My foundation practicum for Fall of 2020 into Spring of 2021 was at ArchCity Defenders, a holistic legal advocacy organization that combats the criminalization of poverty and state violence, particularly in communities of color. Because ArchCity Defenders is both a legal organization and a developing social work program, the organization exists at the crossroads of legal and social work. This allowed me to identify gaps in services and social injustices that face the St. Louis community and beyond. Therefore, I created a social justice goal statement: advocacy for criminal legal reforms that fairly serve low income and minority populations in St. Louis. This social justice goal included 5 action steps that I would take at my practicum site. Those 5 goals are as follows: working with the manager of ArchCity Defenders Social Work Pilot Program to identify necessary individualized services for clients, collaborating with staff on several teams at ArchCity Defenders, presenting public safety alternative research, holistic research on public safety alternative and creation of material on public safety alternatives to be used by ArchCity Defenders in future presentation. Through those 5 action steps, I laid the groundwork for future ArchCity Defenders work in improving outcomes for low income and minority populations. This experience taught me how to be introspective about social work practice and how it can best benefit and change our society, and how I, as a social worker, can make strides in promoting social justice in the future.

Dr. Shannon Cooper-Sadlo has always been a role model to me as I continue in my Social Work career. Her encouraging words and constant reassurance keep me grounded and have helped me to realize that the work I am doing and will continue to do is important and necessary. I look forward to continuing to work with Dr. Cooper-Sadlo in the future!