Reflective Practice

Reflective Practice:
Through A Community Assessment Assignment
Mark Kevin D. Sadiamona

NURS 153
Janet Jefferey
February 25, 2015

Reflective Practice

The Salvation Army is an organization that was established based on core values of
salvation, holiness, and caring. Their mission is to help people who are less fortunate to be able
to buy products at affordable prices. They are a charitable non-profit organization, which offer
services to the less fortunate in the community. They sell donated merchandises for discounted
prices to fund the mission of the Salvation Army in the community. I finished my 128 hours of
community service at Salvation Army thrift store located at Kipling Avenue. The neighbourhood
that this organization surrounds is mainly composed of low earning/low income families and new
immigrants. The clients that are being served in this organization have different genders, age
group, and culture. During my community service, I learned that I have some limitations with my
communication skills. I learned that I have some problem communicating with different clients
due to lack of confidence, especially when it comes to engaging conversations with customers.
Communication is very important because it avoids confusions and errors. Before doing my
community service, I used to think that thrift store was only for poor people who are unable to
afford new clothes and are financially unstable. I thought that most of the people that visits thrift
store are older in age and most of the products that they sell are useless. Throughout my
community service, I contributed and helped the store in sorting out the delivery/donation into
different boxes for usable and non-usable products. I also helped with hanging clothes to its
designated place to make it more convenient for the customers to find the product they needed
for purchase. By cleaning the store and following proper hand hygiene I maintained client
wellbeing. The opportunity that the college gave me to work in the community service, provided
me with experience that helped my confidence and communication skills improve in dealing
with different clients. The Salvation Army changed my perspective and belief about community
thrift store. I now understand that the thrift store is not only for people who have financial

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problem but for everyone that is being affected by the poverty. Their main goal is to fight poverty
and help less fortunate individuals. By purchasing goods from the store we actually improve the
community services provided for the people residing around community/neighbourhood. Thrift
store is not only for older adult but for all age group. The 3 important things that I learned from
this organization that I can use in my nursing practice are: effective communication; avoiding
discrimination/stereotyping and importance of proper hygiene. By having an effective
communication, it prevents the client from harm related to confusions and errors. Also, we
should not choose the people we are going to help. Everyone should be treated properly and
equally.
The main goal of Salvation Army is to support those individuals whose health is being
affected due to low income and social status. This is one of the social determinants of health that
is being supported by this organization. Income is perhaps the most important social determinant
of health. According to (Reutter, L., Kushner, K.E. 2014) "poverty exerts its effect on health
through lack of material resources that support health, through higher levels of psychosocial
stress and through health threatening behaviours to cope with limited resources and stress It is
essential for an individual to have the resources they need in order to maintain optimal health,
but lower income people lack the resources and therefore face more health challenges. Low
income predisposes people to material and social deprivation. The greater the deprivation, the
less likely individuals and families are able to afford the basic prerequisites of health such as
clothing, housing, and foods. This is why Salvation Army sells all the basic necessities that an
individual needs into a lot cheaper and affordable price. This organization decreases social
deprivation amongst less fortunate individuals to prevent social exclusion that makes it harder
for individuals to participate in educational, cultural, educational, and recreational activities. The

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main goal of this organization is to fight poverty. Another determinant of health that this
organization supports is social support networks. The Salvation Army supports families that are
devastated and affected by calamities such as typhoons, hurricanes, earthquakes, and fires. These
families are taken care socially, mentally, and emotionally. This organization also provides
different programs such as: feeding programs, free clothing distributions, and counseling.
Counseling is very important for people that are mentally and emotionally affected especially
those people that are devastated by the calamity. Psychological and social conditions can cause
long term stress. Persistent insecurity, low self-esteem, anxiety, social isolation, and absence of
control over home life and work have dominant effects on health especially on the immune and
cardiovascular system. Individuals experiencing long term stress are more vulnerable to
conditions such as high blood pressure, heart attack, diabetes, and stroke. (Potter & Perry, 2014).
I have chosen Toronto Central Heath line and Red Cross Canada as the two community
resources that supports income/social status and social support networks. Toronto Central Health
line has different branches all over Toronto area and they are located at Toronto Central, East
York, Etobicoke, North York, and Scarborough. The purpose of this organization is that they
provide care with people in the home and community that includes intensive care coordination,
particularly with children who are medically fragile, and vulnerable seniors who are managing
multiple health conditions and complex needs. Just like The Salvation Army, they also provide
basic needs like foods, clothing, and shelter that are necessary for survival. Toronto Central
Health line help people to meet these needs, especially during times of personal hardship, by
providing financial and employment assistance, material goods, emergency shelter and
affordable housing. The main target population of this organization are the low income families.
They support them by promoting health services that are affordable and much cheaper than other

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health care facilities. The registration for this organization does not cost anything as long as the
client has his or her health card provided. For every programs and services that a client attends,
they would charge him or her but for affordable and cheaper price. They also give discounts for
every members of the organization. For example, regular physiotherapy visit would cost $120 for
every one hour session but if you are a member of this organization they would give you 30%
discount. It is a very big help for low income families especially those who have family members
that have health problems. These people can use their savings and discounts for providing basic
necessities for their families such as foods and clothing. The programs of this organization are
available all the time and are really accessible because a client can easily visit through public
transportation. For me, this organization is a very big help for every low income families because
it is convenient, accessible, and affordable. The Toronto Central Health line also provides social
support for the community. This organization provides free counselling for people to understand
and overcome or manage personal problems, such as difficulties in relationships, anger, conflict,
trauma, abuse, bereavement, and addiction. This is important for the people in the community for
them to solve problems and maintain a sense of mastery and control over their lives. The next
community resource that I chose that supports income/social status and social support network is
Red Cross Canada. The Canadian Red Cross is part of the largest humanitarian network in the
world. Its mission is to improve lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity
in Canada and around the world. In Toronto, The Canadian Red Cross is located at 21 Randolph
Avenue, and it is close to Bloor and Dundas West intersection. All Red Cross assistance is
provided free of charge because of thousands of volunteers that give their time to train
extensively and respond. Just like The Salvation Army and Toronto Central Health line, they also
provide basic necessities for people who are affected by the disaster and people that are affected

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by poverty. The main population that they help are the families that are really devastated and in
need. They provide shelters, clothing, and foods so that these families would survive. The
Canadian Red Cross is available all the time and is accessible because it can visited through
public transportation. The Canadian Red Cross also provides Social Support to the people that
are mentally and emotionally stressed. This social support affects health, health behaviours, and
health care utilization through practical, emotional, and informational support. It is very
important for the people to use community resources like Red Cross because they are
convenient, free, and accessible.
Throughout the 128 volunteering hours at Salvation Army thrift store, I learned a lot
especially the importance of communication, and treating everyone fairly. The Salvation Army
Thrift store helped me to learn and improve my personal strength and limitations. It also changed
my perspective toward thrift stores. I now know that it is not just for old people but it is for
everyone especially the low income families and the money that the store makes will be given
back to the community. I also now understand that poverty can affect the health status of an
individual. Also there are a lot of community resources around us that can help us to our problem
regarding social support and social status. This community service experience helped me realize
that there are so many ways to help people around you. Seeing them smiling and being thankful
for what you have done is priceless.

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References
Sartorius, N. (2007). Poverty and Health. Croatian Medical Journal, 48(5), 750751.
Raphael, D. (2011). A discourse analysis of the social determinants of health. Critical
Public Health, 21(2), 221-236. doi:10.1080/09581596.2010.485606.
Counselling - Personal, Family and Couple - Toronto Central torontocentralhealthline.ca (2011). Retrieved May 24, 2015,
from http://www.torontocentralhealthline.ca/listServices.aspx?id=10232.
Canadian Red Cross (2014). Mission and Vision. Retrieved May 24, 2015,
from http://www.redcross.ca/who-we-are/about-the-canadian-red-cross
Potter, P. & Perry, A. (2014). Determinants of health.
Canadian Fundamentals of Nursing, 1(1), 6-7.
Mission & Values. (2014).The Salvation Army Canada. Retrieved May 24, 2015,
from http://www.salvationarmy.ca/missionandvalues/
Reason to Support Salvation Army (2011). The Salvation Army Canada.
Retrieved May 24, 2015, from
http://www.salvationarmy.ca/reason-why-you-should-support-the-salvationarmy/
Potter, P. & Perry, A. (2014). Communication and Interpersonal Relationships.
Canadian Fundamentals of Nursing, 4(17), 243-244.