Social Worker Appreciation
Updated: Feb 26, 2019
Virginia Beach -- Janelle Johnson
Meet Janelle Johnson Embrace’s Foster Parent Coordinator at our Hampton Roads Office. Janelle has been in the human services field for 6 years and has been working with Embrace for 5 years. We sat down with Janelle to learn more about her and why she chose to work in the Human Services field.
1. What is the most rewarding part about your job? That it forces me to be a people person, it gets me out of my comfort zone. I’ve gotten to know some amazing social workers, foster parents and youth.
What is the hardest part of your job? Seeing the look on a child’s face when they are removed from home/placement when it is not their choice or fault. I’ve had to drive kids to new placements more times than I can count, and they are the longest rides and most emotional times ever!
What is one thing you want others to know about those that serve the community as human service workers? We are tired and overwhelmed ALL the time (and we may look like it too) but we are passionate about those that we serve and love what we do.
Ronnie Gehring Director of Embrace’s Hampton Roads office says, “Janelle has been an integral part of the Virginia Beach office. She is loved by the foster families and has been the backbone of the office for a while now, and knows her job, families, and children well.”
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Richmond -- Kecia David
Meet Kecia David Embrace’s case manager in the Richmond office. Kecia has been in the human services profession for 13 years. We sat down with Kecia to learn more about her and why she loves what she does.
1. What brought you to the human services profession? I've always enjoyed helping people, primarily children.
2. What is the most rewarding part about your job? The most rewarding part of my job is getting to attend graduations, award ceremonies, being present for various accomplishments, successful discharges and achieving permanency goals. Being able to see children that are faced with so much adversity succeed is very rewarding.
3. What is one thing you want others to know about those that serve the community as human service workers? People that choose to work in this field, definitely are not doing it for the money. It takes great passion and a high level of dedication to the population you serve, in order to be successful.
Andrea Rogers, site director for our Richmond office says, “Kecia is a loyal and trustworthy employee. She never fails to impress myself and her coworkers by performing well each day and is greatly depended upon by her clients, the foster parents she works with, and her Embrace team. She is an exceptional case manager and is an asset not only to Embrace but to NCG as a whole.”
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Fredericksburg -- Charlesetta Mells
This week to continue honoring those in Human Health Services for National Social Worker Month, I sat down with Charlesetta Mells, foster parent coordinator for Embrace Treatment Foster Care to learn more about her and why she decided to devote herself to the Human Services Field.
1. How long have you been in human services?
I have been in social services for 24 years.
2. What brought you to this profession?
The desire that I have to help others.
3. What is the most rewarding part of your job?
Being able to see the growth in individuals that I work with on a daily basis.
4. What is the hardest part of your job?
It is very difficult knowing that everyone is not receptive to the services offered
to them to enhance their wellbeing.
5. What is one thing you want people to know about human service workers?
Human service workers have a genuine love for people. It’s not a 9 to 5 job.
Our clients’ challenges become our challenges.
Charlesetta has one of the most important roles at Embrace Treatment Foster
Care, as an advocate and support for all of the foster parents currently serving
the children in the Fredericksburg area. Gretchen Rusden, Recruitment
Coordinator says, “I couldn’t do my job effectively without the support and
knowledge Charlesetta provides. Foster parents need an advocate in our
organization and Charlesetta is the perfect fit for this job!”