Paul Symons found that much of his learning clicked into place when he undertook a placement at the Community Correctional Services in Bendigo. ‘There was so much overlap between the placement and what I’d studied in the degree,’ he says. ‘You learn a lot from textbooks throughout university so having real world application was great.’
Paul’s role during his placement was to assist with the rehabilitation of criminals and help to integrate them back into society. ‘I learned the practices of the case manager. When someone breaks the law and goes to court they either get a fine, go to jail or get put on a community corrections order and they are assigned a case manager. I was involved in linking people up with the appropriate support through things like mental health, drug and alcohol rehabilitation services,’ Paul explains.
‘It was both eye-opening and rewarding. I met some people towards the end of their corrections order and told me how they’d addressed their areas of concern and got benefit from the order. They had improved their relationships with their families and I felt like I had done something good for the community.’
Getting an insider view into crime gave Paul a sense of perspective. ‘I hadn’t realized how much crime was being committed,’ he says. ‘I definitely felt that through the role of case manager, I had the capacity to make an impact to the level of safety within the community. This work is actually making the community a better place.’
Paul found that the placement opened doors for a job in the future. ‘I’m definitely interested in this field of work as a career and it gave me reassurance that there are positions out there for people with my skillset. After doing the placement you are shortlisted for their graduate program so I’m hoping to do that for couple of years and then later go back to do some more study.
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