive, critical postmodern, etc), it may be useful to reflect on the mediums of communication used to convey the stories. How can the medium of communication be used to pursue social change?

Are there any other sources of information that you might need on which to base a preliminary assessment? How might you help the clients or population group acquire/obtain any other information you might need?

Are there any similar program examples that you might point to in your discussion of how you would tackle your chosen case study?

Are there any creative ways that you think you could engage with the issues and/or affected populations? If so, what are they?