discussion
Ethics is a code of thinking and behavior governed by a combination of personal, moral, legal, and social standards of what is right. Although the definition of “right” varies with situations and cultures, its meaning in the context of a community work involves many guiding principles with which most community activists and service providers would probably agree. If you are actively striving to do “good,” how far does that obligation take you? If there are issues affecting the community that have nothing to do directly with the one, you are concerned with, do you nonetheless have an obligation to become involved? What if you do not really understand the whole situation, and your involvement may do as much harm as gooddo you still have an ethical obligation to support or become active on the right side? Do you agree with thoughts below?
With good intentions to work with vulnerable kids, a volunteer could encounter an ethical dilemma that could impose on one’s value. To consider working as a volunteer in a community violence- program requires proper training to tackle a project of this magnitude. Besides working with kids who are gang members or gang hangers-on comes with its challenges, and it is essential to have the same ethical approach as any other job to prevent any pitfalls. Therefore, the program’s rules and policies should have clear guidelines for the kids to understand how it works. For instance, persons involved in gangs should be treated with the same respect and courtesy as everyone else to foster a good working relationship. Considering this, ethical approaches such as non-discrimination and be cultural sensitivity should be applied throughout the program so that everyone feels inclusive. It is essential to develop trust among the kids and not be police informers because it would defeat the whole purpose of working with the kids. Therefore, confidentially is paramount in this instance. It is challenging to preserve personal and professional relationships and is vital to protecting anonymity, protection, and confidence among these kids. Lustgarten (2015) suggested that “privacy applies to the right of an individual to determine who has access to crucial information” (p. 155). It is essential to protect everyone and share information if necessary, these kids should know from day one how the program runs, and a contractual agreement should be in place for them to sign at to ensure that good sense should prevail. Moreover, this will minimize any major fall-out along the line. However, the concept of a duty to warn and protects applies to situations in which professionals are supposed to share confidentially to protect a person who could be adversely endangered by another person ( Zhand and Attwood,2018,p. 309 ).The volunteer’s responsibility is to provide the best and most effective services possible to reform these kids. Therefore, getting other entity in involve supporting the program creates a better atmosphere working with the kids. For example, having a police youth club integrated in the program could mitigate the negative notion about the police force. While it could be a daunting task to take on such a plan, it is essential to do the right thing to give the kids a sense of direction in a positive way.
