I am a bit disheartened that I am having such a difficult time finding an agency or organization that is involved with my area of interest in Humboldt or southern Oregon. There is a woman named Catherine Steed in San Francisco who is a social worker working with prison inmates and parolees helping them work in gardens and learn new job skills and develop a connection with the land. I wholeheartedly believe in the healing power of digging one's hands in the earth and creating life and food from the earth and believe this model can work for inmates, troubled youth, domestic and sexual abuse survivors, those suffering from PTSD, and the list goes on. Another organization in Sebastopol is doing something similar in their community while also growing into a seed bank that can create jobs and income that can make the program self-sustaining and not completely reliant on government funding, donations, and grants.
The organizations I have contacted so far in Hum County and southern Oregon do not seem particularly interested in hosting a social work intern with such ambitions, nor are they doing anything similar at the moment. It is possible I may have to spear head a project like this myself, but then who would be the one to "supervise" me under the direction of an internship for this? Still hoping for another idea or direction so I do not have to take an internship that does not interest me as much or stoke my fire for the sake of finishing a degree.
I am sorry to hear you have having so much trouble locating a placement in line with your passion. It is clear from your writing how dedicated and knowledgeable you are in this area. I really hope you are able to find a compatible program. I agree and can see all of the benefits a program like this could offer people with different backgrounds and help them to overcome a variety of hardships. I think the power of taking care of someone or something else helps instill a sense of a greater purpose.
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