What Is Human Services

Human Services is a broad term that encompasses several careers. However, each of the Human Services careers work with the same basic ideas and values, which is to help people meet their physical and emotional needs that they cannot meet on their own. The need for Human Services careers is growing and is in need due to the fact that there are people in this world who are not fortunate enough to have or develop their basic human contact and social needs. Basic needs of food, clothing, and shelter may be provided but a loving and supportive family along with a supportive and reliable friend group are imperative to the emotional fulfillment of a person. When these needs are not met, Human Services career are in place to help those in need fulfill these requirements to have happiness, success, and safety.

Human Services is the practice of helping others and this has been in existence since the beginning of time but the profession of Human Services goes back to the 1800's. The Social Welfare System in American was started and influenced by the Social Welfare System in England but also influenced by religious teachings. Serving the needy and giving to the poor or doing goodwill. There was also the idea that people who were poor but able to work were just lazy and so the idea of helping these people became harder. The Charity Organization Society (COS) was founded in about 1870. This movement began because Rev. S. Humphreys Gurteen believed that is was the Christian duty to provide for and assist with the poverty situation. This movement helped people in poverty. From here, Jane Addams donated a building in Chicago and there began Addams Hull-House Settlement. Hull House provided a number of services; its simplest was the socialization of residents in the resident café. Many changes to these groups and movements have taken place over the years and, since 1990, there are a number of Acts in place to help the poor and underprivileged and to help keep safe the children of abused families and so on. It has been said that since Human Services professions have been in affect our country has grown by leaps and bounds in the moral category. More and more people need help and more and more people are stepping forward to help. One of the main reasons for all of these improvements is that people now have a better understanding and appreciation for cultural diversities. Movements and ideas keep changing and evolving for the better as the world evolves.

Common intervention strategies are active listening and having compassion and empathy. Some people in Human Services careers have these skills naturally and others have to learn about them and work on them. Active listening is not just about listening to the client but about hearing his or her cry for help, hearing their fear and helping them cope with it. Observation skills are also important because body language and eye contact are both key to getting to know the client

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