Once you have built an agenda for your policy, developed a policy proposal plan, and strategically analyzed the composition of the audience to which you will present your policy proposal, you must now be prepared to defend it.

In this Assignment, you will submit a video presentation summary of the policy proposal you created from last week’s Discussion. This is a simulation for a presentation summary you would make to policy leaders.

By Day 7

Submit a video transcript presentation summary of the policy proposal you created from last week’s Discussion. Be sure to incorporate feedback from your colleagues. Make sure that your summary presentation provides a solid rationale for the passage of your policy, using reputable sources from experts in the field. This should be a simulation of a summary presentation you would make to “real-world” policy leaders, so make sure you are succinct and informative. You can include any visual aids that you think help your presentation.

Your video should be 4–5 minutes and no more than 6 minutes.

Make sure that your assertions are supported by appropriate research and reputable resources.

Last Weeks Discussion—

In your reading for this week, you meet Jose and Iris, two individuals who are in situations that require assistance and guidance from a professional social worker and policy advocate.

In this Discussion, create a policy proposal that will impact the situations faced by either Jose or Iris. Describe the trade-offs you used to develop your proposal.

To prepare: In your text, review “Trade-Offs: Systematically Comparing Policy Options in Step 3” in Chapter 8.

Post by Day 3 a brief summary of the policy proposal and its purpose that you created based on either Jose’s or Iris’s situation and the trade-offs you used to develop your proposal.

Be sure to support your post with specific references to this week’s resources. If you are using additional articles, be sure to provide full APA-formatted citations for your references.

Working with individuals with addictions

Addiction to substance abuse is a major cause and a consequence of mental illnesses among many people in the United States. The case of Jose brings a clear picture of how large number of people are suffering from homelessness after engaging in substance abuse and alcoholism. In light of this, social workers and policy advocates have a great role to play, particularly in making significant proposals that would change the lives of many people towards good living across the United States and beyond. This summary proposes a policy that permits the government to develop housing programs and communities for individuals suffering from addictions. High levels of unemployment has made many people to continue struggling to meet basic needs such as food, housing and shelter as well as healthcare and education.

This policy proposal advocates for a housing communities and programs because individuals with unemployment challenges lack housing and because they can hardly manage to leave in unhealthy living conditions while in their sober state, they often run to substance abuse as a way of making them to forget the challenges. However, because substance abuse also demand some cash to make the purchases, they end up consuming the few monies they may earn or get from well-wishers. By allowing the government to develop proper housing communities for individuals meeting this kind of criteria, healthcare workers such as psychiatrists and counsellors can converge easily to implement healthcare and therapeutic programs to help the addicts recover from the condition.

One of the trade-off in this policy is the cost involved in persuading the addicts and the governments on the rationality of the policy and how the policy can achieve a better living standard for the addicts and the society at large. The case of Jose demonstrates how many people struggling to meet basic needs end up becoming hopeless and find substance abuse as the only remedy of the challenges they face (Plummer, Makris, Brocksen, 2014). As such, social workers and policy advocates must show empathy and concern to individuals experiencing hopelessness. As such, the greatest trade-off in this policy is commitment to realizing a healthy society regardless of the cost of implementing the policy.

Recent studies show that many individuals with addictions have at least a sign of mental disorder. For instance, most of the addicts have continued experiences of anxiety which is a typical mental disorder among the addicts. Besides, hopelessness often influences many people to develop low self-esteem and self-perception. The lack of self-worth makes individuals to further develop increased thoughts or depression (Plummer, Makris, Brocksen, 2014). Increased levels of thoughts make addicts to have suicidal thoughts, which are harmful to the society. Another trade-off used in the development of this policy proposal is the government’s willingness to support addicts based on their past behaviors. Because a government may lack the willingness to support addicts because of their past behaviors, especially their criminal record, the policy should allow it to reconsider the wellbeing of the individual and the future of the society.

This policy proposal foregoes the behaviors of the person with addiction like the case of Jose, to ensure that such individuals are converged to develop a housing community that will attract healthcare providers and therapists, nutritionist and counselors to help in reviving the individual’s health and the entire society.

References

Plummer, S. B, Makris, S., Brocksen S. (Eds.). (2014). Social work case studies: Concentration year.Baltimore, MD: Laureate International Universities Publishing.