Runnin g h eader: M E, M Y F A M IL Y , C O M M UN IT Y V ALU ES 1

Me, My Family, Community Values and Social Work

Ermyas Sereke

Kutztown University

ME, MY FAMILY AND THE COMMUNITY 2

Me, My Family and My Community Values and Social Work

Me: Who Am I

We all belong to a specific race, gender, and ethnicity that defines us, set us apart from the

crowd. So it’s important that we know the definition of these terms.

First, race is a group of

people who is related by common descent or heredity. Second, gender is the way people define

their sexual orientation. And lastly, ethnicity is a group of people who shares a common and

distinctive culture, religion, language, dance…etc.

And in case you don’t know me, my name is Ermyas Sereke, 21. I’m black and belong to the

Habesha ethnicity.

My Family

My family consists of eight people with two females and four males; we all belong to black and

belong to the Habesha ethnicity: Tiemit Segid (mother), 52, female.

Sereke Teklezghi (father),

60, male. Elsa Sereke, 31, female. Awet Sereke, 27. Samuel Sereke, 23, male. And lastly, Yonas

Sereke, 19, male.

There are many attributes that are unique to my family, but these two attributes are very unique

to my family: clothes and food. Also, there are some attributes that are similar to my community:

the way they go to church every sunday and the way they celebrate New Year.

My Community

Community is a group of people who live in same geographical location or where they share

common attributes. What I consider to be my community is where I feel connected, sharing

interests and goals with others. The geographic location of my community is South Philadelphia.

ME, MY FAMILY AND THE COMMUNITY 3

Table 1

Demographic Distribution of South Philadelphia Community

Race Percentage % Ethnicity Median Household

Income

White 39.2% Italian / Irish $50,000 – 60,000

African American 26.6% Congo / Kenya $30,000 – 50,000

Hispanic 21% Mexican /Puerto Rico $40,000 – 60,000

Asians 13.2% Cambodia / China $20,000 – 40,000

Note: The data are adapted from “City-Data.com” (2000-2016). Retrieved from

Community Resources

A social institution is group of people who joined together for a common goal or purpose. In my

community, there are a variety of institutions serving people:

? Grocery Store: Walmart and Shoprite

? Religion: Christianity (Epiphany of our Lord Parish) and Islam (Masjid Al-Jamia)

? Education: University of Pennsylvania and Furness High School.

? Social welfare: Southeast by Southeast and County assistance office

? Health: Snyder Dental Center and Jefferson University Hospital

Values

Six social work values:

? Service

? Social Justices

? Dignity and worth of the individual

? Importance and Centrality of human relationship

ME, MY FAMILY AND THE COMMUNITY 4

? Integrity

? Competence

Everything in the world has value and that’s why they exist. Otherwise, why would we need

something that has no value? However, human beings don’t value just anything: we all have

something to value and something not to value at all which reflects who we are. Personally, the

most important value to me is dignity and worth of the individual because I think if someone has

no dignity or their dignity was abused by others, they may not able to function in society and

they will lose their confidence and self-esteem.

Social Issues: ICE And Immigration

When it comes to immigration, Philadelphia always was a perfect place to live for documented

and undocumented immigrants, no matter where they come from. But after President Trump took

over office, everything started to change. According to Billy Penn (year), ICE, United States

Immigration and Custom Enforcement, based on Philadelphia being known as “the most

aggressive in the nation,’’ arrested 64 percent of undocumented immigrants without criminal

records in 2017, higher “than any of their 23 regional parts.’’ It caused Philadelphia residents to

protest against ICE “at both City Hall and the ICE office at Eighth and Cherry streets,’’ which

resulted in victory of the protesters when Mayor Kennedy declared he won’t renew PARS

contract that allow the ICE to “access city’s arrest database” (Means and Jennifer, 2018).

I chose this article because as an immigrant I feel this topic is relatable to me, even though I’m

not an undocumented immigrant and because I want to raise awareness about undocumented

immigrants’ situation in Philadelphia.

ME, MY FAMILY AND THE COMMUNITY 5

Reference

Means George and Jennifer Roberts (2018, Sep 13). Immigration: The History Of ICE

And The Controversy. ?Philadelphia Neighborhood. ?Retrieved from

oversy/

Philly’s ICE office is the most aggressive in the nation: 64% of immigrants arrested last year had

no criminal convictions. (2018, Apr 12). Retrieved from

mmigrants-arrested-last-year-had-no-criminal-convictions/

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (PA) income map, earnings map, and wages data. (2000-2016).

Retrieved from ?