This shot is of the back kitchen at the Jubilee Kitchen in the Hill District. I started volunteering here for a class that I took last semester. The premise was, get out into the community and see social work in action. The Jubilee seemed like an easy way to fill that requirement; they're open on weekends, you don't have to call ahead to volunteer, and you're done by noon. I've been going back about once a week since my first time there. I usually joke about it when people ask about it. I'll tell them about Mark, the guy that runs it on weekends. He loves beer and old dirty blues. Since working alongside him, I've been turned onto rarities in both categories. I'll mention Ray, who always asks me if the house wine is of a good vintage, or if he should just stick to the Thunderbird in his pocket. And Eddie, who swears that the only reason why he eats here is his wife is such a terrible cook. Truth is, I really like seeing a quick result. So much of what I do during my 9 to 5 is at a snail's pace. I have a few families on my caseload that I've been spinning my wheels with for the past four years. A couple families have been active with my agency longer than I've been alive. Here, you see a problem, and you do something about it. A hungry man comes in, you send them out with something warm and nutritious in their belly. I know that there's a deeper problem here, and that we need to figure out how to make it so that people don't need the Jubilee. Ultimately, I like knowing that in the next couple hours, one of the problems I see will be fixed, at least temporarily.

back when i was in grad school (she says, as if it was more than six months ago) the running joke was that school filled us with all these hopeful dreams of how life "in the field" would be--like a merry romp through a meadow filled unicorns! rainbows! and glitter! the reality was that many of these dreams were in direct conflict with the harsh push of productivity; lack of funding/resources; and overall community resistance. combine this with the all too common stereotype that social workers are simply bleeding heart optimists (who are too stupid to accept reality) and you've got one doozy of a formula for burn-out. no, i do not believe that social work is all about unicorns and glittery rainbows. more often than not, social work is about people who are in a lot of pain, communities that are at war with each other and a system that is incredibly broken. however, social work is also about people who demonstrate great resiliency in the face of adversity, communities who come together to erase what divides them and a system that has proven (time and time again) that it is capable of change. so i picked up these bandages (made with real unicorn tears for extra healing power) as a reminder that, as a social worker, i have the chance to help heal a few of the wounds that exist in our society. just as long as i remember to always bring along a bit of the unicorns! rainbows! and glitter!