WELCOME

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 Dedicated to the social service professionals, caseworkers, advocates who work tirelessly behind the form text area designed for your content that you can fill up with as many words as your heart desires. 

           I’ve come to admire those who work in the social service professions because it’s a much more challenging role than outsiders may realize. Think about it. You’re constantly listening to stories about what someone else has gone through—or what they are still dealing with. Day after day, client after client, you absorb stories of trauma, disappointment, loss, rejection, poverty, abuse, instability, and so much more. By the time you get to your 150th client, you can find yourself headed toward burnout if you’re not careful. The truth is, YOU ARE THE ONES WHO STAND IN THE GAP. What do I mean? Well, I thought you’d never ask. The phrase “stand in the gap” is a verse in the Book of Ezekiel in the Bible. In this passage, an Ancient Wall needed to be rebuilt and there was a search to find someone who would intervene because this broken wall of the city left the people vulnerable and exposed. Someone was needed to step in and repair what was damaged and help protect them. That’s how I view those who work in rehabilitation, counseling, social services, case management, and other helping professions.

           YOU ARE THE BRIDGE: *You help connect where a person is today with where they have the possibility of being tomorrow. *You step into the space between feeling stuck and finding a way forward. *You help people work through their differences, navigate their challenges, identify their resources, regain their footing, and, sometimes, simply believe that starting again is possible. In actuality, you’ve stepped into a role where you are often standing in the in-between. The in-between of physical challenges, mental and psychological struggles, financial hardship, environmental and social barriers, cultural differences, disappointment and hope. And you do this for the broken, the discouraged, the downtrodden, the rejected, the overlooked, the forgotten, the outcasted, and those who may have lost their way.

         WHETHER YOU KNOW IT OR NOT- You were built to step in and help others regroup, rebuild, and do better—if they are willing. That doesn’t mean you can save everyone, fix everything and certainly not to carry everyone’s problems home with you. But it does mean that your presence can make a difference.

Sometimes: you are the person who helps someone see a possibility they could no longer see for themselves. You connect them to the help they desperately need. The person who refuses to give up on them when they have almost given up on themselves. You are STANDING IN THE GAP. A chosen profession that requires compassion, patience, discernment, resilience, boundaries, and an extraordinary amount of strength. So never undersell yourself. Never underestimate the value of what you do and the strength of WHO YOU ARE. Because every day you walk into the lives of people standing in the middle of their own storms, you have an opportunity to help them find solid ground.

You are STANDING IN THE GAP, helping mend the wall and helping rebuild lives. And that matters.