I got an email from one of my closet friends last night who told me about an acquaintance who was having a horrible adoption experience in some country and was thinking of changing countries to Ethiopia. She asked me about our agency, and for other advice. My first response was well they can email us with other questions.
I then suddenly realized how adoption has changed my life. I am an “adoptive parent.” That is one of my main roles in my life.
For the last 10+ years I have felt passionate about the homeless situation in America, and the mentally ill population in America. I realize that they need help, and if I were in that position I would want someone to treat me with the dignity and respect all people deserve. That passion led me to go back to school, and get a master’s degree in social work, although you do not get paid a great deal as a social worker. That passion allowed me to go work in inner city Chicago for 5 years with people who are chronically homeless and have a mental illness. It was one of hardest jobs of my life, but as I saw the worst in America I also saw the best in the people who live in these circumstances. That passion leads me everyday to leave my kids for9 hours a day to go outreach to people who are homeless and have mental illness on the streets of southern California. I teach my kids about what I do, and how important it is to help others.
Last night I realized that I now have two extreme passions. Adoption is also a passion for me. I want to help other people in this process. I want others to realize that although, this may not have been their initial life plan adoption is an amazing journey. Kids need families.
I look forward to adopting one last time in the future, and I also look forward to following my new passion as an advocate for adoption in the future. It changed my life,and I hope to spread the word.
On The Fly - A Parenting Blog 
May 31, 2007 at 9:12 am
Dear Susan,
I read with interest an article about you working with an agency in Chicago counseling homeless people with mental illness and/or addictions. I’m a student at Loyola (Chicago) University’s MA in Pastoral Counseling program, and I’m having a heck of a time finding a site in which to perform my internship, or just volunteer. I’m going to forward my 2 faculty members reference letters to give you an idea about myself, and thought you might be able to give me some ideas. Thank you, Susan.
Dick Schwermin
Wheeling, IL
March __, 2007
Chicago, IL 60604
Dear……..
I am writing on behalf of Richard (Dick) Schwermin, who is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling from the Institute of Pastoral Studies at Loyola. Dick has expressed his eagerness to secure a training opportunity at……
I am an Illinois licensed clinical professional counselor, and have been teaching and supervising in this pastoral counseling degree program for over a decade. Dick was a student in a course of mine this past semester, and I thus had the opportunity to get a good sense of what has brought him to pursue pastoral counseling training, how he approaches the learning demands, how he relates to peers, and what qualities he will bring to clients as a professional counselor.
Dick is a mature learner, and passionate about educating himself to become a competent professional therapist. His reflection papers for my class showed an ability to grasp the material in depth and demonstrated time spent personally connecting the content to his own life journey. He has consistently expressed a compassionate interest in persons who struggle with substance abuse, serious mental illness and homelessness, and he wants to learn whatever he can to be of some assistance to them. He was always the first to arrive for class each week…I am confident he would be a punctual, committed intern.
Dick receives feedback with an open and humble demeanor, realizing there is much to learn to be effective as a counselor, both about himself and about the populations he wishes to serve. He is also a social activist, sending regular missives by email to inform and alert fellow citizens of current social issues which need attention or political action.
I recommend Dick highly to you as an intern in your program. He will bring a welcome human presence to those clients he has the opportunity to serve.
Sincerely,
Diane Maloney, D.Min., LCPC
Director of Field Education
Dmalon1@luc.edu
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
March __, 2007
Chicago, IL,
Letter of recommendation for Richard Schwermin
I would like to recommend Richard for an internship position at….. I have known Richard for the past year as his professor and as an advisor to him. He is smart, capable, a very good learner, and a dedicated advocate for the homeless, the disenfranchised, and for those who live on the margins of our society.
Richard is a very smart person. He excels in his course work. He knows how to learn, what to learn, and then what to do with what he has learned. His experience in industry and his past education have made him a voracious learner. He keeps us all on our toes!
Richard is also a devoted advocate for the homeless. I’ve not met someone before so devoted to this ministry and to this social cause as Richard. He is active, knowledgeable, and forthright in his understanding and in his feeling for the work and the people. He has an uncanny understanding and ability to communicate with them whether they are down on their luck, mentally ill, or as he has said “one life event removed from the rest of us.â€
I highly recommend him for this practicum placement. I think as a student he can learn a great deal about a passion he has had for a long time and as a worker at … he will give 110%, as he always does.
I highly recommend him to you.
Kevin E. O’Connor, CSP, LCPC
Faculty, Pastoral Counseling Program
Institute of Pastoral Studies
Loyola University
Direct: 847-208-8840
koconn@luc.edu
May 31, 2007 at 6:21 pm
I so know what you mean when you talk about adoption as a passion and changing lives.
Our children came to us from Cambodia in 2003 and 2005, and life hasn’t been the same since. My entire career has changed focus and is now almost completely centered on adoption. Instead of writing mostly fiction and fluff, I write for Adoption.com and recently finished a book on US Infant Adoption. I advocate locally in the country I live in and globally.
My children and adoption in general have broadened my world and included me in a vital discussion that I can’t imagine missing out on.
June 2, 2007 at 9:08 am
One reason abortion is so common is not that people feel good about abortion. It’s that people don’t feel good about adoption. Thankfully, it’s a common thing in our church, and we’re considering it ourselves.