Week 7.5

I think this might have been one of the most interesting weeks I have had thus far. When I first came in I was asked to get a subpoena put together for one of the lawyer's clients. She told me I needed to call the client (we'll call her V) to get information to who we need to get the subpoena for. She told me however to read her file before I called so I could know what I was dealing with. The client believes she is a vampire and she named her child Alien. She drinks blood and believes she was impregnated by aliens. Of course V's child was taken away for issues surrounding her. At first when I read this file I laughed, because I didn't realize that she was mentally ill. I just thought she was role playing and thought she was a vampire sometimes. This is an everyday struggle that she has and I learned it shouldn't be a laughing matter. The facts are humorous, but the fact she has to fight this illness is not.

This was eyeopening for me because I see that no matter how weird things may get, this is still people's lives. This was good for me to learn in case I ever run into something like this in my future job. Not only will this internship be on my resume, but my experiences here are helping me evolve as a more understanding person.

Week 6.5

I was given the week off...

Week 5.5

This week was a little bit more exciting than others this quarter. I was able to sit down with one of the lawyers and talk about the ends and outs about her getting her job. Moreover I was able to learn about going to law school. It was awhile ago since she went, but she told me about how after she was done with law school the proper steps she went through to get a job. It was eyeopening to know that what I am doing with my internship is going to really benefit me in the long run. I guess it does pay to work for free.

As far as work goes I have been doing the same work that I've been doing since my first week. I have been tracking down more files that been missing. I found three files and one of those files gave us the contact information for one client. Since we found this I have been able to contact this client and help get the ball rolling. It's good to know that sometimes it just takes a friendly phone call to help people improve their lives.

Week 4.5

This week has taken an interesting turn because one of the lawyers is being moved to a different department, so I am helping her get caught up on her case load. We're trying to make sure the person after is as updated for the case work as we are. So that makes for a lot of fun because of all the organizing. The most important thing is that we move the old case files to archives, so he doesn't work on something he isn't supposed to. I've also been maintaining my other jobs that I have created for myself, so it's easy to say I am keeping myself fairly busy. But, if I wasn't busy I would just feel like I was wasting time, so that is just fine with me.

Nothing too interesting as far as contact with other clients go because of last week's snow and this week I was not able to meet up with William because he was at court the whole day. The days seem to be the same and no big eye-popping stories seem to come out of them. Hopefully next week I'll hit you with a doozy.

Week 3.5

SNOW-MAGEDDON.

Week 2.5

This week was very similar to last because I am continuing to work on the same project as the last. So, I apologize if these blog posts do not sound very interesting. I was asked this week to start updating someone's case load because word has spread that I do a good job at this. I don't mean to toot my own horn, but it's nice that people in the office trust me to get their case work done. But, the more I have been given the more hours I wish I had to get them accomplished. So this is teaching me how to manage my time better and making my five hour internship more effective than my ten at some points.

I get updates on clients that I've been working with since last quarter and it's been disappointing to see the paths some people take. One client I had been working with had been at a treatment center, but she had been kicked out for inappropriate activities. She now lives in a hotel room across the street instead of taking advantage of her free services. It doesn't make sense to me, but It's interesting to see how people react to different situations.

Week 1.5

Starting my second quarter of my DAC internship is polar opposite from last quarter. Instead of doing ten credits, I am only doing five and instead of shadowing William, I am doing a lot more office work. It's nice actually because the lawyers in the office leave me a list of things to do and I do them, without having to report to them. It's nice to have the trust in the office to just get things done on my time and it helps me feel more productive. The work load is important because I am updating contact information, that will make things run more smoothly in the future. It also allows clients who are not contacted on a regular basis to get some attention.

One instance when I talked to let me know that their social worker had not been very helpful in letting them know about their services. After I talked to them, I contacted their social worker and the social worker let me know that they did not have any contact information for them and I was able to relay that to them. This internship has been teaching me how to keep good records and how to communicate with people to help make things more productive in the work place.