Skip to main content

The NIU Health Advocacy Clinic is Back!

The NIU Health Advocacy Clinic is back for the Spring 2015 semester! At the end of last semester, we lost one student to graduation and studying for the bar exam. However, we had two students join our ranks for a total of four at the clinic this semester.

It is very exciting to see our clinic grow and evolve. When I started in August, the clinic had just started taking clients. It took a while before each of us got our first client. We had to finalize procedures once we received referrals from Aunt Martha’s, which was exciting as we were building things from the ground up. This January, just one semester later, we came back from winter break and jumped right in to multiple client referrals and interviews. Our new students were given clients on their first day at clinic and were able to observe and participate in client interviews right away. They were able to learn about cases that we had already been working on and provide input in case strategy.

I think having new students has been a growing experience, which has allowed me to view the clinic and our practices through new light. It has been very interesting to evaluate the clinic’s policies and procedures and how they works with the transition of students. Through the last couple of weeks, we have tried to bring the new students up to speed on what we do for preparing for client interviews. This includes organizing forms for the interview and figuring out which questions to ask and other policies that we developed last semester. While explaining our practices, I have been able to better understand them myself. It seems clear that one must explain something in order to really understand things. It has also made me realize how important it is for us to have a handbook, and we need to make it a priority to finish ours this semester. For example, I was asked by one of our new students how we arrange our files, and I realized that that is really something that should be written down so that all of them are done in uniform.

It is very fun and exciting to see our policies evolving. When we started this spring semester, our chart for social security was something that I had used for one person applying for Social Security. With having two other students creating these charts for different clients, I have been able to see and hear their ideas for improving them for our clients in the future. Seeing the evolution of a sheet I made once into something that is really beneficial for our clients who are applying for social security is really exciting. The young ladies that we have joining our clinic have great ideas, and I am excited to see how they help shape our clinic and make a difference.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

New Outlook

Sometimes there are just things that we cannot understand. I have found myself feeling that way more often than not. This may not be the most understandable position to take when dealing with the effects of poverty on individuals but it is hard for me to wrap my logic around why so many people are struggling with poverty. I know that there are so many reasons why poverty happens, from society to personal. I try to think of ways to solve the problem, that is when I realize that there is not just one problem. How can you solve a problem that has so many aspects? It is disheartening; maybe there is no solution. But I can at least be part of a solution; anyone can be if they choose. Awareness is the first step, but what I have come to realize is that awareness takes time. We are all aware that poverty exists, but what we need is a deeper awareness. A deeper awareness to me is a type of understanding that brings every aspect of the problem together to show you the big picture. After three m...

A Tale of Two Auroras

October 20th was a fairly busy day at the NIU Health Advocacy Clinic. The afternoon started with an interdisciplinary presentation about the roles of social workers from Neil McMenamin, Associate Director of Hesed House. Listening to him describe how faith and the Church led him to help others through social work really inspired me. He also described how he grew up on the east side of Aurora where poverty was not as prevalent as it is by where Hesed is located. This comment made me realize how we can sometimes forget that poverty exists where we least expect. Prior to working at the clinic, I had a much different perception of Aurora. I certainly did not view Aurora as an uber-wealthy suburb like Kenilworth or Wilmette but rather a typical, middle-class Midwestern suburb. The first thing that always came to mind when I thought about Aurora was the Chicago Premium Outlets shopping center which even has a Versace outlet. Homelessness was the last thing that came to mind when t...

Power of Attorney Day

On Tuesday, March 27, 2018, the NIU Health Advocacy Clinic will host its annual Power of Attorney (POA) Day. This event provides the guests of PADS and TLC as well as the general Hesed House Community an opportunity to complete a Power of Attorney for Healthcare, free of charge. What is a Power of Attorney for Healthcare? A Power of Attorney is a document that allows you to designate a person of your choice, called a health care agent, to make health care decisions for you in the event that you are unable. For example, if an accident left you in a coma, then your healthcare agent would decide on your behalf whether life-saving measures should be used and if so, which ones. The most important part of picking an agent is ensuring you select someone that knows what your medical wishes are and that you trust will implement your wishes in case you are unable. A Power of Attorney is an important document to have for oneself. This document trumps any influence of family members, fri...