"Reading my SW files a few years ago and seeing me described as manipulative by a teacher I'd trusted shattered me. That teacher has since passed (while I was still at the school) and I'd grieved her for years. Was tough to take and people think it's just words. It's not. I was 14”@Careleaver123 [1] … Continue reading Just words
Tag: them and us
Beyond blame
As I discussed in my previous blog post, the language of social care is filled with words that blame people seeking and drawing on support. ‘Hard to reach’. ‘Refuses to engage’. ‘Frequent flyers’. ‘Carer breakdown’. ‘Bed blockers’. ‘Challenging behaviour’. ‘Non-compliant’. ‘Complex’. ‘Difficult’. ‘Vulnerable’. And many more. These terms don’t just feature in our conversations and … Continue reading Beyond blame
Words that blame
The language of social care is filled with words that blame people seeking and drawing on support. Our so called ‘strengths-based’ practice drips with deficit-based terms that stigmatise people as problems. Our ‘person-centred’ approaches are infused with phrases that marginalise. In this blog post I’ll explore ten widely used blaming words and phrases, then in … Continue reading Words that blame
Words that make me go hmmm: Vulnerable
A series of blogs about words that make me go hmmm would not be complete (and it is far from complete!) without a post focusing on ‘the v word’. While it’s by no means a new term in the world of social work and social care, during the COVID-19 pandemic the word ‘vulnerable’ has been … Continue reading Words that make me go hmmm: Vulnerable
Words that make me go hmmm… Frontline
The frontline. It’s a place where opposing armies face each other in war and where fighting happens. It’s the military line or part of an army that is closest to the enemy, formed by the most advanced tactical combat units. It’s an area of potential or actual conflict or struggle. [1] It’s the term we … Continue reading Words that make me go hmmm… Frontline
Better together
“Just look at what we can do when we come together, THIS is England in 2020”.Marcus Rashford [1] How far we’ve come since March 2020. And how our story has changed. Back then, cohesion and solidarity dominated our narrative and shaped our behaviour. On 22 March – Mother's Day – Boris Johnson wrote that “this … Continue reading Better together
Words that make me go hmmm: Those
Those who are most vulnerableThose most at risk Those with underlying health conditionsThose over 70 Those in care homes Those who test positive Those hospitalised Those who have sadly died Those. I’ve written already about the ‘them and us’ narrative of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the dangerous consequences of the ‘vulnerable’ label, but there’s one … Continue reading Words that make me go hmmm: Those
Them, us and COVID-19
Coronavirus. COVID-19. Virus. Pandemic. Lockdown. Isolation. Distancing. Shielding. PPE. Keyworker. Zoom. Unprecedented. Our vocabulary has evolved over the last few months. Words have taken on a different meaning. Terms we’d rarely used before now dominate the headlines, crowd our screens, and pepper our conversations. We’re experiencing a rapidly evolving, global event which has changed all … Continue reading Them, us and COVID-19
Rewriting social care
I don’t think anyone would dispute that adult social care needs to change. From the perspective of the Government, much of the media, and many think tanks and campaigning organisations, social care reform means people won’t be forced to sell their home to pay for the costs of care. It means free personal care. Better … Continue reading Rewriting social care
Doors, gates and thresholds
I read Wuthering Heights for the first time when I was a teenager. I adored the rugged, wild setting of the Yorkshire moors and the passionate love story at its heart. And I still remember the symbolism of the doors and windows and gates that featured at so many crucial moments of the novel. Thresholds … Continue reading Doors, gates and thresholds
Rewriting social care 