What motivated you to intern with WIT?
Initially, I was searching for an internship in the field of social work so that I could get more experience and decide if an MSW in the future is right for me. I knew I wanted to work with women and LGBTQ populations specifically, and I was always aware of the huge impact of domestic violence in the lives of women. I chose to intern with WIT because of its focus on a feminist view of counseling and its emphasis on empowerment-based advocacy.
What project(s) are you working on right now?
I am a native Spanish speaker, so currently I am working with the WIT Counseling Team to finish editing the multitude of Spanish-language documents for WIT clients. We're working to update the language, as the documents were translated years ago and other terms may be more accurate now. Also, we are trying to formalize the language of the documents. In Spanish there are both informal and formal ways of referring to another person, and we think that a more formal approach may be more comfortable and resonate more for Spanish-speakers of all countries and cultures.
What do you hope to accomplish while at WIT?
My biggest hope is that I learn as much as I possibly can to help populations of women in need. What I've learned in a little over a month of training has been so eye-opening and has narrowed my interests even more. I hope to educate myself on resources available in Philly, and be able to empower the survivors that I speak to on the LifeLine. I'd like to be able to hone my speaking skills as well.
What do you hope to gain from this internship moving forward?
I expect this internship to open up the world of working with women in all kinds of situations due to systemic injustices. Just the short time I've been training at WIT has narrowed my interests as to the populations I am interested in working with. I would like to explore ways to aid survivors in the LGBTQ, sex work, and substance abuse communities through outreach, education, and supportive services.