Working History of a Social Worker

After working 20 years as a dressmaker, in 1980, aged 49 years, I proudly received a Degree in Social Studies from the University of Sydney. Then, in 1985 I obtained a Masters Degree in Social Work from the University of New South Wales. My first job as a Social Worker, in 1980 was with the Italian Welfare Centre (CO.AS.IT.) where I stayed for four and a half years. Then six months in a Nursing Home in London. Then one year with the Department of Immigration in Sydney and Parramatta. Then from 1987 I worked for the Aged Care Assessment Team attached to the Bankstown Hospital. I retired in March 2007 on my 76th birthday. I enjoyed my work. I liked many of my clients and most of my co-workers. I remember some of the cases I had to deal with; many were unusual, some were sad, some impossible and a few amusing, but all were interesting as no two people are alike. In CO.AS.IT. I had a whole range of problems to deal with. All the clients were Italian migrants mainly from a Peasant background. They spoke mostly their native dialects mixed with Italian. The greatest number came from the south of Italy (PUGLIA, CALABRIA, SICILY, and around NAPLES) and from the poorer parts of the North (Veneto). I spoke Italian and soon understood the different dialects although I never spoke any of them. So I was able to deal with people from the different provinces. At The Department of Immigration I was in charge of several bi-lingual Welfare Officers covering Arabic, Greek, Spanish, Lebanese, Polish, all 8 Simone Grandjean Yugoslav languages, the Filipino dialects, Chinese, Vietnamese and Italian; my native language is French. I was also able to use interpreters for those times when a person spoke something else, such as Portuguese, Armenian or Assyrian, etc . . . In England and Bankstown 99% of my clients were the elderly, the greatest percentage were of English or Anglo Australian background, but also of many other nationalities and ethnic backgrounds. So, there have been cases relating to family relationship, children, marital problems, psychiatric problems, immigration, needing information on a large range of subjects: health, death, work, financial problems, sexual problems, etc . . . and cultural differences. But first I was a Social Work Student.