This assignment includes a scenario involving a woman who is experiencing violence in her relationship. You are asked to analyze her issues, and discuss the societal barriers confronting her. You are asked how to respond to her situation, and to what professionals and agencies you would refer the woman for assistance. Each answer should be between 200 and 500 words.
Read the following scenario carefully, then respond to the questions on the next page:
You have a friend from school named Amelia, who is a twenty year-old woman with twin daughters. Their names are Maggie and Molly, and they are 2 years old. They go to a subsidized daycare during the day. Amelia lives with her boyfriend, Eric, who is also the girls' father. There has been a lot of tension in the family's home for the past several months. They are always short of money, and Amelia wants to help by going back to school so that she can find good paying work to do. Since she has decided to go back to school, she has told you that Eric has gotten angry with her "a couple of times." He wants her to "clean the house," and "look after her daughters properly" like she used to do. He says, "I slave all day long to support you and the kids, and for what? So you can sit on your butt all day reading and ignoring my needs?" She said he destroyed her schoolbooks and she had to depend on her classmates in order to do all of her assignments. The problem is that Eric also becomes angry when she speaks on the phone about her schoolwork or when any of her classmates come over to study.
You are aware that the situation between Amelia and Eric is deteriorating, but you are not surprised. Over the time you have known them, you have noticed that Eric seemed to want to control Amelia's every move, and that sometimes he would get angry, yell at her, and call her names. He didn't seem to care if anyone else was there or not. Because of his behaviour, most of their friends don't "hang around" any more. To make matters worse; Amelia's family "disowned her" when they discovered that she was pregnant at seventeen. They were disappointed that she didn't follow-through with her schooling. The family also didn't like Eric, and had warned her about him and "his temper."
You are worried about Amelia because you have not seen her at school for a couple of days and she has not responded to your calls or texts. You decide to drop in on her at 11:00 am this morning. When Amelia answers the door:
• She tells you that Eric is gone and she doesn't know when he's coming back;
• She has a bruise on her cheek, which she says one of the girls did by accident
• She also says that she feels "depressed', and is finding it hard to get out of bed these days, and that she doesn't have money for the bus or for food
• The girls are with her at home, instead of at their daycare.
1) Identify at least three (3) problems that Amelia and her children are experiencing. Explain why you believe these to be problems.
2) What will you say to Amelia to communicate to her that you care and that you are there to help? Use your own words and make at least two statements--explain why you would make these statements to her. Make sure to reflect the goals of being non-judgmental and non-blaming. Make sure to use statements that will help her to identify what she needs.
3) Based on the information in the scenario, identify at least two types of societal prejudice(s) Amelia might be experiencing and explain how this may be affecting her.
4) Based on the problems you've identified in question 1, and on what you think might help Amelia to get what she needs in order to improve her situation, identify five social service agencies or organizations in the greater Toronto area that could assist her and her children. Explain why you think these agencies could help. Make sure that they are not too far from each other as she needs to be able to get to all of them. Include contact information and a website if available. Please make sure your referrals offer different services.