53.8 F
Oxford

Social Work Graduate Student Wants to Improve Perceptions of Life with a Disability

Andrea Hannaford, a second-year Master of Social Work student at the University of Mississippi, is on a mission to dispel myths about people living with disabilities.

Hannaford, far left, presented her findings in working with the Baddour Center during a presentation for her Master of Social Work course. Submitted photo
Through her undergraduate internship in the Department of Social Work, Hannaford worked in the case management department at Baddour Center, a residential community in her hometown of Senatobia, designed for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Enrolled in the MSW program at Ole Miss, Hannaford continues her work at the center as a recreation staff member, accompanying residents on field trips and engaging with them in daily recreational activities.

“Some of the best people I’ve met in my life live at the Baddour Center,” Hannaford said. “I feel like people often dehumanize those with intellectual disabilities, and that it’s common for people not to see them as someone who can contribute to society.

“I learned that they are huge contributions to society, and they will support and love you more than an average person.”

A community focused on inclusion through activities and employment options, the Baddour Center offers a variety of work opportunities that suit residents’ particular interests and talents through their garden center and custom packaging services divisions.

The center is also well known for its residents’ traveling choir, The Miracles, a group that Hannaford served as travel assistant for while they toured Mississippi this summer.

During her undergraduate experience, Hannaford completed a macro project with Baddour Center. Macro projects give social work students the experience of initiating change at larger system level, within an agency or community, said Desiree Watson, director of the Bachelor of Social Work program.

“The projects are expected to contribute to the functioning of the agency,” Watson said. “The aim is to move beyond the individual or family and impact the institution or community in a positive way.”

Hannaford used her social work training in case management, under the supervision of a licensed social worker on staff, to educate the direct support professionals, or DSPs, within the homes that provide daily support for the residents with activities such as cooking, cleaning, hygiene and emotional support.

“It is so important for our social workers at Baddour to have a connection with the DSPs to understand what our residents need,” Hannaford said. “For my macro project, I educated them on various types of intellectual disabilities and ways to support residents who have these diagnoses.

“When working on it from a macro perspective, I aimed to educate the DSPs so they would be able to have a better understanding of whom they were serving. My thought was that by educating, I could promote positive support in the home, which would then affect how the residents behaved and would trickle to every area of the center.”

As Hannaford works to complete her master’s degree, she still enjoys working at Baddour Center – this time in a new capacity.

“I fell in love with it, so I had to stick around,” she said. “My primary role is to transport residents to and from various activities and have fun doing it. I also spend a lot of time at the recreation center interacting with residents who do not go to off-campus activities.

“I get to spend a lot of time building relationships with the residents. A lot of times, I will say I’m on the payroll to have fun with residents. My job is so rewarding, and I get to be surrounded by individuals who I love dearly.”

Hannaford loves joining residents for excursions and off-campus activities, including a recent trip to the new safari park in nearby Como that allowed residents to feed and interact with the animals.

“The residents had a blast, and so did I,” Hannaford said. “Every week, there is something different for the residents to enjoy. We go to plays, and we take residents to the Orpheum. We take them to basketball games, wrestling and shopping at Target.

“They also love dining out, so we will take them to Applebee’s or the Mexican restaurant in town. Some of my coworkers actually just took a group of residents to meet Ole Miss football players and Coach Matt Luke.”

Hannaford said she looks forward to her clinical internship next semester to explore other areas of social work, but she will always find a way to visit her friends at Baddour Center and watch as the center continues to thrive in the future.

To learn more about becoming a social worker, visit http://sw.olemiss.edu/.

The School of Applied Sciences, home to the Department of Social Work, offers professional preparation programs that integrate academic study, clinical training, creative research, service-learning and community outreach, leading to the development of leaders whose professional endeavors will improve health and well-being.


By Sarah Sapp and Jessica Shipp/University of Mississippi 

Adam Brown
Adam Brown
Sports Editor

Most Popular

Recent Comments

scamasdscamith on News Watch Ole Miss
Frances Phillips on A Bigger, Better Student Union
Grace Hudditon on A Bigger, Better Student Union
Millie Johnston on A Bigger, Better Student Union
Binary options + Bitcoin = $ 1643 per week: https://8000-usd-per-day.blogspot.com.tr?b=46 on Beta Upsilon Chi: A Christian Brotherhood
Jay Mitchell on Reflections: The Square
Terry Wilcox SFCV USA RET on Oxford's Five Guys Announces Opening Date
Stephanie on Throwback Summer
organized religion is mans downfall on VP of Palmer Home Devotes Life to Finding Homes for Children
Paige Williams on Boyer: Best 10 Books of 2018
Keith mansel on Cleveland On Medgar Evans
Debbie Nader McManus on Cofield on Oxford — Lest We Forget
Bettye H. Galloway on Galloway: The Last of His Kind
Richard Burns on A William Faulkner Sighting
Bettye H. Galloway on Galloway: Faulkner's Small World
Bettye H Galloway on Galloway: Faulkner's Small World
Bettye H Galloway on Galloway: Faulkner's Small World
Bettye H. Galloway on Galloway: Faulkner's Small World
Ruby Begonia on Family Catching Rebel Fever
Greg Millar on The Hoka
Greg Millar on The Hoka
Greg Millar on The Hoka
Greg Millar on The Hoka
jeff the busy eater on Cooking With Kimme: Baked Brie
Travis Yarborough on Reflections: The Square
BAD TASTE IN MY MOUTH on Oxford is About to Receive a Sweet Treat
baby travel systems australia on Heaton: 8 Southern Ways to Heckle in SEC Baseball
Rajka Radenkovich on Eating Oxford: Restaurant Watch
Richard Burns on Reflections: The Square
Guillermo Perez Arguello on Mississippi Quote Of The Day
A Friend with a Heavy Heart on Remembering Dr. Stacy Davidson
Harold M. "Hal" Frost, Ph.D. on UM Physical Acoustics Research Center Turns 30
Educated Citizen on Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving
Debbie Crenshaw on Trump’s Tough Road Ahead
Treadway Strickland on Wicker Looks Ahead to New Congress
Tony Ryals on parking
Heather Lee Hitchcock on ‘Pray for Oxford’ by Shane Brown
Heather Lee Hitchcock on ‘Pray for Oxford’ by Shane Brown
Dr Donald and Priscilla Powell on Deadly Plane Crash Leaves Eleven Children Behind
Dr Donald and Priscilla Powell on Deadly Plane Crash Leaves Eleven Children Behind
C. Scott Fischer on I Stand With Coach Hugh Freeze
Sylvia Williams on I Stand With Coach Hugh Freeze
Will Patterson on I Stand With Coach Hugh Freeze
Rick Henderson on I Stand With Coach Hugh Freeze
George L Price on I Stand With Coach Hugh Freeze
on
Morgan Shands on Cleveland: On Ed Reed
Richard McGraw on Cleveland: On Cissye Gallagher
Branan Southerland on Gameday RV Parking at HottyToddy.com
Tom and Randa Baddley on Vassallo: Ole Miss Alum Finds His Niche
26 years and continuously learning on Ole Miss Puts History In Context With Plaque
a Paterson on Beyond Barton v. Barnett
Phil Higginbotham on ‘Unpublished’ by Shane Brown
Bettina Willie@www.yahoo.com.102Martinez St.Batesville,Ms.38606 on Bomb Threat: South Panola High School Evacuated This Morning
Anita M Fellenz, (Emilly Hoffman's CA grandmother on Ole Miss Spirit Groups Rank High in National Finals
Marilyn Moore Hughes on Vassallo: Ole Miss Alum Finds His Niche
Jaqundacotten@gmail williams on HottyToddy Hometown: Hollandale, Mississippi
Finney moore on Can Ole Miss Grow Too Big?
diane faulkner cawlley on Oxford’s Olden Days: Miss Annie’s Yard
Phil Higginbotham on ‘November 24’ by Shane Brown
Maralyn Bullion on Neely-Dorsey: Hog Killing Time
Beth Carr on A Letter To Mom
Becky on A Letter To Mom
Marilyn Tinnnin on A Letter To Mom
Roger ulmer on UM Takes Down State Flag
Chris Pool on UM Takes Down State Flag
TampaRebel on UM Takes Down State Flag
david smith on UM Takes Down State Flag
Boyd Harris on UM Takes Down State Flag
Jim (Herc @ UM) on Cleveland: Fall Vacations
Robert Hollingsworth on Rebels on the Road: Memphis Eateries
David McCullough on Shepard Leaves Ole Miss Football
Gayle G. Henry on Meet Your 2015 Miss Ole Miss
Guillermo F. Perez-Argüello on Neely-Dorsey: Elvis Presley’s Big Homecoming
Jennifer Mooneyham on ESPN: Ole Miss No. 1 in Nation
Wes McIngvale on Ole Miss Defeats Alabama
BARRY MCCAMMON on Ole Miss Defeats Alabama
Laughing out Loud on ESPN: Ole Miss No. 1 in Nation
Dr.Bill Priester on Cleveland: On Bob Priester
A woman who has no WHITE PRIVILEGE on Oxford Removes Mississippi Flag from City Property
A woman who has no WHITE PRIVILEGE on Oxford Removes Mississippi Flag from City Property
paulette holmes langbecker on Cofield on Oxford – Rising Ole Miss Rookie
Ruth Shipp Yarbrough on Cofield on Oxford — Lest We Forget
Karllen Smith on ‘Rilee’ by Shane Brown
Jean Baker Pinion on ‘The Cool Pad’ by Shane Brown
Janet Hollingsworth (Cavanaugh) on John Cofield on Oxford: A Beacon
Proud Mississippi Voter on Gunn Calls for Change in Mississippi Flag
Deloris Brown-Thompson on Bebe’s Letters: A WWII Love Story
Sue Ellen Parker Stubbs on Bebe’s Letters: A WWII Love Story
Tim Heaton on Heaton: Who is Southern?
Tim Heaton on Heaton: Who is Southern?
Karen fowler on Heaton: Who is Southern?
Don't Go to Law School on Four Legal Rebels Rising in the Real World
bernadette on Feeding the Blues
bernadette on Feeding the Blues
Joanne and Mark Wilkinson on Ron Vernon: a Fellowship of Music
Mary Ellen (Dring) Gamble on Ron Vernon: a Fellowship of Music
Cyndy Carroll on Filming it Up in Mississippi
Dottie Dewberry on Top 10 Secret Southern Sayings
Brother Everett Childers on ‘The Shack’ by Shane Brown
Mark McElreath on ‘The Shack’ by Shane Brown
Bill Wilkes, UM '57, '58, '63 on A Letter from Chancellor Dan Jones
Sandra Caffey Neal on Mississippi Has Proud Irish Heritage
Teresa Enyeart, and Terry Enyeat on Death of Ole Miss Grad, U.S. Vet Stuns Rebel Nation
P. D. Fyke on Wells: Steelhead Run
Johnny Neumann on Freeze Staying with Rebels
Maralyn Bullion on On Cooking Southern: Chess Pie
Kaye Bryant on Henry: E. for Congress
charles Eichorn on Hotty Tamales, Gosh Almighty
Jack of All Trades on Roll Over Bear Bryant
w nadler on Roll Over Bear Bryant
Stacey Berryhill on Oxford Man Dies in Crash
John Appleton on Grovin' Gameday Memories
Charlotte Lamb on Grovin' Gameday Memories
Guillermo F. Perez-Argüello on Two True Mississippi Icons
Morgan Williamson on A College Education is a MUST
Morgan Williamson on A College Education is a MUST
Jeanette Berryhill Wells on HottyToddy Hometown: Senatobia, Mississippi
Tire of the same ole news on 3 "Must Eat" Breakfast Spots in Oxford
gonna be a rebelution on Walking Rebel Fans Back Off the Ledge
Nora Jaccaud on Rickshaws in Oxford
Martha Marshall on Educating the Delta — Or Not
Nita McVeigh on 'I'm So Oxford' Goes Viral
Guillermo F. Perez-Argüello on How a Visit to the Magnolia State Can Inspire You
Charlie Fowler Jr. on Prawns? In the Mississippi Delta?
Martha Marshall on A Salute to 37 Years of Sparky
Sylvia Hartness Williams on Oxford Approves Diversity Resolution
Jerry Greenfield on Wine Tip: Problem Corks
Cheryl Obrentz on I Won the Lottery! Now What?
Bnogas on Food for the Soul
Barbeque Memphis on History of Tennessee Barbecue
Josephine Bass on The Delta and the Civil War
Nicolas Morrison on The Walking Man
Pete Williams on Blog: MPACT’s Future
Laurie Triplette on On Cooking Southern: Fall Veggies
Harvey Faust on The Kream Kup of the Krop
StarReb on The Hoka
Scott Whodatty Keetereaux Keet on Hip Hop — Yo or No, What’s Your Call
Johnathan Doeman on Oxford Man Dies in Crash
Andy McWilliams on The Warden & The Chief
Kathryn McElroy on Think Like A Writer
Claire Duff Sullivan on Alert Dogs Give Diabetics Peace of Mind
Jesse Yancy on The Hoka
Jennifer Thompson Walker on Ole Miss, Gameday From The Eyes of a Freshman
HottyToddy.com