Updated December 2022
A career in community services is one of the most effective ways to make a real difference in your local neighborhood.
If you're looking for meaningful work—a job where you will truly help people—this is the path for you. Community services workers (CSWs) play an important role in making our society safer, fairer, and more prosperous for everyone.
Updated October 2022
What exactly qualifies as "life skills"? For many of us, these are abilities we start learning as children and build on as we enter adulthood and become increasingly independent.
We're talking about things like landing a job, managing your finances, keeping yourself healthy, and building good social relationships. Aside from a few bumps here and there, we tend to develop these skills naturally, over time.
Community services workers (CSWs) help people dealing with serious personal and social problems. But this career is about so much more than that.
CSWs work with some of the most neglected, forgotten, and stigmatized people in our society.
From teens dealing with addiction, to homeless populations, to battered women, to ex-offenders: community services workers are trained to offer compassionate, practical, hands-on support where it's needed most.
There is no doubt that this work is challenging. But it's also incredibly rewarding and inspiring. Right on the front-lines of our neighbourhoods, CSWs literally change and save lives on a daily basis.
Looking for a career where you can really make a difference? Read on to discover four powerful ways you can transform your community, one person at a time, as a CSW.
A group of Community Services Worker students at Herzing College Ottawa
Updated November 2022
What will your life look like after community services worker (CSW) training? Where will you work, and who will you work with?
This is, obviously, a key question for anyone considering a career in community services.
Our goal in this post is to give you a clearer idea of your options and opportunities as a freshly graduated CSW.
Updated November 2022
What happens to someone who has served time in prison and gets released back into the community? How do they find a job and a place to live? Who can they turn to for support to get their life back on track and start building a better future for themselves?
In many cases, ex-offenders find that support at a halfway house. Like the name suggests, a halfway house is a bridge between prison and the outside world—a place that is "halfway" between incarceration and the free community.
Updated December 2022
Who exactly are "at-risk" youth? Definitions vary, but this term generally refers to young people whose health, safety, and future prospects have been seriously compromised by situations beyond their control.
These situations may include abusive home environments, mental illness, or addiction—and lead to criminal behaviour and/or dropping out of school.
Overall, at-risk youth are less likely to transition successfully into adulthood by finishing school, entering the workforce, maintaining good mental health, and becoming contributing members of their communities. Their lives are often cut short by suicide and violence, or derailed by incarceration.
Community services workers who specialize in youth work help troubled teens map out a better future and take the often challenging steps needed to get there.
Considering becoming a youth worker after CSW training? These are some of the challenges you'll be helping clients face and the special skills you'll need to counsel and support at-risk youth.
