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A Day in the Life of a CSW: A Guide for Those Considering a Community Service Worker Diploma

In addition to being rewarding, community support work offers you a lot of variety. It’s a great job for those seeking to make a meaningful difference in other people’s lives, helping them achieve a better quality of living, while staying active and working with a range of individuals.

As a community service worker, you’ll be trained to help those undergoing social challenges—including mental or physical health issues and addictions. This gives you the chance to work directly with people in need of some help, giving your job a meaningful purpose. Because no two clients are ever the same, you’ll be faced with a lot of variety—adapting your tasks to suit your client’s specific goals and situation. 

If you’re interested in a job that lets you help others, then community service work can be a great fit. Here’s a deeper look into the daily tasks and responsibilities of a community service worker!

Providing Personalized Care and Support to Clients in Need

Community service workers provide valuable care to their clients, helping them complete a range of tasks and set goals that increase their independence and sense of achievement. Your work ultimately serves to improve their living situation, allowing them to become healthier and more functional. 

Your community service worker program will equip you with the skills you need to interview clients and obtain their background information, enabling you to assess their relevant skill strengths and deficits. By doing so, you’ll be able to give your clients the support they need exactly how they need it. At the personal level, this means assisting with daily chores and personal care, depending on your client’s needs. For example, one client may need physical assistance with grocery shopping while another can be socially isolated and in need of some emotional support. 

Community service support workers help their clients both physically and emotionally

Assisting Clients through Support Programs and Additional Resources

Community service workers also assist individuals living in group homes and half-way houses, helping them find and use important resources—including legal and medical assistance, financial aid, and housing and employment services to name a few. 

In this work setting, you’ll also supervise activities and help clients with pre-release and release planning, offering valuable guidance throughout the process. You may also be tasked with implementing life skills workshops and community service programs that focus on substance abuse treatment, behaviour management, or youth services among others. Here, you’ll be supervised by social services or health care professionals.

You may be tasked with supervising activities and implementing support programs

Collaborating with Others after Your Community Service Worker Diploma

After earning your community service worker diploma, you can expect to work in collaborative environments. Working in a long-term care facility can mean embracing shift work, where you’ll create daily reports and participate in group meetings to catch up on activities or tasks completed by the previous shift staff. 

You’ll also be collaborating directly with your clients, working together to set goals and create action plans that help them reach their target objectives. Part of providing support includes investigating their eligibility for social benefits and advising them on how to receive additional social assistance. In order to offer the right services and do a great job, you’ll have to collaborate and communicate with others on a regular basis.

Are you interested in starting your community service worker course?

Contact Oxford College for more information!

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