today was one of those days at work where i was reminded of why i do what i do. april is prevent child abuse awareness month; for a social worker who works with families and children this month especially weighs heavily on my heart.

a lot of the time, the reality is, i don't see any progress made by any families that i work with. that is frustrating and draining. but, today there was a lunch held in Grant County that talked about the state of Grant County's children. the unfortunate truth is that indiana is ranked 8th in the nation when it comes to child abuse and the frequency of how often children are having to be removed from their parents care.

to me, that is sad. the privilege i have is that i work with some of these parents and children who are often just considered just another statistic. like i said, sometimes there is no progress made by parents when it comes to regaining custody of their children but i have to some how find hope in those situations. and i tend to think of that hope in the light of the children and the new futures they can be given by finding lasting families. there aren't always happy endings, very rarely are there happy endings actually, but i firmly believe that if i am able to better one person's life, my efforts are not in vain.

i need to be reminded of that every now and again.

i know that as stressed out as i often am with my job, as tired as i often am with my job, as annoyed as i often am with my job that one day i will look back and see how doing what i do has shaped me into a better person. and to be quite honest, i am sure that when i am no longer doing exactly what i am doing i will miss it.

so for now, i will relish in the hugs that i receive from the children, the few thank yous i hear from the parents, and the simple truth that sometimes all someone needs is someone to believe in them.