Disclosure [h.s]

01

Evelyn

"We hope this first week was enough to give you an insight into what the real job is. You did very well during training and mock situations." Mandy, my supervisor smiled at me while handing me a cup of piping hot coffee which smelled lovely.

I was currently finishing my last year of university, only months away from finishing my social worker degree. Hopefully, I would graduate with honours and would be able to continue working here right after. 

I had been working with the Brent council for a week as I replied to a job offer for a six month paid internship here. It was everything I could ask for, especially because it would give me an insight into what I would be doing for the rest of my life. And it was also paid, which was truly great.

 And so far, I hadn't regretted my decision at all.

Being a social worker has been my dream job since I was fourteen. A rather strange dream job for most people, but for me, it felt just right. It was a demanding job, and it could be difficult sometimes, but I think that in the end, it could also be very rewarding.

The first week of the internship went pretty smoothly. I stayed mostly in the office attending training on how to behave ethically in this job and what were the procedures on both home and office visits. There were several guidelines we, as social workers had to follow, and it was very important to learn them from the beginning. I also observed some meetings, but I was not allowed to participate in them. I had to sit back and watch how they approached the families who needed to be accompanied by the system.

But now I was ready to actually do some work, and I couldn't wait for my first real assignment.

"It was really helpful, I can't wait to start working." I tell her sipping my coffee. I shouldn't be drinking it at these late hours of the afternoon, but it would be rude of me to refuse it.

The office was too hot today, the air felt heavy inside this small space on the second floor of a building in Brent. It was not a modern office, it was rather old if you ask me. All the computers are at least ten years old, I don't even know how they are still functioning, as their software is completely overrated. That doesn't surprise me as we are in one of the worst areas of London when it comes to poverty and crime.

Not even a government institution is an exception.

But none of this made me want to refuse this job, it was in boroughs like this that I would get the best experience in this job. The only bad part of working here was the commute I had to do to get here as I lived near Acton, it took me forty-five minutes to get here on the tube.

When I first arrived in London, I always imagined myself living in a lavish apartment on Soho, but soon I realised that living there would too expensive and I could never afford it. So, I was stuck with my small studio in a rather shady part of Acton. The studio was nice though, a little too small if you ask me but it was more than enough for me. If everything goes according to plan next year I will be able to move to a slightly better apartment.

"Tomorrow you are going to see this family here." She said handing me a piece of paper with all the information.

It was a big file, with too many pages which was never a good sign, it meant that the family has had some troubles in the past and most likely in the present as well.

"We have been following them for two years now, ever since they moved here. They used to live in Manchester." I nod scanning the content of the pages with my eyes. "They had to leave their hometown because the father of the youngest child used to be violent with them."