Helping Field Summary
Holly Regan, Kevin Gatlin, Latasha Burgos, Sabrina Brown, and Yaddira Espinoza
BSHS/305
December 8, 2014
Cassidy Hawf

Helping Field Summary
The main reason most people go into the helping profession is the desire to help others, but there are other factors that influence a career in the helping field profession. According to Woodside & McClam, these factors are direct work experience, college courses and instructors, friends, acquaintances, or relatives in helping professions, (2011).
The ability to contribute to another's growth by helping others is a gratifying feeling for those who want and do enter the helping field of human services and the opportunity to discover more about themselves through self-exploration. Values held by a helping field professional are equally important to the characteristics one must have to be successful as a helping professional. "The most commonly held values in human services: acceptance, tolerance, individuality, self-determination, and confidentiality," (Woodside & McClam, 2011).
Holly has chosen the helping field for a handful of reasons. She wants to make a difference in other's lives and knows she has much to offer the population in which she will serve. She has empathy for others, patience, and the ability to work with any facet of clientele without being judgmental. She believes she can provide strength and empowerment to others when they have all, but given up or in and a strong desire to help others become more productive and successful in their lives.
Kevin believes that it's human nature to see individuals in need and lend a helping hand. He has had a number of jobs in his life, but none has been as rewarding as assisting the youth population. He receives his drive for completing his education to help the youth population better from the clients he now serves at a juvenile detention center as a youth counselor. His reason for choosing a helping field in human services is either to become a Juvenile Probation Officer or a Case Manager for the state of Utah.
Yaddira's reason for joining the helping field comes from personal experiences in her life. Growing up she was a witness to child abuse of distant family members and remembered how terrible it was and that nobody was willing to help them. These occurrences lit the fire that drives her to pursue a career in human services where she will be the voice for the children and families who were in abusive situations.
Sabrina has chosen the helping field to help people solve their problems and to teach them that life isn't as bad as what they are going through. She has always been a helper and peers have looked to her like an advisor and seeking guidance in life decisions. She dislikes telling others what to do, but will share her thoughts, and they can make the ultimate decision on which path to choose. She believes she can make a difference in the rate of suicide among teens and adolescents in the world just as she helped those that were at-risk during her time in high school. She helped by replenishing the hope they had lost and providing them the strength and courage to overcome the pressures that had brought them to such a desperate moment in their life. From this experience she saw the reward through their growth out of the darkness and into happy, healthy adults.
Latasha has wanted to join the human service field since working with children in an after-school program in junior high school. She enjoys working with people and being able to help them in any way possible. She is open minded and a people person who has been able to gain much knowledge in the helping field through personal situations in her life. Many of the people in her circle of family and friends say how great she is at handling a variety of life situations herself and for others needing help getting through trials and tribulations. These experiences are what push her to pursue a career in the helping field.

Reference
Woodside, M., & McClam, T. (2011). An introduction to human services (7th ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole, Cengage