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CULTURAL IMMERSION REPORT

Cultural Immersion Report on Homelessness


Ieshia Tann
Wilmington University

IMMERSION REPORT

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Cultural Immersion Report on Homelessness

The human service organization that I chose for my placement agency is Winder Laird
Porter State Service Center is a part of a statewide division called the Delaware Health and
Social Services (DHSS). The Porter State Service Center is located at 509 W. 8th Street,
Wilmington, De 19801. The Porter Center is just one is of 16 statewide centers of social services
in the State of Delaware. They provide services thorough out the state of Delaware for People
who experience difficulty in meeting their basic needs of food, housing, utilities, medication and
other necessities. DHSS is the largest state agency, employing almost 4,300 individuals in a wide
range of public service jobs (www.delaware.gov).
Their department includes 12 divisions, which provide services in the areas of public
health, social services, substance abuse and mental health, child support, developmental
disabilities, long-term care, visual impairment, aging and adults with developmental disabilities,
and Medicaid and medical assistance. The Department includes four long-term care facilities and
the state's only psychiatric hospital, the Delaware Psychiatric Center. The Office of the Secretary
of Delaware Health and Social Services oversees and administers the activities of the
Department's 12 Divisions (www.delaware.gov). The primary duty of this office is to manage the
Department's $650 million budget, work with the Governor and legislators as requested, and help
the Divisions respond to residents' needs and concerns (www.delaware.gov).
The Porter center where I am currently completing my intern placement at is a mini multi
service building that includes the division of social services which provides services such as
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Childcare, General Assistance, Food Supplement
program and Medicaid. There is also a Division of Public Health Clinic (DPH) which provides
Sexually Transmitted Diseases testing, Birth control and Pregnancy testing, HIV counseling and

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testing and a HIV Wellness Clinic. The department at which I am currently interning in provides
services such as Community Resource Assistance Service (CRASP), Diabetes Fund, Emergency
Assistance service (EAS), Emergency Shelter, Food Closet, Kinship Care Program, Utility
Assistance, Teen Voucher and Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program Referrals.
The business hours of the Porter Center are 8:00am to 4:00pm Monday through Friday.
There is a security guard at the door at all times to ensure the safety of the building at all times.
Also there is a sign in sheet for clients that enters the building and they have to sign in and put
where they are going for services. This to ensure safety and to also keep track of the number of
people that come into the building daily and to see what services they are seeking. To receive
services in the department that I am in people would general make appointments to meet with a
case specialists. Appointments are from 8am until 11am. Starting at 11:00 am they are open for
walk INS people coming and obtaining needed services without having an appointment. The wait
time for walk INS can be rather long and time consuming.
People get very frustrated from having to wait for services. There is a television there to
occupy the people that are waiting for services. Also there is a table that is filled with
information of services offered in the community. The Porter state service center services about
350 or more clients a month needing services such as beds, utility assistance, hotel vouchers,
food, kinship care and more. On top of the multiple people that come in daily for services, they
also receive over a hundred calls a day inquiring about the services at the Porter center and
making appointments. There are a total of only three case worker and one lead worker who are
all very over whelmed and understaffed for the amount of people that come in each month
requesting and needing services. On an average an interview for services can last anywhere

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between 45 minutes to 1 hour depending on the need of the client. Although the staff are
overwhelmed by the multitude of clients they serve, they present a very welcoming atmosphere.
For this project I decided to get to know the community by walking around the
neighborhood in which the Porter Center is located. The first thing that I noticed was that there is
a liquor store right on the corner of the Porter Center and there are people frequently standing in
front of it. I noticed that the Porter Center is in the heart of the city, its on the bus line and its
easily accessible for people to get to. Everyone that I walked passed spoke and seemed to be very
friendly, there were some however who did not speak. There is a large diversity of people that
live in the area as well as that comes to the Porter center for services. According to the United
States Census Bureau of Delaware 2013 there is an estimated population of 71, 525 people living
in the city of Wilmington, De. There are Black alone 38,458 (54.1%) White alone 21,365
(30.0%) Hispanic 9,232 (13.0%) Two or more races 1,184 (1.7%) Asian alone 554 (0.8%)
American Indian alone 248 (0.3%) Other race alone 78 (0.1%).
The Porter Center is just a few blocks away from Wilmington Hospital one of the largest
hospitals in the state of Delaware. It is also in close proximity to the major court houses, schools,
library, restaurants, and other community agencies such as Connections, Ministry of Caring,
daycare centers, banks, the Opera house and much more. At the Porter center, the populations
that are served the most are Blacks, Caucasians and Hispanics. The clients served at the Porter
center include the lower class, unemployed, working poor, homeless and middle class. Services
are also provided to people with mental or physical disabilities. On a daily basis I have seen
people request services for hotel vouchers because; they have no place to stay, utility assistance
to help pay their electric bill and assistance to help pay their rent. What really caught my eye is

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the amount of people coming in requesting voucher assistance because; they are homeless. I have
seen young men and women with children as well as elderly people and elderly couples.
Due to the amount of people requesting services for hotel vouchers at the Porter State
Service Center, I chose the homeless population. I never realized that the need for shelter was so
great until I started doing my internship. There are people that come into the office everyday
looking for a place to live. Each year, approximately one percent of the U.S. population, some 23 million individuals, experiences a night of homelessness that puts them in contact with a
homeless assistance provider, and at least 800,000 people are homeless in the United States on
any given night however in urban communities; people may experience homelessness for an
average of eight months. (www.hhs.gov). A lack of affordable housing and the limited scale of
housing assistance programs have contributed to the current housing crisis and to homelessness.
Recently, foreclosures have also increased the number of people who experience homelessness
(nationalhomeless.org).
According to the Homeless Planning Council of Delaware, there is a significant need for
long-term housing options for persons with disabilities (substance abuse conditions, HIV/AIDS,
mental health disorders and physical disabilities). On January 26, 2010, a point-in-time study
was conducted and identified 1,249 persons who were homeless throughout the State on that
night. Using a national formula, they projected that there are an estimated 6,000 individuals who
are homeless in Delaware throughout an entire year (www.hpcdelaware.org). These rates are
astounding to me as I never knew the rates of homelessness was so high, especially here is the
state of Delaware alone. During some research I found that Delawares current system to assist
its homeless citizens includes 1,517 beds in various emergency shelters, transitional housing
programs, and permanent supportive housing programs. There are also approximately 120 motel

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vouchers used each night. In 2005 the homeless rates were 15%, in 2008 they were 29% and in
2009 the homeless rates was 22% according to (www.housingforall.org).
In 1986, when homeless was just emerging as a national issue, the University of
Delawares Center for Community Research and Service1 conducted the first state-wide data
collection and analysis project to determine the size and nature of the homelessness problem in
the First State. That effort sparked the first state-wide conference on homelessness held at the
University in March 1988 where the major results of the study were presented. Later that year
the research findings were published by the University in a report entitled Homelessness in
Delaware. I wanted a better insight on homelessness in Delaware and to get a better
understanding from some of the clients that would come into the Porter State Service Center so
the two immersions I selected for this project was a movie called The Pursuit of Happiness and
an interview.
The Pursuit of Happiness was directed by Gabriele Muccino in 2006. In the movie
Christopher Gardner (Will Smith), invests all of the family savings in Osteo National bonedensity scanners, an apparatus twice as expensive as an x-ray machine but with a slightly clearer
image. This white elephant financially breaks the family, bringing troubles to his relationship
with his wife Linda, who leaves him and moves to New York where she has taken a job in a
pizza parlor. Their son Christopher stays with Chris because; he and his wife both know that he
will be able to take better care of him. The movies displays the everyday struggle of Christopher
as he loses everything his money, wife and a roof over his head. The movie showed how
Christopher tried to provide the best he could for him and his son staying at shelters, bathrooms
or anywhere just to be off the streets.

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Christopher struggled everyday looking for a job that will provide for him and his son.
He took an unpaid trainer position with hopes of obtaining a fulltime paid job as a broker. The
training paid off and he eventually got the job and made a brand new start. The movie showed
the real life everyday struggle of a single father trying to do the best that he could to provide for
him and his son. Living on the streets, unsure of where the next meal was going to come from,
the dangers from being on the streets and also the fact that he could have lost his son because; he
was unable to take care of his son. The pain and struggled showed how hard things were for him
and I can imagine from watching the movie what the people that come into the Porter Center
looking for shelter are going through. This is what encouraged me to learn more and what better
way than to actually speak to someone who is actually going through this difficult time.
At the Porter State Service Center I have sat in on several interviews with client that are
there looking for help to understand the interview process and what is expected. I sat in on an
interview with a client named Joyce Hernandez who was there looking for a hotel voucher
because; her sister put her out and she has been staying place to place with her two kids with no
real place to go. During the interview in which she was there applying for a hotel voucher I just
observed the process. After that initial interview was over I asked Joyce if I could speak with her
and ask her a few questions. Joyce Hernandez is 32 years of age with two children ages 9 and 5
she is of Hispanic culture and spoke English very well. I started off by asking Joyce about how
she felt regarding the services she is here to obtain, how did the staff treat her, make her feel?
She stated that everyone was nice and welcoming, the person interviewing was very nice and
understanding of her situation.
I asked Joyce how long she has been homeless, she stated that she has been living with
people going back and forth for two years but; has been literally staying from shelter to shelter

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for the past four months. She went on to say that she doesnt really have a lot of family around to
help her. She lost her mother when she was 16 and her father has never really been around and
she doesnt have a relationship with him. I asked her how does her culture view family she stated
that her culture is strong on family and bonding and thats why its so hard for her to accept that
no one would continue to help her when she needs it the most. I asked her what does she do on a
daily basis with her current situation, she stated that every day she looks for a job and has been
applying for section 8 or low income housing for her and her children. She told me that every
time she goes to the shelter they are always packed so she wanted to come to Porter Center to get
a hotel voucher for a month which would be more stabilized.
Joyce stated that she cries often because; she wants to do better for her kids and it hurts
her that shes currently unable to. She struggles day to day to provide for her children and she
just wants a stable home for her and her children. Joyce did not want to go further into her
journeys or give more detail as her focus was on getting approved for the voucher at which she
had to speak with the worker again. I thanked her for her time and appreciated her willingness to
speak with me regarding her current situation. As I stated earlier people come into the Porter
State Service Center looking for housing every day and unfortunately not everyone that comes in
gets approved for a hotel voucher as there are certain criterias they have to meet. They have to
be EAS eligible meaning receiving Medicaid or some other state assistance or it depends on the
funding the Porter has at the time as they receive a lot of State and Federal funding.
Also in order to qualify for a hotel voucher the person or family would have to first go to
the Sunday Breakfast Mission for three days before they are interviewed for a voucher unless
there is a medical necessity for a voucher. For every person requesting a voucher they are
automatically referred to the Homeless Planning Council of Delaware for further assistance with

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shelters and housing. The NASW cultural competence standard that I felt appropriate was
Standard 6 Empowerment and Advocacy. The standard states: Social Workers shall be aware of
the effect of social policies and programs on diverse client populations, advocating for and with
clients whenever appropriate. The Porter State Service Center is there to provide short term
immediate assistance to those in need while also encouraging and providing information and
referral services to help in the long run as well. The Porter Center helps during emergencies but;
also encourages empowerment to help people get back on their feet.
I also felt that under the Ethical Standards for Human Service Professionals that Standard 7
applies as it states that Human service professionals are to ensure that their values or biases are not
imposed upon their clients. Personally I would never judge a client that applies for services. The best
interest is for the client to get the needs and services that they are requesting without feeling ashamed
or feeling like someone is judging them. I never imposed my opinion when I interviewed Joyce about
her current situation as being homeless and needing shelter.
In the cultural immersion experience I have provided you with an insight on my current
practicum placement at the Porter State Service Center. I detailed the needs and services
provided and the service that stuck out to me the most which was homelessness. I provided you
with my insight of the Porter Center, the community, I watched a movie and conducted an
interview on someone receiving services for homelessness.

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Reference
www.delaware.gov
www.hhs.gov
http://www.hpcdelaware.org/
www.housingforall.org
www.nationalhomeless.org
The Pursuit of Happiness. (2006). Directed by Gabriele Muccino.
U.S. Census Bureau: State and County Quick Facts.
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/10000.html.

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