Social Work and Human Rights – Study abroad in Munich
by Pat Shelly
Intro: We’re looking forward to in-depth blog posts by University of Buffalo School of Social Work’s MSW student Kristen Hibit on Social Work and Human Rights. She is taking an elective through the Southern Illinois University School of Social Work with Dr. Elisabeth Reichert, “Global Seminar Study Abroad on Social Work and Human Rights” in Munich, Germany. This 10-day intensive “provides students with an introduction to economic and political human rights in Europe, with a United States perspective integrated into the instruction. Field visits and course instruction illustrate human rights principles as they apply to social work.”
Kristen has already shared a couple of tweets about her first two days of the course:
Kristen Hibit @HibitKristen May 28
In Munich attending a human rights SW seminar. Visited @Bahnhofsmissiom, a nonprofit org, located in the train station that assists anyone in crisis or need from travelers to women in DV. Locations in transient areas make services accessible. #socialwork #humanrights @UBSSW
Kristen Hibit @HibitKristen May 30
Today Visited #Dachau, concentration camp, and it was a very heavy day. Spent some time after processing in the beautiful @olympiapark. The world is beautiful—take care of one another b/c we cannot afford to treat each other any other way. #history #humanrights #socialwork @UBSSW
Watch this space!
~ Kristen Hibit ~ Photo courtesy of the author.
Kristen Hibit is a full-time MSW student slated to graduate in May 2020. Kristen currently works as a Immigrant Work Specialist at New York State Department of Labor, Division of Immigrants Policies and Affairs, providing workers’ rights education and services to immigrant workers and labor law compliance education to agricultural businesses. Previously, Kristen worked with refugee populations in employment services and developed business partnerships to facilitate and support the employment of refugees. Kristen recently completed her first placement at Freedom Network USA, a coalition of experts and advocates that utilize a human rights based approach to human trafficking. Kristen is focusing on macro social work and is particularly interested in policy work and human rights surrounding immigrant and refugee populations. She is studying how a human rights based approach can be integrated into organizational structures to solve systemic issues.
SocialWorkSynergy 